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Richard Trefrey
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Many people would be surprised to learn that our state has a state shell, a state bird, and a state flower. I suspect that the state fish would be cod since they are abundant enough to be on the menus of local restaurants.
The New England Neptune or to use its Latin name, Neptunea decemcostata, is common off our shores in moderately deep water. Rarely, will you find Neptune shells washed ashore along Revere Beach. When you do, it will often be after a storm at sea and the specimens will be few in number and very eroded by the elements. The good ones are collected alive. Of course, that necessitates cleaning out the soft body animal that lives within the hard exterior - not a job for the squeamish. There are three ways to obtain a Neptune shell - from a shell dealer; befriending a local fisherman and a visit to the shell dump. For the latter, you will need a strong stomach and a weak sense of smell. My specimen has raised brown ridges set against a dull creamy background color. It has an operculum, the little trap door that seals in the creature when it withdraws into the shell. It is this particular specimen that was the model for the drawing that comes with this article which I did in 1987. Truly, it is a thing of beauty and I hope that I have done it justice. In June, 1987, the Boston Malacological Club was successful in an effort to have the New England Neptune named the state shell. A few years ago, this club was involved in a ceremony at Harvard?s Museum of Comparative Zoology for the issuance of five shell stamps depicting five shells found off the northeastern American shores. One of them was the New England Neptune. In remembrance of that occasion, I have a first day of issue envelope designed by a club member and festooned with the five shell stamps that are cancelled with the date of April 4, 1985. With its new fame, perhaps a carved New England Neptune should take its honored place next to the carving of the sacred cod that hangs from a ceiling in the Massachusetts State House. Or is it too much to hope for a place on Massachusetts auto license plates?
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