shells dredged at Mina Qaboos had only been found previously at

SHELL
Clamshelldredgeat Mina Qaboos.Sultanateof Oman and a dredgeload of slK'il.
By BILL
CHARTER*
Mina Qaboos, the premier seaport in the Sultanate
of Oman, lies adjacent to the capital city, Muscat,
on the southern shore of the Gulf of Oman,
During the fall of 1987, a small area of the port
(less than 100 meters square) was dredged from a
depth of about 31h meters to a depth of 5 meters,
Clamshell dredges removed 7,000 cubic meters of
spoil which were transported by barge and dumped
in deep water clear of the port entrance.
The bottom was gray muddy silt overlying compacted gravel. It seemed unlikely that such unattractive and sometimes evil-smelling
material could pos-
sibly harbor any form of marine life. Close examination, however, ~howed .it was the ~raveyard of a
startling number and variety of marine mollusks,
many classified as "rare."
Most of the shells are in the local "bible" for
shell collectors - Seashells of Oman, by Donald
and Eloise Bosch (HSN June 1983). Some remarkable surprises were revealed when the location and
the number of each species we found was related to
the distribution
and rarity given in Bosch. Many
10, CheltenhamCrescent, Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire POI3
9HHH, England.
Photo: Charter
shells dredgedat Mina Qabooshad only been found
previously at Masirah Island, some 400 kilometers
down the coast, and some were "rare," even at
Masirah. Finds that gave particular pleasure were
Latirus bonnieae, named after the Bosch's daughter
Bonnie, and Harpa ventricosa - albeit only 67
As mentioned earlier, the area dredged was a
graveyard,and with only two exceptions- one of
which was a lovely Cypraea grayana of 75 mm -
millimeters!
The rarity values given in Bosch may need some
revision. For example, Conus generalis maldivus
were plentiful although describedas "uncommon"
at Masirah and "rare" at Muscat. The so called
"uncommon" Conus quercinus, Conus tessulatus
and C. betulinus were common, particularly C. betulinus.
Sizes of shells recovered were also interesting.
Those given in Bosch are the largestthey had found
at the time of going to press. Some of the shells
found at Mina Qaboos were records by that standard, notably a Conus terebra thomasi of 90 mm, a
Conus textile of 125 mm, a Ficus subintermedia of
87 mm, and the common Turritella cochlea of
105 mm.
Even more exciting were the shells (table 2) not
listed in Bosch. Donald Bosch and Kathleen Smythe
helped in identifying these shells. Most are in Doreen Sharabati's Red Sea Shells. These are an extensioninto the Gulf of Oman.
were in good condition, notably Conus betulinus
and C. quercinus; others were in poor shape,particularly Conus vexillum and C. terebra thomasi.
All cowries recoveredwere in poor condition except
one Cypraea annulus of 30 mm which might have
beencollected live.
I spent seventeen afternoons' 'trudging the
sludge" on the dredgebarge. The earlier days were
the most rewarding, since most shells were on or
near the surfaceof the original bottom. As dredging
got deeper, the number and variety of shells fell off
to almost zero.
The entire exercisewas intensely interesting, indeed exciting, as rare shell after rare shell was
found in a location where they were previously unrecorded. Although the quality of specimenswas
generally poor and - from a collector's point of
view disappointing- the knowledge acquiredadds
all shells recovered were dead. Many were filled
with cemented sand making interior cleaning difficult. The exterior condition varied - some cones
significantly to the databankat the Natural History
Museumin Muscat, Sultanateof Oman.
(Cont'd on Page7)
~
Page 2
The Hawaiian Malacological Society awarded
cash prizes, certificates, and letters of commendation to eight junior and senior high school studentsat the 31st Hawaii StateScienceand Engineering Fair in Honolulu early in April. The money
came from a special fund establishedten years ago
by Mr. & Mrs. E. R. Cross.
The "big winner" was Phuoc Thieu Do, a
tenth-grade student at McKinley High School in
central Honolulu and a recent arrival from Southeast
Asia. His project was "Immunological and Biological Comparison of Toxic and Non-Toxic Shellfish," using samples of imported mollusks of
known toxicity.
