Significant range extension for species always require a confirmation that it has been identified correctly. Unfortunately, our knowledge of ranges for cowries is often based on the statements made by local collectors who have heared rumors or know somebody whose nephew has seen this or that. On several occasions South African collectors told me of  "typical" O. coloba from the coast of Natal, found along with regular chinensis. I had never seen actual specimens that would justify to give too much credit to these statements. Now I got this shell in Fig. 1 top, measuring 32,5 mm from Umkomaas, Natal, South Africa, dredged at 90 m. It very closely resembles O. coloba from India and the Laccadives in general coloration and in shape. However, on closer inspection we can see several differences: the fossula is more developed and extends onto the columella, forming a shallow peristomal ridge. The lateral spots are finer and extend far onto the base than in O. coloba, in which the spots only rarely extend almost onto the mid-base. Comparing the fascinating "pseudo-coloba" with other specimens from the same depth and place in Natal, its glory shrinks to  just a calloused specimen of that local chinensis ssp. or variation. No name has yet been given to the South African deep-water chinensis, which is actually sad because the colouration alone make it easily recognizable, and a proper revision of the chinensis-like shells along with a description of this one would help also to clarify the mess connected with the name somaliana, which most collectors believe to have, but in most cases, they don't.In G3, I have tentatively placed somaliana as western subspecies of coloba, and the South African look-alikes have been given the varietal name kwazulu.

Fig. 1: Top: Ovatipsa chinensis ssp. aberrant shell from Natal
bottom: Ovatipsa coloba from the Laccadives


Fig. 2: Ovatipsa chinensis variolaria f. kwazulu from Natal, largest shell 43,4 mm

Fig. 3: Ovatipsa coloba somaliana from Somalia (Paratypes) images from the Guide.