the shell show - went to erme tan e or IS

Stanfield's "FabUlous Freaks" by a narrow margin
over Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Armington's "A Shell
Collectoc'sDream ComesTrue."
(One visitor ballot said merely that the show was
"just another example of how collectors exploit the
reefs." Everyoneis entitled to his own opinion.)
The Society's No.1 prestigetrophy - the Smithsonian Institution Award - is not invariably given
out. The precepts say the winning display must
"further our knowledge of the molluscan fauna of
the Hawaiian Islands," and not merely be an attractive display of fine specimens.
Scott Johnson of Honolulu was recognized this
year for his impressivecollection of color photos of
the nudibranchs of Hawaii, together with data on
habitats and feeding habits. I believe that this was
the first time all this material has beenorganizedfor
HMS Shell Show ChairmanAndy Adams makesit official. Below, Benjamin Kam. who with Monique Arnette
split the Cross Prize for Junior Shell Club members.sharesthis momentof glory with HSN Editor Emeritus
E. R. Cross (left) and the Juniors' mentor, HMS Director William Christensen.
Photo: Kam
.
..
By RAY McKINSEY.
Kinloch of England, Ernest Rebb and his wife from
It's a bit hard to believe, but the 1979HMS Shell the Philippines, Twila Bratcher, Ray Summersand
Show
at Ala
Moana
Center,
in Honolulu,
was vis-
Edward
Swoboda,
all of California;
and S. S. For-
display.
The much-sought-afterduPont Trophy - for the
exhibit that is most inspiring and instructive for its
educationalvalue, scientific accuracyand attractiveness, and which contributes most to the successof
.
. Stanfi eld f or hIS
the shell show wentto Berme
-
" F a b u 1ous Freaks . " Th IS
. was a b r ill lant
.
di sp 1ay 0 f
me 1amstlc
..
an d rostrate
cowrIes.
.
H IS
. metlcu
. 1ous
for the 75 hours of show time. The minimum count
was twenty; on other occasionsthe figure was about
hn.
.
.
mountIng tec Iques brought much comment.
Georgeand SabmeSommerfrom Switzerland.
Th B h A
d
H be H .
e
urc
war
went to
er rt
Ifota an d
The physical
layout
of the Ala Moana Center
..
Stan JazWlns
. ki "lor t h elf. an aI ysls. 0 f t h e H aW31lan
exhibit area and the imperatives
of the Center manP.
d. .
b .d A d h C
. ...
tere n s. n t e ross nze was IVIded by
agementdo not permit much origmallty m settmgup.
dB . .
.
Momque Arnette an enJammKam.
the shell show. There was a general feelmg, how.
Th e B est Sh e 11 0 f th e Sh ow was Ju
. d ge d to b e
100.
ever,
that
circulation
.
year
than
It often
ited by more than 30,000
persons
in the seven days
it was open.
Admittedly,
took samples
we didn't
at irregular
A great many
reception
keep a precise
intervals
of the visitors
tables to express
their
count.
We
and then averaged
stopped
at the HMS
appreciation
for the
fine show. In addition to answering the traditional
"What do you use to polish the shells?" we had
opportunitiesto identify specimensfrom family col-
rest
Jr.
crowding
and
Mary
Jo English
from
of visitors.
has been
Texas;
was smoother
m the
past,
and
and
.
thIS
S cott Jo hn son ' s b eautI .f '"
w b Ig
. T onna
that
.
which
H
was minimized.
..
I must reiteratein print what I said at the ~tober
HMS meeting, following the shell show: Chairman
Andy Adams and his committee - Dave Arnette,
lections, discuss conservation practices, reminisce Wes Thorsson, Herb Hirota and George Campbell
on long-ago and far-away shelling, and sign up half - deservegreat credit for the mannerin which they
a dozennew members- duesand all.
organized,operatedand took down the show.
Approximately 400 membershipapplication forms
They received a well-deservedround of applause
were handedout in responseto requests. We hope at the Society meeting.
to get many back in future weeks.
Judgeswere Twila Bratcher, who was responsible
Visitors to Hawaii from the U.S. Mainland,
for the Smithsonian Institution Award; Wes
Europe, the Far East and Australia-New Zealand Thorsson, and E. R. Cross. Mrs. Beatrice Burch
were conspicuousamong the show crowds. Many representedher family in judging for the John Q.
told us they had timed their Honolulu stopoversto Burch Award. All participated in choosing the dupermit seeingthe display.
Pont Trophy winner, and Crossselectedthe winners
Unfortunately we did not keep a visitor register. of the Cross award for Junior Shell Club members.
However, among the HMS namesthat I recall are
Opening day show visitors were askedto vote for
Jon Sinl!leton from Western Australia, Elizabeth the most popular display. They selectedDr. Bernard
"
he loun d on K ure I san,
1 d
..
awallan
Ch .
am.
I
dd..
n a
ItIon
t
me Ia nostoma,
westernmost
0f t h e
.ts .
..
Impressive Size,
(Cont'd on Page 11)
0 I
Page2
HAW AllAN
Editor Emeritus
E. R. CROSS
Editor
STUART lILLICO
Associate Editors. ELMER LEEHMAN, OLIVE
SCHOENBERG, GEORGE CAMPBELL
Science Advisor
E. ALISON KAY
Science Consultant
W. O. CERNOHORSKY
Editorial Staff ..
Lyman Higa, Cliff Weaver
Corresponding Editors:
K. J. Gilchrist, M.D., Fr. AI Lopez S.J.,
Rick Luther, William E. Old Jr.,
Peter van Pel, Thora Whitehead
HAWAIIAN
MALACOLOGICAL
SOCIETY
(Founded in 1941)
P. O. Box 10391
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
President
RAY McKINSEY
Vice President
ANDY ADAMS
Treasurer
WES THORSSON
Recording Sec'y
VAL MILLER
Corresponding Sec'y
OLIVE SCHOENBERG
Directors
DAVID ARNETTE
HERB HIROTA
DR. TOM BURCH
STUART LILLICO
GEORGE CAMPBELL
MIKE OWENS
WM. CHRISTENSEN
DICK VAN HORN
GEORGE COOK
KEITH ZEILINGER
The Society meets the first Wednesday of
each month at the Hawaii National Guard
headquarters, Diamond Head Road & 22nd
Avenue, Honolulu at 7:30 p.m.
VISITORS WELCOME!
Hawaiian Shell News is issued free to
members of the Society. Postage rates have
been computed and added to membership
dues. Single copies of any issue, $1.00, postage included. Individual copies of any issue
may be obtained, free of charge, by qualified
individuals for bona fide research projects.
Members outside the United States are
asked to pay with a bank cheque (not a
draft) payable to HMS on a U.S. bank. (Be
sure your name and address appear on
the cheque.)
HMS DUES
U.S. addresses, including Hawaii,
Alaska, Guam, American Samoa,
APO, FPO and all others using
U.S. Zip Codes
...
$12.00 ,
First Class delivery to the abQve,
plus Canadaand Mexico ,..,."...,..,'
$15.00*
Non-U.S. addresses
As "printed matter" "'...'..
$13.50
As "letter mail" '
',..
$16.00
Airmail delivery
."..'..
$20.50*
Airmail delivery to Asia, Pacific
and Africa
..
$22.00*
(*Recommended)
There is a $1.00 charge for Change of
Address,
Articles of interest to shell collectors are
solicited. Contents are not copyrighted. Republication, with credit to HSN, is invited.
Advertisements are accepted at the rate
of US$15 per column-inch/issue,
payable in
advance. Discounts are offered for six and
twelve insertions. Writ~ to the Corresponding
Secretarv for information
Holidays in Honolulu
Will you be visiting Honolulu the week after
Thanksgiving?Two special events are scheduledin
that period.
On Tuesday, 27 November, the Society and the
Bishop Museum will join in a reception honoring
Dr. E. Alison Kay on publication of her longawaited book, the molluscan section of Reef and
Shore Fauna of Hawaii, All Society members in
Hawaii will receive invitations. Visitors should contact the HMS office or the CorrespondingSecretary.
The secondevent is the Society's annual dinner,
scheduledthis year at the Makalapa Officers Club,
Pearl Harbor, Sunday evening, 2 December. Get
details from the HMS office. All Society members
are invited, and shell-orientedguestsare welcome.
November, 1979
HMS Officers Nominated for 1980
~ aettattale SIeett 1teett6
ISSN 0017-8624
SHELL NEWS
Dr. Tom Burch was chosen by the nominating
committee of the HMS Board of Directors to head
the Society in 1980. The election is scheduledfor
the annual generalmeeting on 7 November. Prior to
the balloting, nominations will be entertainedfrom
the floor.
