Conus legatus & Conus pertusus from Tahiti

Conus legatus, Iindo-Pacific specie, is a really collector's appreciated coneshell. Maybe for it's pretty pink color. I personally love this specie. It is a rare coneshell.

Here, in Tahiti, it can be found outside the reef or in the lagoon under small dead corals plates. It's habitat seems to start around 12 meters, however they have been found in only one meter of water, near the edge of the reef.

So it is often found while scuba. It only hunts at night. It is not hard to find it during daytime, because it rarely burrows (like C. canonicus for example). You just have to flip small & medium dead coral fragments.

Normally they are small shells, but shells found at more than 40mm, can be considerated as very big ones. I know that in La Reunion Island (Indian Ocean) it can easily reach 50mm (sometime 60mm). But here in Tahiti,
more than 35mm is considered a monster !! My biggest specimens is 37mm and it is the biggest one found around Tahiti & Moorea, so…

The periostracum is thin, and you can guess it's beautiful colors even live (check the picture).
Of course, the nice dark fresh color will turn to a clear pinky one.

Conus pertusus, indo-pacific specie, is a really collector's appreciated coneshell. Maybe for it's marvelous red color when freshly collected. I personally love this specie. It remains a rare coneshell though. Here, in Tahiti it can be found outside the reef or in the lagoon on coral pilings. It's habitat seems to start near 10 meters. So it is often found while scuba. It only hunts at night. It is difficult to find it GEM. I guess it's color makes it easy to spot by shell predators…
It is hard to get during daytime, 'cause it's often hidden into corals and rarely under rocks or dead coral plates. You'll have to night scuba to find it more easily.

Here, in Tahiti, the shells are really nice, with a lot of white spots. Often nicer than all the ones i saw from Philippines for example. It is a small shell, but you can find nice ones around 40mm.
More than 40mm in Tahiti, can be called a monster. I know that in New Caledonia, you can find real giant specimens (60mm!!), i saw one in an old collection.

The periostracum is pale, and you can see it's beautiful colors even live (check the picture above).
But this color will not remain. Even if it will be always red, the best color can be seen only o na freshly collected specimen like on the picture above.