To assurethe nontoxicity of his "control" shellfish (anotherbrand of imported meat), young Do ate
some himself. He felt no symptoms, he reported.
He received $50 in cash, plus an award certificate
and a letter of encouragementfrom the Society. A
comparableletter goes to his school and his teacher,
KatherineTaniguchi.
Cash awards also went to Jon Tokuhara ("The
Effect of Tidal Zones on Different-size Nerita
picea"), Deanna Akahoshi \'Micromolluscan
Assemblagesat Shallow Water Sites"), Randolph
Jose (' 'The Effects of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis in Plakobranchus ocellatus "), Daniel
Kurisu and PeterSeiokajointly ("Biological Control
ofCorbicula Clams"), and Janelle David and Ronlynn Sato jointly ("Does an Octopus have Fingerprints?").
Three of the winning studentswere invited to set
up their displays or make short reports on -thepr0jects at coming meetingsof the Society.
At HMS Auction
HAWAIIAN
SHELL ,NEWS
News, the Dealers' Bourse (spelled correctly this
time) will run in two sessions Friday, :1:1
November, from noon to 6 pm and again on Sunday,:13 November, from 10 am to 4 pm.
A number of Hawaii dealers and several from the
US Mainland have ex:pressed Interest in participating.
The HMS auction of specimen shells is set for
Saturday afternoon, 12 November, from I to 4 pm.
Table sales of less expensive shells will run from 1:1
am to 1 pm the sameday.
Judgesfor the show will be Dr. E. Alison Kay,
professor of zoology at the University of Hawaii,
author of Hawaiian Marine Shells, and science
advisor to Hawaiian Shell News; Walter Sage, Department of Invertebrates, American Museum of
Natural History in New York City; and Richard
Goldberg, veteran New York shell dealer and show
judge. The judge of the artistic and shellcraft display has not beenannounced.
WHERE'S EVERYBODY?
Wouldn't it be nice to have a current addressfor
that peripatetic HMS member O.K. McCausland?
For a man who has to work for a living, Oily does
an awful lot of traveling.
Olive Schoenbergin Honolulu recently received a
letter posted in Thailand. .It reportedthe completion
of McCausland'sjob in Sri Lanka last August, followed by five weeks in Sumatra, and then a season
of waiting in Thailand for his next assignment.At
the time of writing, .he was still waiting. By June he
expectsto be in Indonesia,or San Francisco,or still
in Bangkok, or somewhereelse.
;But no current address. Watch this space for
further developments.
In a different trajectory, HMS member Rose Killam of Vancouver, 'B.C. left in April for Hong
Kong to begin a month's tour of Mainland China.
On its conclusion, she hopes10 visit Phuket, Thailand and then points in Australia. Her ex:pedition,is
expectedto take about three months.
A few months back the HMS 1988 Shell Show
and Auction Committee sent letters to some longstanding Society members, advancedcollectors and
shell dealers, asking for donations of auctionable
specimens.The responsehas been good, and the
WHAT! SEALS POLLUTE?
flow is continuing, according to Trudi Ernst, the
Pollution by seals has Tesulted in ..'decercommittee's "den mother."
The letter, signed by the 1987 HMS president, tification"
of lihell beds in Puget Sound,
mentioned that the three-day show-and-auction Washington, according to a recent report in Naschedulewill include salesby dealers- the institu- tional Fisherman. The sealsdo not feed or breed in
tion often called a "bourse:' The severalcommittee the oyster bays but apparentlymerely come to Telax
members somehow failed to notice that the event and "enjoy the scenery." A herd of 200 seals,
was called a "borsch!"
which is common, deposit about 190 pounds of
"Bortsch is a beet soup," long.time HMS fecesin the water each day.
memberJeanCate of Rancho SantaFe, CA pointed
10 the past it was thought that fecal coliform
out in her response."'.But thanksfor the smile. This bacteria contamination -(which signals ,the
is how proofreadersget their kicks!"