Dr. Burch is chief of the office of researchand
statistics, State of Hawaii ~partment of Health. He
was HMS vice presidentin 1972.
Honolulu diver-dredger-miter expert (and
commercial pilot) John Earle was nominated to be
vice president next year. Olive Schoenbergagreed
to continue in the correspondingsecretaryjob, and
How Big is Small?
After expressing thanks for HSN's role in
promulgating the HMS-International Shell Grading
Standards,E. D. Green of Refugio, Texas asks if
we have consideredextending it to include definitions of size.
"The better U.S. dealers indicate sizes in their
lists, but overseasdealers often are very remiss in
this," he comments. "Some indicate no siz.esat all,
while others use 'small', 'medium' and 'large',
about which there is great variance of opinion as to
meaning.
"Can't somedefinition of theseterms be devised?
I believe this would eliminate many disappointments."
Would any membercare to draft some definitions
as a basis for discussion?
*
*
*
Two HMS membersEliot and Charlotte Michaelson of Newton Centre, Mass., received some pleasant publicity recently in the Christian Science
Monitor of Boston. An article under the headline,
"Businessis beautiful," told of their post-retirement
venture.into the retail shell business.A former textile industry executive, Michaelsonopenedhis Shell
Gallery as a sort of spin-off from his current role as
a consultant for the U.N. C?nthird-world development.
A Censusof Collections
The Council of SystematicMalacologistslast year
formed a committee to plumb the collection resourcesof the United States.
"A major problem confronting museumsis the
existenceof a large number of private mollusc collections about which little is known. Many of these
have important scientific value," notes Dr. Fred G.
Thompsonof Florida State Museum.
"Frequently such collections are left to heirs who
have little knowledgeor appreciationof their value,
and are unpreparedto dispose of them in the best
interestsof science. At best, they may end up in a
museumonly after mixing and serious loss of data,
catalogs, field notes and indexes, significantly lowering their scientific value.
"The purposeof this inquiry is to solicit information from those who have private shell collections,"
Thompson goes on. "This information will enable
museumsto ascertainthe whereaboutsand nature of
private collections having scientific value, so that
such collections are less apt to becomelost, thrown
Wes Thorsson will remain as treasurer.
The HMS bylaws provide for popular election of
four members of the Board of Directors. The names
put forward
by the nominating
George Campbell,
Mike
committee
Owens, William
were
Chris-
tensen and Keith Zeilinger. Following this election,
the incoming president will name four Board members.
Then the Board as a whole may select two more,
for a total of ten directors in addition to the Society
officers, the editor of HSN and the past president.
Bruce Hook was chairman
of the nominating
co~ttee.
out or disposedof unwisely, and so that museums
will be better preparedfor growth in the future."
The initial appeal for information got a poor response, presumablybecauseof the appeal's failure
to reachmany collectors. It is being repeatednow.
"It is important that you who have such collections respond, if you have not already done so,"
Thompson stresses."A report will be presentedat
the AMU meetingin Louisville next July. This publication will not be updated for several years, so
collections omitted from it may remain in oblivion.
Pleasetake time to respond."
The appeal is directed primarily to collections of
about 5,000 lots or more.
The Council needsto know (using this following
key): (N) approximatenumber of lots; (A) Percent
self-collected; (B) Percent purchased; (C) Percent
traded; (K) Percentshells only; (L) Percentin alcohol; (R) Percent land species; (S) Percent freshwater; (T) Percent marine; and (W) Primary geographic areasrepresentedby collection.
Responses,and requests for more information,
should be addressedto Dr. Fred Thompson, Florida
State Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville,
FL 32611.
The Pleurotomarids
Are you there, Donna and Riley Black (of Fort
Myers) and Bert Polleca (of West Henrietta, N.Y.)?
Patrick Anseewu, Mispelstraat 18, 9220 Merelbeke,
Belgium wants to get in touch with you.
Ansee~ recently received a number of back issues of Hawaiian Shell News, including October
1970 which had a report on the Pleurotomaridaeby
Editor Emeritus E. R. Cross. The Blacks and Polleca were quoted there, and Anseeuw wants to follow up.
In his letter to HSN, he also asked owners of
large collections of pleurotomaridsto contacthim at
the above address.A worldwide survey of the family is .involved.
"Inconclusive Differences"
Long-time HMS member Mary Saul of Malvem,
England has supplied' 'a footnote to the interesting
discussionon taxonomy continued in successiveissuesof HSN in recent months."
"I think that Herman Melville spoke for many of
us when he wrote, in Moby Dick: 'It is by endless
subdivisionsbased upon the most inconclusive differences that some departmentsof natural history
becomeso repellin,glyintricate'."
November.. 1979
Page3
HAW AJ1AlI! SHELl-NEWS
By A.J. da MOTTA
BAf:lGKOK - Positive confirnlation has been
r~ivtid that Mr. Richard of the French National
MuselJffiof Natur!il History in Paris never described
"Conus pramparti," as had been widely reported.
Rather, the' 'species" seemsto have been the creation of some shell dealer, inspired no doubt by the
belief that it would sell better with a name.
A parallel casecan be found in "Conus merleti,"
whoseorigin continuesto defy investigation.
One of the speciesthat Dr. Dieter Rockel and I
compared with C. leehmani was C. gubernator
Hwass, 1792. The specilriens in the pictured growth
series
were
Bruguiere's
selected
specifically
illustrations
clopedic Methodique.
match
Bruguiere's figures 4, Sand
6 correspond to my figures D, Band
Aparttrom
to
in Plate 340 of Ency-
E respectively.
color, pattern and shape, the biometric
differences of the two species include:
C. gubernator
C. leehmani
(Top Row)
(Lower)
A
B
C
D
E
F
A very attractive golden-yellow cone made its
appearanceabout 1975 and soon becamethe subject
of discussion among conus experts. Opinion was
divided whether it was a previouslyunknown species.
A product of the western Indian Ocean, it was
thought at fIrst to be a variety of Conus bal1helemyi
Bernardi, 1861. Subsequently,howev~r, it was referred to as Prampart's Cone. GeorgesRichard, of
the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, was
informally credited with having describedit, or was
said to be about to do so. The name appearedin
some dealers' lists, sometimesas a provisional species and more often without qualification.
As HMS member A. J. da Motta of Bangkok
reports elsewhere on this page, it now has been
fully confITmedthat Richard did not describe the
shell as a new species. Furthermore, da Motta has
been unable to find any record that it was ever
namedunder the ICZNrules by anyone.
Da Motta and Dr. Dieter Rockel, both experiencedstudentsof the Conidae,undertooka thorough
study of the mysteriouscone.
"After study of considerable numbers of specimens from various localities, we have reachedthe
conclusion that several characteristicmorphological
features exist to set the shell apart as being distinct, " he wrote.
Writing in the May/June issue of La Conchiglia/The SheD, they proposedthat the shell be recognized as a valid new species, with the name
Conus leehmani, in honor of Elmer G. Leehman,
AssociateEditor of Hawaiian SheDNews and president designateof the InternationalConidaeSociety.
Slightly paraphrased,their description of the species follows:
Conus leehmani da Motta and Rockel, 1979
DESCRIPTION:
Shell cream-colored,solid and turbinate, with a
depressedspire consistingof eleve" whorls, the earlier seven being conic with a s~
apical point,
sloping down to four flattened and wider, deeply
channeledwhorls, having about five fine threadsto
each volution, all marked with reddish-brown
worm-like maculationsin a radial pattern, excepting
the penultimate whorl, when it changesto chocolate-brown, overflowing in plac~ onto the shoulder,
which bulges out well-rounded into sides which are
straight. The body surface is smooth, but is finely
striated, more pronouncedlongitudinally. It has two
belts of fawn superimposedwith irregular figurations of chocolate-brown, in between three plain
dividing areasof cream with some patchesof fawn.
Obsolete spiral incisions at its base are noticeable
only on very close examination. The aperture .is
porcelaneouswhite and narrow, beginning from the
posterior end but very gra'dually widening toward
the base.
HOLOTVPE:
Length 65.3mm; width 34mm, specimenwill remain in the first author's custody pending establishment of the International Conidae Society
Museum, whereit will then be lodged.
TYPE LOCALITY:
Taken by professional native divers in the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean.
DISTRIBUTION:
Within the western expanseof the Indian Ocean,
including the Seychelles, Mauritius, Reunion, and
southern India. So far, not found in the Andaman
Sea..
