The shape and the idea: 102 — Palmer's trumpet, Proxicharonia palmeri

Named after the diver who first found it at the Poor Knights Islands, Palmer's trumpet (Proxicharonia palmeri (Powell, 1967)) is a small (~50–60mm), trumpet shell found off northern New Zealand. They are much sought-after by collectors and are an attractive orange beneath a brownish periostracum.

Very little is known about their ecology, but a few have been found offshore and some at considerable depths (~500m). This species is closely related to the fossil P. neozelanica (Marshall & Murdoch, 1923), and there was speculation that they were identical, although now these two are considered separate species. They appear to live in between depths which are too deep to SCUBA dive and too close to rocky outcrops to turn up in dredges or trawls.

The P. palmeri below are from an offshore site and at the time they were collected, probably represented the largest number seen at one time.