14 March
2003
40c, 80c, $1.00, $1.20,
$3.00
Mint and
CTO
$6.40
FDC $7.40
Release Date :
14 March 2003
Denominations : 40c, 80c,
$1.00, $1.20, $3.00
Stamp Design : Sue
Williams, Kent, United Kingsom
Printer
:
Joh Enschede, The Netherlands
Process
:
Offset Lithography
Paper
:
Sopal Satimat 110gsm
Stamp Size
:
45 x 24.65mm 5 oblong stamps
Perforation Gauge : 13.25 x 13.75
First Day Cover : $7.40
This issue comprises five stamps each featuring a Conus Shell found throughout the Pitcairn Groups but most commonly on Henderson Island.
These marine invertebrates belong to the Family: Conidae and genus: Conus. There are in fact some 1500 species of named cones divided into some 30 subgenera. Found throughout several Pacific archipelagos and in the Indo West Pacific, the cones are carnivorous and live mainly in the inter-tidal area. They use a powerful sting to kill prey, a sting that has been known in some cases to prove fatal to human beings.
The 40c stamp features Conus geographus, a thin-shelled species which
grows to 150mm and is distinguished by the background brown colour
clouded
with white marks and darker brown broken band on the body whorl.
This species is well known for its sting.
White and yellow marking adorn Conus textile, shown on the 80c
stamp.
Growing to between 40 and 110mm, it has a thick shell, a short spire
and
pointed apex.
Conus striatus, featured on the $1.00 stamp, is whitish-pink in colour
with blotches of purple, grey or brown. Fine body spiral threads
cover the body whorl of this shell which grows to between 70 and 120mm
in length.
The $1.20 stamp shows Conus marmoreus, a dark chocolate brown shell
with white patches. This less common shell grows to 100mm and has
a thick, broad cone and a rather flat spire.
Conus litoglyphus, a striking, glossy, brownish-orange cone, grows
up to 65mm. The cone is thick, the spire depressed and the apex
pointed.