DISCUSSION:
The two closestspeciesfor comparisonare Conus
barthelemy! Bernardi, 1861, and C. gubernator
Hwass, 1792. C. barthelemyi has a predominantly
orange-redoverall ground color, with irregular black
splotches never formed to any set pattern. It also
has a more depressedspire with the earlier forming
a convex peak, and having a subangulateshoulder.
The spire markings are tesselatedchocolate-brown
and white, with most of the whorls made up of a
41X20 mm
58X21
62X21
10X30
11X36
99X41
Kiener, in Coquil.
A
B
C
D
E
43X21 mm
41X25 mm
53X30 mm
65X34 mm
14X41 mm
Vivo p. 282 briefly associated
"Conus terminus of Linn. (?)" as a variety of C.
gubernator.
Illustrated there as fig. ld in Plate 48,
the specimen resembles my fig. F. Incidentally, the
latter has a golden-brown coloration which could be
misleading,
although
all other characteristics
are
quite clearly those of gubernator.
Although C. barthelemyi
compared,
Bernardi, 1861 was also
the differences
are obviously
much
greaterthanC. gubernator.
longitudinal crease folded in a concentric manner
with fine transversethreads. Five or six spiral incisions are always presentat its base. Finally, the first
four or five post embryonic whorls are finely pustulose in the young of C. leehmani, but not seenin
C. barlhelemyi.
In the case of C. gubemator the shell is not as
solid, and more attenuated. It is an interplay of
grey, blue and browns forming a marbled pattern.
The spire itself is conic, with a carinatedshoulder.
It is a lighter shell altogether.The three speciescan
be immediately picked out without possibility of
confusion, based on each one's distinct individual
color pattern and profile. AIl three are found in the
samedistribution range.
Elmer Leehman has done much toward the promotion and fuller understandingof conchology.This
shell is named after him in recognition of his efforts.
REFERENCES
Kohn, Alan J. - "Type specimensand identity of
the described species of Conus IV. The species
describedby Hwass, Brugiere & Olivi in 1792."
Tryon Jr. George W. - Manual of Conchology Vol. VI - Philadelphia.
MAPPA No.2 Juiilet 1978. Revue des collectionneurs de Coquillages. Directeurs de la publication: Yves Demanueleet Lina Geoffory.
Journal de Conchyliologie IX, p. 285, 1.3. 1861.
Page4
HA W AllAN
November, 1979
SHELL NEWS
By LYMAN WGA
Alex Kerstitch has written from Tucson about
some fabulous finds made during a summer visit to
Barbados,in the West Indies.
"The highlight of the trip was collecting Cypraea
surinamensis alive and near record size at
40.7mm," he declared. "The animal was preserved
by Don Pisor and is being studied.
"Another unexpected find was Pleurotomaria
adansoniana, small but perfect and alive. This was
only the secondor third specimencollected at the
island in years.
"But this is not all. In my wife's ~ge material Visi;ingFlorida from Hawaii, Helen Lillico(left)
taken from 85 to 90 fathoms was a live and perfect
.1 L I S.
tral sua
Iekman across a St. Petersburg beac,h
Morum dennisoni!
I00kInK
. l'or ange I wings.
.
Merv Cooper's
HOME
GROUP
PERTH SHELL DISTRIBUTORS
P. O. Box 186, Mt Hawthorn
West Australia Tel: 328-5768
List #8 avaiiabie Send $100 for list
Showrooms 157 Bowtort St, Perth, W Aust
Also sell Murex, Voluta, Hello/us, Conus, etc
~--~-
!.-.,.,
~erry's
't,'"
SHELLSHELTER
WORLD WIDE SHELLSSpecimen Quality
,
".
..
FROMCOMMONTO ULTRARARE
NO LISTS PLEASE SEND FOR WANTS
411No.HarborBivd.,Fullerton. CA92632USA
"Among other rare molluscs taken during the trip
were Conus mazei, C. centurio, C. attenuatus,
OF THE ZOILA
-
C.
TELEPHONE,714-992-1030
sanderi (a new species), C. hunti (another new one)
VISIT US -
WE'RE UNIQUE
and several of the unknown species featured in J. B.
Lozet's book on Caribbean shells.
"A night dive also produced Voluta musica. The
diving was super, with visibility
over 90 feet. After
two weeks, I had shot 35 rolls of film
-
40, Lane 105, Liao-ning St.,
Taipei, Taiwan
enoughto
keep me busy for a while."
(Tel. 7510680)
RARE SHELLS. Buy, Sell, Trade.
Jim Cordy, of Merritt Island, florida, while diving at Pelican flats Reef in June, collected five
Lyropecten nodosus and five Conusjuliae. He also
found his first Atlantic triton, Charonia variegata.
Pelican Flats Reef is about 25 miles offshore from
CapeCanaveral.The water is 50 to 100 feet deep:
---
"Here's a hole," says Lula. "Go after it like
this."
---
-
--
--
~--~-
PHILLIP W. CLOVER
Stan Jazwinski found ~ fine big live Cypraea
cernica in 75 feet of water off Sand Island, Honolulu. I don't have data on its size, but it was a
beauty.
Wes Thorsson and Ray McKinsey have been
dredging off Hal~iwa, on the North Shore (Honolulu). They report finding two Conus sazanka 300
to 400 feet deep, on a sand-and-coral-gravel
bottom.
One measuring 29.3mm was live taken, the other
was dead and measured 19mm. Only one other
specinlen of C. sazanka has"been reported from
Hawaii,; think.
A year ago, McKinsey found a live Cypraea
ostergaardi in 60 feet of water off Haleiwa supposedlythe wrong habitat for this rare endemic
species. Now Thorsson reports another one under
unusual circumstances. While diving at Haleiwa,
Wes picked up an abandoned "goodie bag". On
subsequentexamination, it was found to contain a
number of C. helvola - and one dead C. ostergaardi!
Wes suggeststhat the other diver was a beginner,
unable to discriminate between C. helvola and the
somewhatsimilar C. ostergaardi.
"Cypraea helvola has a white bottom (as C.
ostergaardi does) until it matures, gradually turning
brown from the extremities. Of course, there are
other differences,such as number of teeth and color
of spots. But they can be confused, and I suggest
that memberslook over their helvolas carefully before discardingthem as faded specimens."
-
SOURCE FOR RED SEA SPECIMEN
AND COMMERCIAL SHELLS
DOV PELED
Hazalafim 6, Haifa, 34-739, Israel
Buys, sellsand exchangesshells. Price list on
request.
P. O. Box 83, Glen Ellen
Calif. 95442 U.S.A.
Dealer in World Wide Specimen
Seashells, specializing in rare cypraea,
conus, voluta & murex. Write for free lists.
20 Years in Mail Orders.
MONTILLA ENTERPRISE
"Is THAT an angel wing?'
59 Mjiria Clara, Quezon City 3008
Philippines
Specimen Shells of the Philippines - Free
Ust - Shell & Seed Necklaces - Monkey Pod &
Wooden Ware - Black Coral Bracelets & Earrings - Fibercraft - Artificial Flowers - Shell
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"11
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In Stock-All Shell Booksin Print
Full set of Shell & Book Catalogs
$1.00 in any currency-Sent Air or
First Class-Refundedfirst order.
HAWAIIAN
November, 1979
Page5
SHELL NEWS
It's Show Time in Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE
The Hawaiian Malacological Society, speaking
through the Board of Directors, has taken a stand in
opposition to a proposal to dredge an estimated
45,000 cubic yards of sand from Kaneohe Bay, on
Windward Oahu (Honolulu).
The project - worked out by Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation planners - will be
-
The Broward
its sixteenth annual shell show. The site will be the
Pompano Beach Recreation Center.
Everyone is welcome to enter and attend.
"If
you would like to enter, however, please let
us know a month ahead of time,"
adds the BSC
announcement.
carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.It
is designedto restore sand to the beach of Kualoa
Park, which has suffered seriouserosion.
"The Society is seriously concernedat the potentially disastrous effects of the plan to shift sand
from KaneoheBay to the shore at Kualoa Point,"
said the statementadopted by the Board at its October meeting.
"Such dredging is certain to destroy marine life
in the source area, and the sedimentplume will do
great damageto the north end of Kaneohe Bay, a
body of water only now beginning to show signs of
recovery from the pollution and sedimentationthat
have plaguedit for more than a decade."
The Broward Shell Club, Inc., P. O. Box 10374,
Fort Lauderdale,
FL.
33305,
meets the second
Wednesday of each month (except February) at the
Pompano Bea,ch Recreation Center, 1800 N .E. Sixth
Street, Pompano Beach.