Washington State Departmentof Ecology to decerMrs. Cate should know. She has been writiI\g, tify an area) came from runoff from farms and
editiI\g and proofreading malacological publications malfunctioning septic systems. Recent studies have
for years.
shown that pollution by sealsis also important.
June, 1988
~
June, 1.988
HA WAIlAN
Helicostyla butleri gravida (Kobelt, 1910) from northern BenguetProvince.
10..HELICOSTYLA
BUTLERI
(KOBELT,1910)
Helicostyla butleri gravida,
GRAVIDA
like H. libata [HSN
January 1988 p 9], can be found in two sizes: large
and small.
The large
snails,
averaging
about
74 mm, are found at isolated mountainous areas at
about 8,000 feet, near Lepanto, northern Benguet.
The small
snails,
measuring
Alotos: Barnett
11. HELICOSTYLA MONTANA (SEMPER,
[CONTINUED]
By JAMES L. BARNETT*
about 44 mm, are
found at elevations of about 6,000 feet near the
large town of La Trinidad.. central Benguet. [See
map HSN October 1987 p 13.]
The body of the snail is light brown throughout,
Page 3
SHELL NEWS
1877)
Helicostyla montana is one of the smallestof the
mountain Helicostyla, averaging around 63 mm in
length. The body of the snail is slightly pebbled,
and is a light brown, darkening near the head. The
tentacles are medium brown, with lighter tips and
black eyes. The bodies of some snails are darker
than others; and, when this is the case, the shells
are also somewhatdarker.
Helicostyla montana is nearly always found in
isolated mountain areas and is seldom found near
population centers. It has been collected only in
mountains at about 8,000 feet in northern Benguet
and in Ifilgao provinces. In their mountain homes
the snails station themselveson large trees at about
15 to 20 feet, in clusters on both tree trunks and
lower branches.In a terrarium, the snails climb to
the highest possible point, affix themselvesthere.
and usually remain stationaryuntil they die.
The shell of H. montana is small, averaging
about 28 mm. The shells are more elongated and
rougher than the other mountain Helicostyla. The
usual color is light or medium brown, lighter on
top. Some varieties are solid brown; others are
marked with a single light brown band of hydrophanousperiostracumjust below the periphery; and
other forms are much more heavily marked with
hydrophanousperiostracumon the final whorl. The
outer lip and the outer edge of the white columella
are coveredwith dark brown.
12, ACHATINA FUUCA (BOWDlCH, 1822)
In size, A. fulica is almost equal to Helicobulinus vidali [HSN November 1987 p 7], averaging about 104 rom. A. fulica, however, is a wider
snail with foot widths up to 50 mm. Almost all of
the body is black, with only the tentaclesbeing dark
brown. The entire body is heavily grained,and there
are deep, oddly placed indentationsat the edge of
the wide, flat foot. About one week after birth, the
snail's body is medium gray, with lighter tentacles,
and are about sevenrom in length. The shell, which
is about five rom long is round, glassy and translucent, is coveredwith black and white spots.
Ackatina fulica was introduced into the Philippines in 1942, reputedly as a food supplementfor
the JapaneseArmy. Today, they can be found in
great quantities around populatedplaces throughout
the mountains of northern Luzon. They are not
known from higher elevationsbut are usually found
(Cont'd on Page9)
but with near-black tentacles. The body texture is
comparatively smooth, and just slightly pebbled. In
the mountains H. butleri gravida,
is usually found
at rest on large trees and on the leaves of large
mountain
gravida,
plants.
In the terrarium,
H.
like the closely-related H. butleri
butleri
[HSN
January 1988 p 9]' and H. libata [same page].. station themselves at the highest point possible, and
move about little.
The shell of the large form is elongated.. but the
shell of the small form is blunt and flattened at the
top. Both shells have well-rounded
The background color is red-brown,
body whorls.
with purple
early whorls and with yellow bands at the suture,
just below the periphery and on the base. There is a
dark brown band at the umbilicus, and the columella
and the outer lip are shiny white. The shells range
,
in size from 24 to 38 mm.
