Lot #R208. Neptune’s Caenogastropoda Marine Chess Set

Description Neptune’s Caenogastropoda Chess Set. Offered here is a Stunning and very original set of Marine chess pieces, the Neptune’s Caenogastropoda Chess Set. The individual deep-sea chessmen are created from selected Seashells, Sea Urchins and Shark’s teeth mounted atop Sea Scallop shells. This unusual, delicate Chess Sculpture is one of a kind and the artist is unknown. This Seashell based chess set consists of the 32 pieces, each unique in their own was. The King stands7-7/8″ tall with a 2-0″ base. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of sea-art sculpture. The chess set is in excellent condition. circa 1980. About the Chess Pieces The following biological explanation has been excerpted from Wikipedia. Caenogastropoda is a taxonomic subclass of molluscs in the class Gastropoda. It is a large diverse group which are mostly sea snails and other marine gastropod mollusks, but also includes some freshwater snails and some land snails. The subclass is the most diverse and ecologically successful of the gastropods. Caenogastropoda contains many families of shelled marine molluscs – including the periwinkles, cowries, wentletraps, moon snails, murexes, cone snails and turrids – and constitutes about 60% of all living gastropods. The Caenogastropoda exhibit torsion and thus are included in what was previously called the Streptoneura (meaning twisted nerves), also known as Prosobranchia (meaning gills forward). Specifically, they are characterized by having only a single auricle in the heart and a single pair of gill leaflets and are equivalent to the Monotocardia or Pectinibranchia of older authors. Sea Urchins are a white color. Some have pink colors, but most are white. Live sea urchins are porcupine looking marine animals.