Officers are: Richard Sedlak, president, editor and
program chairman; Jeanne Hunt, vice president; Archie Jones, treasurer; Mike
secretary; Jim Andrews,
Davis, corresponding
recording
secretary; and
Gene Everson, shell show chairman.
And at Melbourne
Notice of the Board's action will be conveyedto
the office of the mayor of Honolulu, to the Department of Parks and Recreation, to the Corps of
Engineers, and to Hawaii's representativesin the
U.S. Congress.
The dredging project is a replacement for an
unsuccessful' 'sand-grabber" erected at Kualoa in
1977. The latter was expectedto reduce the loss of
beach sand from severe wave action.
HMS directors are not opposed to restoring the
Kualoa Beach, but feel that the method chosenwill
do more damagethan the beachis worth.
"That sand is important to the ecology of the
bay," Olive Schoenbergtold the Board. "It is full
of molluscan and other marine life. In fact, that is
where Bruce Miller did the field work for his thesis
on terebratwenty yearsago. Dredging that sand will
HMS member Helene Boswell of South Africa
simply wipe out an entire population of molluscs,
recently obtainedan unusually beautiful specimenof
fish, benthic organismsand algae."
Public hearingswere held before officials decided the extremelyrare Conus excelsusSowerby, 1908.
to go ahead with the dredging. Considerablelocal
This gem specimen measuring 72mm has deep
opposition was voiced, mainly on the grounds that reddish-brownmarkings on a white basic color. The
fishing would suffer.
cone was dredged by HMS member Brian Bailey
"The dredging will not occur directly on, but from 100 fathoms near the Russell group in the
adjacentto a sandbarsituated near a favorite fishing Solomon Islands.
spot," according to a Corps of Engineers spokesE. G. L.
man. Both the small area in which the dredge will
operate (about 2,100 square feet) and the fact that
the sand will be dried before it is spread on the
beach were cited as reasons why' 'the potential
threat of water turbidity" will be minimized.
-
Gem Conus exce/sus
MELBOURNE, FL - After a most successful
1979 shell show, the Astronaut Trail Shell Club is
making plans for its secondannual shell show, January 26 and 27, 1980. It will be at Kiwanis Island
Center, Merritt Island, Florida.
Bobbi Cordy is the show chairman.
Seventrophies will be offered, surely a record for
any Florida show. They are Conchologists of
America Trophy, DuPont Trophy, President's
Trophy, Susie Pelles Memorial Trophy, Brevard
Museum Trophy, Astronaut Trail Shell Club Trophy
(Educational), and Astronaut Trail Shell Club
Trophy (Crafts).
Specimenand craft entries from various areasof
Florida will be in competition for the seven
trophies, three rosettes, and first, secondand thirdplace and honorable mention ribbons. There will
also be noncompetitiveentries, dealer booths, and
the very popular "Shell Shack" where craft items
madeby the membersof the club will be sold.
Drawings will be held every hqur for door prizes.
On the final day, a ginger jar lamp filled with
specimen shells donated by club members will be
raffled.
During the show, in a room off the main display
area, short lectures covering basic shelling will be
given by club members. Approximately four onehour lectures will also be given each day on shelling, diving, shellcraft and other shelling related
subjects.
Senior judge for the show will be Russ Jensen
nom the UelawareMuseumof Natural History, who
will also be the speaker at the awards banquet.
Other judges will be Jerry Harasewych,assistantto
Jensenat the DelawareMuseum, and CharlesHertwick from the SarasotaShell Club. Vi Hertwick and
Patricia Kosinski will judge the craft entries.
House of Quality and Service
~HARD M. KURZ. INC.
At about the time HMS took its position in
opposition, three local fishermen filed a suit to
block the dredging project.
They cited a Hawaii state law prohibiting sand
"mining"from the ocean.The State Attorney General's office ruled that the proposedand replenishment does not constitute "mining," since the sand
is not being used commercially, but rather is being
recycledto the shorelinefrom which it was eroded.
Shell
Club has set February 1, 2 and 3, as the dates for
1575 NORTH 118th STREET
WAUWATOSA, WI 53226 U.S.A.
Dealer in Fine and Rare Specimen Shells
of Superior Quality
The very best shells, at the very best prices
WRITE FOR FREE PRICE LIST
SHELLS BOUGHT, SOLD AND TRADED
LARGEST MAIL ORDER SEASHELL DEALER IN THE U.S.A.
~
November, 1979
Chace, Allyn Smith, Andrew Sor~ns~n, Walter
Eyerdamand many othersstill living.
THE WAY WE
WERE
By JEAN CATE
SAN DIEGO - Nothing brings home the hard
facts about growing old more forcefully than (I)
getting one's first Social Security check, and (2)
being asked to write one's reminiscencesof the
good old days..Both of thesethings happenedto me
during August, 1979. About the first, the less said
the better. The second, however, brought a great
deal of pleasurewhen Stu and Helen Lillico stopped
in for a delightful surprise visit and dropped that
very flattering bombshellon me.
My husbandCrawford and I had, of course,many
memorable moments in our nearly 30 years with
shells. So now that I have qualified officially as an
old lady on at least two counts, I shall try to fulfill
Stu's assil!nment.
Crawford and I have been blessed with more
happy times than most. At least it seemsso to us.
And the best of all those happy memories stem,
inevitably, from our associationwith shell collecting.
Well do we remember our beginning days in the
early 50s: the excitement when a package or letter
would arrive from some exotic place; occasions
when we might add a different speciesto our collection; the fun of devising better ways to curate and
houseour rapidly developingcollection.
It may be difficult for someof you to understand, glued directly to the pagesafter folding.
if you are still at that stage. But now that our
Hirase's book follows the older tradition also in
collection and our malacological library have been being printed in black and white only, then individpassedon to otherswho can use them, what remains ually colored by hand.
uppermost in our minds is not a regret for those
things - not at all. What does remain in our DO A FRIENDA FAVOR!
One of the blessingsof becoming a senior citizen
is the pleasure of remembering. And, if we are
lucky, we tend - like human sundials - to
memoriesare the people with whom we have come
in contact, the many good friends around the world.
We remember prized shell specimensand certain
favorite volumes with great fondness, of course-
remember only the happy hours. The less happy
times - and we all have a few - becomeless and
but our friends are the true jewels of our collecting
years.
less important. Which is as it shouldbe.
Suddenlywe are shockedto discover that we are
We have seen even the rarest shell species bethe oldtimers with recollections and reminiscences, come suddenlycommonplace.But no one will ever
just as in years past we have listened to those of discover a crowded new locality for that rare species
some of our malacological predecessors- Ditlev Amicus caruso Each of us must acquire his own
Thaanum, lens Ostergaard, Leo Hertlein, Elsie along the way. We know that others are enjoying
our shells and our books now. That is as we intended when we let them go, but we shall never
When in Atlanta lose our enduringfriendships.
SEA ATLANTA
Lenox Square
Atlanta, GA 30326
When in Kansas City
SEA CROWN
Crown Center
Kansas City, Missouri 64108
The finest in sea shells
TAG
SHELLS
World Wide Specimen Shells
From Cypraea annulus to aurantium, from
Murex cornucervi to loebbeckei; and from Voluta
vespertilio to perplicata. WE HA VE GOT or get
THEM ALL.
Ask for your free price list NOW.
P. O. Box 13, Hampton,Vic. 3188 - Australia
The color print accompanyingthis issue of Hawaiian Shell News is the Society's Christmaspresent to its memberseverywhere.It is a reproduction
of a plate in Hirase's Kai-senshu (1,000 Shell Species), plrblished in 1915. The original is in the
library of HSN Editor EmeritusE. R. Cross.
Kai-senshu is an "accordian-fold" volume, in
which all the illustrations are printed on one side of a
single narrow sheet of Japanesepaper, then folded
to permit the reader to view one page at a time. It
is without a "spine; " front and back covers are
HMS Members: Nonmembers will receive a
complimentary copy of Hawaiian Shell News(with
a membership application) if you send the
Corresponding Secretary their full name and
address.
;
WEST COAST CURIO CO.
1940 Maple Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627
"13 miles south of Disneyland". Longest established shell dealer in the U.S.A. More than 2,000
species stocked regularly. No lists - No mail
order. Buy or browse - you're always welcome!
COME IN AND SEE US
From time to time in these pages we would like
to share with you some of our beautiful memories
and experienceswith those friends. I believe most
of you will recognize them by name. Some have
becomelegendsalready.
.
Gill's
~ ~hec
Buy-Sell-Exchange
SpecimenQuality Shells
Price List on Request
229 West 2nd Street
.,
Deer Park. New York 11729U.S.A.
