One of several found easily on clean coarse white sand near low rock reef ledge in littoral zone of a shore-based platform reef. Very rich colour is as seen in ambient light of sunlit shallows despite my using fill-in flash.(The deep blue colour is contributed by the periostracum of live animals so is quickly replaced by the drab brown shell upon death. This stunning Unique South endemic is thus not particularly popular with shell collectors)
Previously known as Laterus spiceri but neither that taxonomic name nor the header common name got a response from iNat ,so either my spelling is wrong or taxonomy's evolved.
An example of an albinistic M. fidelis (formerly going by the name of M. fidelis flava). Notice how the body color is also lighter than usual for this species.
Sighting and photos (c) maduni.
Field Notes -
The size of an adult shell varies between 70?mm and 205?mm and it is a mixture of orange and white color.This species is found in the Indian Ocean along the coasts.