CYPRAEIDAE Trona stercoraria SHIPWRECK  

Senegal. Dakar. Les Almadies. Offshore, around the shipwreck. 2015.  

75.8 mm. "OUT OF A FRESH SET, A STUNNING BLACK SHIPWRECK STERCO

To understand perfectly this shell, it is best to take a look on Google Earth and search for Les Almadies, Dakar, Senegal”.  Then enlarge the peninsula on your screen: you see the waves, the reef etc...

The Pointe des Almadies is wave beaten all year through. In front of the point is a wall of rocks, braving the heavy surf of the Atlantic Ocean. I used to pass there many times while fishing tuna, and even on calm days, the inter space between the top of the waves and the deepest point reaches easily 3 meters. The slightest wind raises this to 6 meters. But the waves are well spaced and the boats go up and down without any major problems, although once I did 12 hours to go by boat form Goree to N’Gorr...

There are two good photos on Google Earth where you can sea the shipwreck where this sterco was taken, and on low tides you can walk on a large area on the bare rocks around the shipwreck. You can dive the sterco in the tidal pools, only one to 2 meters deep. I did it once, an unforgettable experience.

The present shell is heavy like a stone, with all different shades in deep dark coloration. The base is quite dark milky brown with micro scratches, but very very reasonable and nice. Major nice quality for the species which has only one fine++ shell in a dozen when not polished, which I think is the case of this stercoraria.

It is an exception among many."  Poppe, Conchology