PHIL BELLIN
House No 681, Kiyuna, Futenma, Okinawa, Japan
The only full-time diver-dealeron Okinawa.Buy. sell or
trade. Wholesale and retail.
Also slides of hundreds of worldwide shells, U.S. 50c
apiece. Too many to list. State your wants. Shots of live
Okinawan shells available.
Excellentstock of shells alwayson hand
there's more to our business
than just "selling shells"
personalized service is also our stock in trade
Beginning and advanced collectors are assured of prompt. careful attention
to orders and inquiries. Write for free bimonthly lists. All shells graded
according to ISGS Standards and are fully guaranteed.
tha molMiion
9Q.lenfeJinco
P. O. Box 15011,Sarasota, FL 33579, USA
Shop Hours by Appointment
DREDGE FOR SHELLS
DOWN TO 2,OOQ/ fEET
from theJARTHrNA
I" 1",,/ "I (c
1 1 VII
Coast Gu.r~'Lt~l!!1:sedf~kiPpetc
j
"TOM"9tYRCH
"CC(,
P. O. BOX 309.iJflrlUAif(ffl 9&7>!4!ICcW(lfsOS)261.1559
November. 1979
HAW AllAN
How can a shell be identified for certain if there
is no animal to examine?Easily (usually) by looking
at the shape, size, color and pattern, say the traditionalists.
But there is growing uncertainty as to just how
dependable these conchological characters are in
pinpointing species. And this skepticism has been
matched by an increasedsuspicion that taxonomic
problems can only be settled by careful anatomical
studies. Dr. C.M. Burgess in recent HSN articles
has beena strong and convincing spokesmanfor the
latter point of view.
An approachthat differs from both of the above,
however, has been put forward by W.E.J. Walles of
South Africa. Walles believes that species can be
determinedby precise measurementof a shell's several parameters,such as the ratio of length to width,
the angle of the apertureto the shell axis, and the
inclination of the spiral whorls. In developing the
"numerical method," he has compiled tables covering many species.
Using this material, Walles has challenged C.S.
Weaver, co-author of The Living Volutes, an~ a
fonDer editor of HSN, on the identity of a "new"
volute about which Weaver wrote in HSN Dec.
1978 ("A Breakthroughin Volutes"). Weaver expressed the opinion that a previously unidentified
specimenwas a male V. festiva and that it was new
evidenceof sexualdimorphism in the family.
In the article that follows, Walles explains why
he believes that Weaver actually was dealing with a
different -
and possibly still unnamed
-
volute
species.
Walles reports he is pu.blishinga full desCription
of his' 'numerical method' " on the validity of
which HSN takes no position. In the meantimeparticularly in the light of the uncertainties that
haunt the longer establishedsystemsfor determining
speciesstatus - Walles' argument is offered here
as food for thoughtful consideration by
malacologists.
S.L.
Page7
SHELL NEWS
Table A: Tabulated Parameters
(Values of some are approximate)
Specimen
Shell width
~
(mm)
Aperture width
iengfu
108.6
2T
= 37.4
In actual practice, any single character expressed
by a numerical parameter is sufficient to establish
sex. On the basis of Cuvier's principle of the corre.
lation of all parts of an animal,
value of these "external"
the determining
characters is equivalent to
the bothersome analysis of radulae or sexual organs.
Let me turn now to Weaver's discussion (HSN
Dec. 1978) of what he believes are two specimens
of Festilyria festiva
other a female.
Lamarck, one a male and the
The shell found by Richardson
clearly differs from the Bledsoe specimen ill shape,
color pattern, structure and - strikingly - in the
size and formation of the nuclear whorl.
Despite Weaver's contention that the two shells
PRETORIA -
Sexual dimorphism in cowries is
expressedby female shells being wider than their
male counterparts,as well as by some other secondary characteristicssuch as a more curved aperture.
Numerically, females are differentiated by having
higher width-to-length ratios and greater angles of
apertureinclination than the males.
The applicability of this principle to the volutes
was confirmed by Dr. Ruth Turner (1969:207) who
analysedthe shells of two Fusivoluta clarkei Rehder. the animalsof which were found to be males.
The principles evolved during theseinvestigations
were tested by the numerical method of sex determination on a pair of Festilyria africana Reeve.
These shells were beach worn which distorted their
originally pointed extremities more than their sides.
As a consequence the length was an unreliable
factor, and not used. The spire and whorl sideswere
only slightly worn, however, so that the comparative values of their angles of inclination were not
affected.
These parametersproduced two pairs of angles.
The bigger, reflecting a wider shell, denotesa female. Despite the wear and the resulting lack of
precision, the usefulnessof this methodto determine
sex is obvious.
94.5 = 42.4
4:s-
= 39.7
400
(distorted)
are conspecific,
By W.E.J. WALLES
119.0
3F
the morphometric parameters con-
tradict this. Being rational and objective, the latter
would seem to be the ultimate arbiter.
Admittedly the two most important factors length and width of the shells -
the
were not provided
in Weaver's report and consequently must be established by measuring the photos. The length could be
the case of the Richardsonspecimen,and ~
=
0.025 for Bledsoe's. In other words, the value for
Bledsoe'sis about half that of Richardson's.
I consider this to be a conclusive distinction,
disproving the claim of specificidentity .
An equally important parameteris the angle of
inclination of the spire. That of Bledsoe's shell is'
54° 31', indicating that it is a female. By way of
comparison,the F. festiva figured in Weaver's Living Volutes (Pl. 22:C.;D) has a spire inclination
angle of 50°. Being smaller, this would indicate a
male.
Both differ appreciably from Richardson's 61°
(64° when viewed from the ventral side, the differencebeing explainedby the tilting of the shell.)
Table A shows these differences in numerical
form.
My thanks are due to Wes Thorssonof Honolulu
for his pertinent observatiol1sand his constructive
criticism of the draft of this article.
j
':
determined within a small degree of error, but this
was not feasible with the width which should be
measured inside the knobs.
.."';
<:1J1at de <=me~ eHterpri~e-'
946 Aalph Avenue. B,ooklyn NewYo,k 11236 USA
Phone A,eo 1212)485-3550
The nuclear whorls were seen by Weaver as rep-
Outstanding quality and personal service on
worldwide specimen shells. Rarities are our
specialty. Free price list on request.
resenting one species. The photos, however, seem
to contradict this. The ratio of the whorl's diameter
(in mm) to the shell length IS about ~ = 0.049 in
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CONSOLATION PRIZES - one Cypraea aurantium and one Conus gloriamaris
CARFEL SHELL EXPORT
1786 A. Mabini Street
Malate, Manila, Philippines
Page8
HAW AllAN
November, 1979
SHELL NEWS
The species was discussedin a later article by
Kobelt (JDMG, v.7, p.80, pl.3, fig. 2, 1880). but
here again the species-group name was spelled
"Lobbeckei," both in the text and on the plate
explanation. Even had Kobelt spelled the name differently (HSN Aug. 1979) the original spelling, alt~ed to conform to the ICZN code ("loebbeckei")
would still stand, since there is no evidencein the
original publication of any inadvertenterror (Article
32 (a)(ii».
This, I judge, is essentially the same conclusion
reachedby Dr. Cernohorsky.
(Dr. Barry Roth is Senior Scientific Assistant for
Malacology in the California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco.)
SOME QUESTIONS
OF IDENTITY
REFUGIO - HELP! The color supplementwith
HSN Feb. 1979 included a Bursa species whose
identity Charles Wolfe left in doubt in his notes. In
his Shells of New Guinea and the Central IndoPacific (pages 12 and 13; fig. 24), Alan Hinton
shows what appearsto be the same shell, also unnamed.
Recently I acquired from Cebu an assortmentof
Photo: Martin
supposedlyPhilippine shells that included a specifindings in substantial numbers, the new brown men of the same unnamed species. It measures
By ELMER G. LEEHMAN
For the past year, reports have been coming from form appearsto be reaching U.S. dealersin limited 55mm and is in good condition except for an abCebu regarding a fantastic new brown-and-white quantities. (I believe the same is true in Europe; I radedprotoconch.
Has anyonehad any successin providing an I.D.
murex being collected near Davao, in the southern am not sure about Australia and the Far East.)
for
this shell? I certainly would appreciateany help.
Perhaps
significantly,
the
asking
price
in
retail
shops
Philippines. It has been widely touted as a new
E. L. Green
species(USN June 1979), although no description remains very high - far above what one would
Route 1, Box 40
had been published and there was disagreementas expectin the light of the numbersmentioned.
