Melo aethiopicus – Super giant 415mm specimen!

Caught by fishermen, 2021. Very tiny nick on the upper lip. There is a scar healed at the top lip, the animal repaired itself maybe after a crab attack. Lower lip slightly filed but the canal usually broken in most melos fished is intact! Super wide flaring lip, much sought after for this species. Size is tremendous, the largest world record size I was told was 430mm. This specimen at 415mm is just 15mm smaller and it is probably one of the biggest specimens in the world and an extremely rare size for this species that typically matures even at 20+cm. Very hard to transport from the fishermen selling them as they are very poor packers of fragile shells. Many come broken to bits.

This specimen, despite the scar at the lip, which displayed does not take away the monster feel of this shell. It rivals the largest amphora as it’s lip is extremely flared out, making it standout in any giant shell centerpiece. It also does not have bad scars along the body, which is unbelievable for such giant shells, escaping the clutches of crabs that love eating molluscs for dinner. A fantastic shell, probably once in a lifetime to get such a size and reasonable quality and most importantly, the extreme wide lip which makes this incredible shell standout.