Beauty is Royalty: Voluta imperialis

     

         Like a lion's claws drawn out to lunge at you, the Voluta imperialis boasts a face that is as intimidating as it is striking. Powerful curved, hollow spines fan out to surround an elongated, dome-shaped "nose", giving this handsome shell the look of commanding royalty, hence the name the Imperial Volute.

      Voluta imperialis belong to a Family of shells called the Volutes, specifically the Family Volutidae. In Latin, the word "Voluta" means "spiral scroll." See how the Imperialis' whorls seem to curl delicately like parchment paper in a scholarly scroll? But it's not just being scroll-ly that Volutes are called such. It's all thanks to the heavy, distinctive markings they all sport on their spiral shells that set the Volutes apart from the rest; a feature that also makes the Voluta imperialis the Crown Prince among the Volutes.



     With a base that's smooth to the touch, and creamy to orange-y in color, this handsome beauty boasts of a stunning, elaborate pattern on its spiral shell that makes it prized by many collectors. Small zig-zag lines meet into rich brown triangles that form large bands around its body, capping off into a face that looks as fierce as it is delicate. A true design feat by Mother Nature. The Imperial Volute of the Philippines (Aulica) imperialis for example, is one particularly popular item. These beauties can be found in the Southern area of the archipelago.

Basic stats: These shells can weigh about 1.76 lbs, measure 9",  5.5" and 4.5" length, width and height, respectively.

the Imperial Nose Galore

The Royal Stance

Guildfordia yoka...A Star in its Own Right

        Imagine the sea to be the sky; the beautiful Yokas would be its twinkling stars. Aptly nicknamed as the Yoka Star Turban or Japanese Sea Star, Yokas belong to the Turbinidae family, a group of top shaped shells more commonly understood as the Turban shells. What makes it exceptional from other Turban shells, however, is its strikingly flattened appearance, but if you take a look at it edgewise, you'll find Yokas to be shaped conically, with 8 to 9 long, spindly, hollow spines coming out of the shell whorl. (A shell whorl, by the way, is a complete turn of a spiral shell.)

A Beaut of a Star

Yokas are gorgeous with a top shell that's a rich copper to dark pink color and an underside that's a creamy white. They're very light to hold but Yokas still are strong shells that are moderately thick in built, though one does have to be careful in handling them as their fragile spines could easily break. Yokas are about an inch in size; some may grow to 2 and 2.5 inches. In the beautiful country that I live in (Philippines), you'll find these starry, starry shells in Tayabas Bay (Quezon) or in the islands of Cebu and Bohol.

the Yoka and its faces