Refugio TX 78377
Possibly
this
reflects
the
prestige
enjoyed
by
M.
to its precisestatus.
Some excellent photos of this beautiful new loebbeckei, one of the rarest, most beautiful and
muricid have been circulating. including a number most costly of the muricids. But where the other
taken by HMS member Roger Martin of Cebu. A specimensare going is anybody's guess.
set was inspectedby Jerry Harasewych,murex specialist at the Delaware Museum of Natural History,
who took the position that the shell was not a new
species,but is a form of the extremely rare Murex
loebbeckeiKobelt. 1879.
By BARRY ROTH
SAN FRANCISCO - Noting the controversy
The latter species is occasionally found in the
Philippines. It usually is orange or pink, however, over the spelling of Murex loebbeckeiKobelt (HSN
whereasthe "stranger" tends to be brown or brown June 1979 and Aug. 1979), and having the
and white.
Jahrbucher der Deutschen Malakozoologischen
Now comes word that the brown form has been GeseUschaft(JDMG) in our departmentalshelves,I
fonnally describedas a new speciesby S. Kosugeof decidedto satisfy myself as to the correct speUing.
Japan, and named Pterynotus miyokoae, in the
The name was originally published (JDMG, v.6,
Bulletin of the Institute of Malacology, Tokyo.
p.78, 1879) as Murex (Pteronotus) Lobbeckei. The
I do not have the text of the description, so I
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature rehesitate to comment on Kosuge's work in any dequires (Article 28) that a species-groupname be
Photo: Oliver
tail. But I suspectthat there will be strongresistance
spelled with a lower-caseinitial letter and (Articles
to the proposed new species status, particularly
27, 32(c)(i» that an umlaut be deleted and the
since Harasewych'searlier opinion had been widely
letter e inserted after the affected vowel. Hence:
Peter Oliver of Sussex, England, recently obaccepted.
loebbeckei.
Personally,I prefer to call the "stranger" Murex
tained two bursids from Taiwan. As usual, the data
(Pterynotus) loebbeckei Kobelt forma Davao, in
Incidentally, the name was proposedin an article is very sketchy and Oliver has been unable to idenrecognition of the area to which the new shell, so jointly authoredby Lobbecke and Kobelt, although tify his shells. They are figured above.
the name is there attributed solely to Kobelt, Thus,
far, has beenrestricted.
They are golden on a white base with a white
A final anomaly: whatever its eventual specific the correct citation is: Murex loebbeckei Kobelt in aperture. Sizes are 63.5 x 41.5 x 30.8mm and
status, and despite reliable reports from Cebu of Lobbeckeand Kobelt.
66.5 x 40.0 x 30.4mm.
The Loebbecke
Legacy
Little Stranger
Bursas
HAWAllAN SHElL NEWS
November, 1979
Page9
Screwiest Murex
The Terebrids of
American Samoa
CAPIT AUlA TION
OF SPECIES NAMES
By BOB PURTYMUN
PLEASANTON, CA - During my fifteen
NEPTUNE,
By JERRY WALLS
NJ - May I offer two comments on
Dr. Alan Kohn's review (USN Sept. 1979) of my
months on Tutuila, American Samoa, I was able to
collect 24 terebrid species, even though the island
has little natural habitat for the family.
Cone SheDs?
I. Kohn
noted that a "disconcertingly
large
number" of species names begin with capital letters.
These were original spellings, not typographical er-
The key to survival is in the sandy bottoms of the
many borrow pits along the south shore, where coral
has been excavatedfor building. Almost all of my
collecting in thesetbree to six-meter-deepman-made
habitatswas done at night using scuba.
rors. Until this ceatury it was standard procedure to
capitalize nouns and certain other words in scientific
names. A synonyPl should give the original name as
the describer gave it, whether correct under modern
rules or not.
Tutuila is a young island, geologically speaking,
and has not yet formed the extensivenatural shallow
sand-bottom areas necessary to support a large
terebra population. The sand offshore, ten to 40
meters deep, is of poor consistency. Records for
greater depths were not compiled, as no dredging
was done.
Of the 24 speciesbrought up only six could be
called common. The majority ranged from uncommon to unique. Sizes, in general, were small as is
noted in the following list.
Terebridae of Tutuila Island, American Samoa
Collected in 1975 and 1976
Terebra affinis Gray, 1834, very common, to
43mm.
T. amoena Deshayes, 1859. Two collected, to
28mm.
T. areolata (Link, 1807). Approximately 30 collected, to 108mm.
T. argus Hinds, 1844. Ten collected, to 78mm.
T. babylonia
7Omm.
Lamarck,
1822.
Very
common,
.
to
T. cerithina Lamarck, 1822. Thirteen collected,
to 53mm.
T. cingulifera Lamarck, 1822. Very common, to
72mm.
T. columellaris Hinds, 1844. Seventeen collected, to 45mm.
T. conspersa Hinds, 1844. Seven collected, to
32mm.
T. crenulata
103mm.
(Linne,
1758). Seven collected, to
T. dimidiata (Linne, 1758). Very common, to
114mm.
T. felina (Dillwyn, 1817). Tbree collected, to
53mm.
T. fijiensis (E. A. Smith, 1873). Four collected,
to 21mm.
T. flavescens Deshayes, 1859. Five collected, to
34mm.
T. flavofasciata Pilsbry, 1921. One collected, to
19mm.
T. guttata (Roeding, 1798). Uncommon, to
117mm.
T. kilburni
34mm.
R. D. Burch, 1965. One collected, to
T. maculata (Linne, 1758). Fairly common. Averagesize l20mm.
T. nebulosa Sowerby, 1825. Nine collected, to
71mm.
T. paucistriata (E. A. Smith, 1873). Eighteen
collected, to 33mm.
T. subulata (Linne, 1767). Common, to 119mm.
T. undulata Gray, 1834. Uncommon, to 5Omm.
Hastula laura (Pease, 1869). Four collected, to
2Omm.
H. strigilata (Linne, 1758). One collected, to
2Omm.
2. The lectotype
designations
for the Hwass
names and others are based on my interpretation of
Articles 73 and 74 of the ICZN Code. Whenever a
describer mentioned not only specimens but cited
figures from the literature, the figures have the same
,
status as the specimens. One cannot make the asHMS member Cid Derry of Fullerton, CA recent-
ly acquired
what he describes
screwiest specimen"
of Murex
as "the
world's
zambo; Burch &
Burch. The shell measures 69mm. The completely
uncoiled teleconch is over 2Omm. The whole is dark
yellow and white. The very erect lip of the aperture
has black vertical stripes.
Derry got the shell on a buying trip to the Philippines, where it presumably was found.
E.G.L.
Keep Your Cowries
Cowry shells have been called the jewels of the
molluscan world. Primitive man would be the first
to agree.
He usedthem as money from the earliesttimes and still does in some isolated backwatersin Africa
and Australasia. He stitched them to his ceremonial
masks and headdresses,used them to decorate his
boats and totems, and draped them on his person in
strings of necklacesand belts, a practice probably
stemming from the fact that to early peoples these
shells symbolizedsex and life eternal.
Ancient Egyptians put cowries over the eyes of
their mummies to guaranteesight in the hereafter.
Even today in parts of Asia mothers-to-be will
clench a cowry in each hand to ease the pains of
childbirth.
From the Shell Desk Diary for 1974
sumption offuand that a specimen in a collection is
the holotype.
Hwass usually cited several figures in his original
descriptions and did not specify that his new taxa
were based solely on specimens examined. Thus the
specimen(s) and figure(s) cited have equal status as
co-types. No holotype can be designated in such a
situation, only a lectotype.
The placement of the color plates in the book
relative to the text was due to printing imperatives
and beyond the control of the author or the
publisher, for that matter .
Incidentally,
I agree completely with Dr. Kohn's
final sentence: "This book will be quite useful but
...
it is hardly the last word."
Cone SheDs was
intended to focus attention on cones and their problems, and to serve as an incentive to further work.
It is not the last work on the subject.
Dr. Kahn Responds
SEATTLE - Walls' interpretationof Articles 73
and 74 is quite correct; previously publisheddescriptions and figures cited in synonymies have equal
status with specimensas cotypes(the preferredterm
nowadaysis 'syntypes').
However, in this caseit is logically impossibleto
ascribe the speciesto Hwass, as Walls does in his
book, and consider these cited specimensas syntypes. It has been known since 1792 (Bruguiere,
Enc. Meth., p. 598; Clench, Johnsonia, 1(6): 3,
1942; Kohn, Pacific Science, 13: 369, 1959) that
Hwass named the species,preparedthe Latin diagMiscellaneousdive magazines.Will sell or trade noses and possessedthe specimens (now in the
for shells. Back issues for many years and many Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, Geneva). Bruguiere
titles. Write for list. E. R. CROSS, P. O. Box 212, later addedthe synonymiesand Frenchdescriptions.
Pearl City, Hawaii 96782.
Therefore, if the namesare attributed to Hwass,
as is now generally accepted,the figured specimens
For sale: Collection of antique shell postcards in the synonymies of Bruguiere cannot be consid$100 or best offer. D. E. Rowland, Jr., 1625 E. ered syntypes.
Alan J. Kohn
Maple Ave., No.3, El Segundo,CA 90245.
PERSONAL ADS
Conus bengalensisof various sizes, all gem and
good bargains.Send offers and approx. size wanted
to Alexander Keen, Haus am See, Lenzerheide
7078, Switzerland.
Use HSN Personal Ads. Three dollars per 25
words, plus name and address. Dealers please use
display ads. One time only!
SouthAustralian Marine Specimens
POBox 362, Blackwood, 5051, 5th Aus!
We specialise in specimen quality
Southern Australian shells.
Special orders under1aken for
specimens and photographs.
Dealers orders welcome.
Write for free price list.
Page:10
HAWAIIAN
'"
"My First Shell"
CULVER CITY
-
November. 1979
SHELL NEWS
SHELLS FOR SALE
A born pack-rat, I cannot
r~all the first shell I actually took home. But the
beginning of my serious collecting came on a
R. L. Aitken, stationed near Tokyo, offers a Januaryafternoonin 1976, during a year or work in
Tanzaniain East Africa.
variety of shells - including Latiaxus japonicus,
I was in Dar-es-Salaamfor a few days and had
L. mawae, L. pagodus, Murex pinnatus, M.
anatomicus, M. aculeatus, Vol uta hirasei, and been dropped on an island for some underwater
Spondylus barba/us - in exchangefor worldwide sightseeing. After I. had been paddling around in
shells. He is particularly interested in South and two or three meters of water for some time, my
Central American species.His addressis PSC Box eyes began to pick out shapeson the bottom. Soon
both handswere full of algae and barnacle-encrusted
3709, APO SanFrancisco96328 (Japan)
shells.
*
*
*
Presently I spied a clean, somewhat cylindrical
Through long-time HMS member SpencerTinker shell, mottled pinkish-white and about IOcm long,
come the two following exchange offers. From in eel grass..I dove for it, dropping s()m~ of my
Alffoo Xuereb, "Jennifer," Liedna Street, Fgura, former captives in the process. I had given no
Malta:
thought to a collecting bag when I set out and was
"I am interestedto exchangeor buy a Hawaiian
now faced with the problem of how to get my
Cypraea tigris schilderana - 12Ommor better, if
treasuresback to shore.
possible.1 am also interestedabout all the Hawaiian
I liberated several, but still had more than I could
shells. 1 offer the following Malta shells in excarry in my hands and suspectedthat I might find
change: Cypraea lurida, C. spurca, C. pyrum,
still more before I reached the beach. After some
Murex trunculus, M. brandaris, Thais maemas- considerationI stuffed the lot into my bathing suit.
toma, Phallium undulatum, Glycymeris violecesTo this day I am not certain what else I found on
cens, Venericardia anticuata and Conus medithat trip. I was not labeling shells in those days. But
terraneus."
I clearly remember my first Conus geographus Andrezej Samek, 31-271 Krakow, Krow. Zuchow
freshly dead, lucky for me!
25ml3, Poland, a collector of cones and cowries, is
Bronco Quick
author of the' 'first and only book in Polish on
seashells." He is looking for exchanges,and offers
Aporrhais occidentalis, Murex brandaris, Trunculariopsis trunculus,
Columella
rustica,
More than 4,000 books and 91,000 shorter works
Cerithium vulgatus, Spondylus geoderopus and have been devoted to shells since the invention of
the printing press. Philippo Buonanni, a Jesuit
various Baltic specimens.
priest, published the first extensively illustrated
book on shells in Rome in 1681, calling it Recreation for the Eyes and the Mind. . . through the
Study of Shells.
The first semipopular book on conchology was
A resident of Brisbane and an early member of
written in 1742 by the Frenchman, Argenville.
HMS, Alex Scheleshoff, has resumed his early
Edgar Allen Poe had probably the saddestexperiinterestin shells.
encein the history of shell books when he agreedto
"Can you put me on the right track to obtain write the foreword for a textbook by an Englishman,
addressesof worldwide shell dealers and persons Thomas Brown. To boost sales, the American publisher attributed authorshipto the popular Edgar Alinterestedin exchanges," he writes. "My general Ien. The literary world rose in rage to accusepoor
interest is in the Cypraeidae, Conidae, Turridae, Poe of plagiarism.
From the Shell Desk Diary for 1974
Terebridae, Volutidae, Mitridae and Olividae."
Write him at 43 Arras Street, Y eronge Brisbane
4104, Qld, Australia.
Yea Der Enterprise Co., Ltd.
P. o. Box 456, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Fine and Rare SpecimenShells
Cut mother-of-pearl,Decorativeshells,
Sharkjaws, Shark teeth and Shell craft.
Write for free lists
Tel. 2814438 . 2114438
Retail and Wholesale
The First Shell Book
Specializing in Hawaiian Molluscs
HAWAIIANISLANDSSPECIMEN
SHELLS
and MUSEUM
,
-..r
54-040 Kam Highway
Hauula (Oahu), HI 96717
P. O. Box 616
Tel.: 808-293-8682
Wonderful Worldwide Selection: Write for Ust
THERSITES
Post Office Box 44
Burnside, South Australia 5066
SPECIALISTS IN AUSTRALIAN SHELLS
AT COMPETITIVE PRICES
FREE LISTS
Would you like to own a shell from a famous
collection? We have many fine to gem common
species still available from Crawford Cate or
Marguerite Stix Collections. No catalogues!
Send us $10 and your preferred species. Depending on availability we will send you a package containing from one to five specimens first requests get original Cate or Stix data slips
-later
get xerox copies. Satisfaction Guaran-
teed.
~
22762 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, California 90265
Phone 213/456-2551
November, 1979
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page11
SHELL SHOW (Cont'd from Page 1)
the shell was a gem specimenwith a whole protoconch and a deepblack aperturerim.
In the casenext to Johnson'strophy was another,
slightly larger T. melanostoma displayed by Andy
Butler. It had been found crabbednear Mahukona,
Hawaii. Butler receiveda ribbon for his shell.
A complete list of winners is printed separately.
Note that recognition is on three levels: Superior
exhibit, Meritorious and Honorable.
In addition to the displays listed, a number of
noncompetitive exhibits were prepared and set up.
They added greatly to the attractivenessand the
successof the show.
Among them I must mention the Burch family's
"Marine Shells of Japan" and 'The Janthina," the
former augmentedby a set of very clever origami
(folded paper) birds and beasts. Tom Burch set up
photos and drawings of deep-water trawling for
"pelagic molluscs" (cephalopods).
Andy Adams showed some excellent color enlargements of H'awaiian mitrids, attractively
mounted. Dr. Tom Richert brought together a collection of the large and small of Hawaiian species,
while Dave and Matllyrt Amette produced1in informative set of shells, photos and drawings dealing
with Determinationof Cowry Species.
Two live-shell aquariums were set up. Olive
Schoenbergshowed her pet Conus textile (the tank
was labelled, "Caution! Poison Cone!" to the delight of younger visitors.) And Andy Adams had a
live Charonia tritonis in a tank with a crown-ofthorns starfish on which it was supposedto feed.
The triton studiously ignored it throughout the
show.
Space doesn't permit me to mention all the
noncompetitivedisplays. I must say a word of appreciation, however, for the efforts of Jose Villanueva and his sons, Joe Jr. and Marc, who filled
severalcaseswith excellent generaldisplays.
George Campbell was in charge of recruiting
show' 'sitters." He arranged a schedule that gave
everyone a chance to assist in the running of an
extremely successfulshow.
As president of the Society, I say Mahalo Nui
Loa to all who participated.
It's members who make it a success, and here are a few who helped. Left, Inkie Shields and Jose
Villanueva; with magnifying glasses,Ray McKinsey and Wes Thorsson(right) eyeball a handful of microshells offered by a visitor. Bonom, with ill-disguised disgust, Mary Jane Schlick, George Campbell and
Olive Schoenbergcontemplatea harp shell that failed to ,survivein one of the saltwater aquariums.
HMS Shell Show Winners
ABCDE-
Competitor
Smithsonian
Burch
Cross
duPont
Shellof Show
Award
S - Superior
M - Meritorious
H - Honorable
P - Most PopularDisplay
Theme
Scott Johnson- A S - Hawaiian Nudibranchs
Herbert Hirota & StanleyJazwinski- B S
The Hawaiian Terebrids
Dick Van Horn - M - Strombusof Hawaii
Benjamin Kam - tie, C M - Cypraea
Ed Dunham- H - World Pectens
Bernard Stanfield- D-S-P - FabulousFreaks
Dave Arnette & Bernard Stanfield - H
Super Cypraea
Richard Rogers- M - Kaleidoscopeof Cones
StephenKempf - S - NudibranchResearch
ChristopherHo - M - Cypraea
Chris Takahashi- H
Hawaiian endemics, subspecies, variations &
forms
Scott Johnson- E M
Tonna melanostomaand fossil Pecten
Chris Takahashi- S
Snorkling for Hawaiian Cones& Cowries
-
Keith Zeilinger & Loren Wilson
H
Rare Hawaiian Shells from Corraline Algae
Habitat
Ed Dunham- M - "The Reef Walker"
Monique Arnette - tie, C S - Poison Cones
Carlen and JeanneArnette - M - The Shell Game
Marc Villanueva - M - SeaJewels
JoseVillanueva, Jr. - M - Gems of the Ocean
JoseVillanueva, Jr. - H - Wondersof the Deep
Mr. & Mrs. StewartArmington - H
A Shell Collector's Dream ComesTrue
AndersonButler - H - Tonna melanostoma
Marilyn Arnette - H - Murex pele
Keith Zeilinger & Loren Wilson - M
Murex pele
StanleyJazwinski- M
Conus Feeding (C. pennaceus eating Cypraea
caputserpentis)
Richard Rogers- M - Shell Illustrations
NONCOMPETITIVE
Vexillum of the World- Andy Adams
GeneralDisplay - Villanueva
Land Shells - Bunnie Cook
Qub Book Display - Wes Thorsson
Pectens- Karen Rohter
Marine Shells of Japan- B. Burch
Janthina- B. Burch
Large and Small in Locally CollectedShells
~
Tom Richert
Determinationof CypraeaSpecies
Dave Arnette
~
Aquarium Conustextile& food
~
~
Olive Schoenberg
Aquarium - Charonia tritonis Mitridae
-
Adams
PelagicMollusks
Mounted
-
Andy Adams
Photos
Photos& Info -
-
Andy
Tom Burch
HAW AllAN
Page 12
November, 1979
SHELL NEWS
'Nomenclatural Straitjacket': Thoughts on ICZN
Rare Strombus
By CHARLES CARDIN
The Hawaiian Malacological Society did a great
deed for the collecting world by establishing the
HMS International Shell Grading Standards. Although the product was resistedby some, by now at
least 99 per cent of the collectors and dealershave
come to acceptthe HMS-ISGS.
The Society now should work to carry out another
important reform for the benefit of shellers. I refer
to the proposal put forward by Philippe Bouchet,
curator of molluscs at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris (HSN July 1979), to permit
recognizing and naming forms of shells without direct referenceto the ICZN rules.
(Bouchet suggesteda parallel with the practice
in naming plants, "for which there exist two
different codes:
"a. The International Code of Botanical
Nomenclature, used by professional and
amateurbotaniststo name new speciesof wild
plants;
"b. The International Code of Nomenclature
of Cultivated Plants, used mainly by horticulturalists to name the various morphs and cultivars of popular flowers. . . .' ')
I am not (yet) the busiest shell dealer in the
world, but I do get vibrations from a lot of people.
From the feedback, I feel qualified to say that I
know what the majority of collectors are looking
for.
The most important rationalization for spending
money on shells is the scientific approachto collecting. But we all know that most people who say they
collect scientifically just plain like shells because
they are beautiful. In this respect, they are just like
flower lovers and butterfly collectors.
Too many shell groups, however, are (or at least
professto be) "science" oriented. Their leadersare
scornful of the casual shell lover who must use the
popular name for a species.An even worse sin is to
put a name on a geographicalvariation or a color
morpho I believe that this point of view leads in
preciselythe wrong direction.
Amateur collectors must be lifted from this unrealistic rut. And the professionals(I agree that it
sometimesis difficult to separatethe two classes)
have got to realize that shells (as opposed to biology, systematicsand the more esotericbranchesof
science)are for the collectors.
We need to make the naming of minor variations
of form and color' 'in style." Just as we gladly
accept a common unlatinized name for a beautiful
color form of a flower, let us begin to adopt familiar terms for subspecificshells.
Whatever they may say, most collectors spend
money on shells becausethey are beautiful. They
are ready to pay extra for gem specimens,which are
no more "scientific" than a decentbeachspecimen.
They cherish unusual color forms and abnormal
shapes.Why should we insist on fitting them into
the same nomenclaturestraitjacket that the professionals wear?
As thin~s stand now, form and variation names
have no standing under the ICZN. To win recognition for a "new" shell (which the discoverer himself may secretly suspectis merely an old speciesin
different dress), it is necessaryto "prove" that it
representsa new species.The result is a cheapening
of the word "species" and the creation of professional splitters whose function is to describe and
publish new shells.
I urge the Hawaiian Malacological Society to take
the lead in devising a code of names for the lower
ranking focms and variations that will, on the one
hand, liberate amateur collectors from the oftenabsurd rigidity of the scientific system, and, on the
other, free the professionals from the ludicrous
lumper-splitter squabblesthat periodically wrack the
shell world.
ICZN and the "New" Shells
Strombus helli
Photo: Schoenberg
Strombus helli Kiener, 1843, is uncommonly
found in sand, rubble, and low growing weed
My correspondencewith shell collectors has been
full of "new shell names" in recent months. Obvi- patches from about 70 feet out to more than 200
ously the cognoscentirecognize that many do not feet. It is rare when a scuba diver finds one alive.
deserveto be taken seriously but it is difficult to Most are taken by dredging. They have "blooms"
ignore them. Under the present rules of the Interas do other shells; 1979 is not one of these years.
national Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
This one was found off Waikiki in 1972.
(ICZN) thesenameshave full standing.
"Anyone with a minimal knowledgeof shells and
S. helli, closely related to S. haemastomaSowaccessto a printing presscan proposeand describea erby, is endemic to the Hawaiian chain. The one in
new species," commentedone friend.
What he said is sadly true. And the "new spe- the photo is 22mm, averagesize.
o. S.
cies" is just as valid as a genuine speciespublished
by the most prestigeousscientific journal. No wonder the current rash of naming is the subject of such
seriousdiscussion.
As a serious collector I am disturbedby the continuing silence of the top U.S. malacological scienResponses and comments on reports in Hawaiian
tists on the problem, from which they must be
suffering just as surely as we amateursare. I cannot Shell News have an interesting way of trickling in over
help wondering whether they brought this critical
a period of months or even years. A good instance
situation to the attention of the ICZN when it met
involves the unidentified volute that I described and
earlier this year?
Granted that the ICZN is "not set up as an en- figured in HSN July 1977. It had been dredged from
forcementagency," as has been pointed out, but the deep water off Dakar, West Africa.
situation would certainly justify a special meeting of
the Malacological Committee of the ICZN. I am
Among the dozen or more responses, only two confident that numerous American collectors and
one from Bob Morrison of Sarasota, FL and the other
dealerswould help to meetthe cost.
Unique conditions exist in the field of malacology from Steve Oxberry in Ontario - agreed.
from which other branchesof zoology are free. For
one thing, it is doubtful whether any other enjoys
The specimen was Voluta ebraea Linne, 1758, they
the very numerous worldwide body of relatively
advanced participants that malacology does. Their told me. After some more research, I agree with them.
problems and their role in the science should be
recognized,rather than ignored or deplored.
Few volute collectors (and I was not among them!)
At the very least, the rules should be amendedto are aware that V. ebraea and V. musica - regarded as
designate specific periodicals qualified to disseminate valid descriptions. Such publications would South American species - can occasionally be found
have at least one qualified malacologiston the staff. off West Africa. Maxwell Smith in his Review of
I point to the system of peer review developedby the Volutidae confirmed this fact.
Th.. V..lio..r
model for
. ---e-- ".
- "- nn..ihle
r
-- all scientific
periodicals.
But action soon is imperative. The ICZN code i
becoming an object of ridicule. Let's get somethin
donebefore it is too late.
By ELMER G. LEEHMAN
It was V. ebraea