'No current addressavailable. HMS memberJamesBarnett
reports he is leaving the Philippines and returning to the
United States.
Helicosty/a montana (Semper. \.877)from northernBenguetProvince.
Page 4
HAWAIIAN
June, 1988
SHELL NEWS
By AURORA RICHARDS*
Roland Houart has chosento set up his home and
dedicate his leisure time to the study of Muricidae
in a peaceful and picturesquevillage north of Louvain, the famousUniversity town in Belgium.
As a teen-ager,after taking over a budding collection from his elder brother, he developed a keen
interest in mollusks. Muricidae appealed to him
more than any other family but, he soon ran into
identification problems. Houart realized that if he
wanted the right answers, he had to do in-depth
researchhimself.
4. Siphonochelus (Laevityphis) tillierae Houart, 1985.
New Caledoniafrom 350 m.
I. Homalocontho dovpeledi Houart, 1982. E1at, Red Sea
from 45 m on sand
5. Nipponotrophon regina Houart, 1985. Philippines from
682-770 m.
Portrait of Roland Houart, at his home, July 1987.
Photo: Richards.
2. Favartia paulboschi Smythe & Houart, 1984. Dhuwwah, Masirah, Oman.
Houart
Emily
has no formal
scientific
Vokes of Tulane University,
training.
Dr.
New Orleans,
one of the world's leading experts on muricids, put
it: . 'He labors among molluscs for the sheer joy of
it . . . and he does not get paid for it!"
An inspec-
tor of schools for the Belgian Ministry of Education,
Houart has a full time job, but one that leaves him
enough time to delve into the mysteries of maIacology as a dedicated amateur.
It took only a few years to assemble a vast and
comprehensive library
of reference literature pub-
lished on muricids. Houart became acquainted with
Dr. Emily
Vokes in 1971, when he acquired her
book on Murex classification.
beginning
This contact was the
of a generous and fruitful
friendship;
Emily Vokes appreciates Houart's qualities and con(Cont'd
3. Thyphis (Typhina) virginae Houart, 1985. South of
New Caledoniafrom 425-430m.
on Page 5)
*Box 417, Kimbe, West New Britain, PapuaNew Guinea
6. Trophon purdyae Houart, 1983. Trawled from Eastern
Cape Province, South Africa.
June, 1988
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page 5
(Cont'd from Page4)
stantly encourageshim with her guidance and advice. She visited him at his home in July 1984
[HSN April 1985], and since then they often work
on speciesin close cooperation.Houart also receives
fri~ndly support from professorBen Tursch (Universite Libre de Bruxelles) who worked in PapuaNew
Guinea for many years. Many other professional
malacologistsin the United States,Europeand Australia keep in touch also; Houart gratefully acknowledgesthem all.
Roland Houart is now a scientific collaborator to
the Royal Institute of Natural History of Belgium.
As such, he has accessto holotypessent on loan by
other museums. Collectors from all countries send
him study material, field observation data, and
many specimensfor identification. When an undescribed speciesturns up, more specimenshave to be
found; this can be difficult with deep water species.
One specimenmay be enough for a description, but
7. Apixystuskilbumi Houart,1987.Transkei,SouthAfrica in certain genera a range of specimensis indisfrom 150-160m.
.
pensablefor comparatIvestudy.
Between 1979 and 1986 Houart described45 new
speciesand one genus, Ponderia. He describedhis
first Murex as Chicoreus subtilis in 1977 but, becauseDr. Shikamaof Japanhad describedthe same
species as Pterynotus orchidifloris
in 1973,
Houart's name cannot be used. Dr. Vokes says,
"Such are the perils of nomenclature."
A steadfastand dedicatedworker, Roland Houart
deservesour recognition and appreciation. He has
no time for other hobbies, no time for holidays. AIl
his trips abroadare to natural history museums.His
understandingwife patiently acceptsthe competition
of Muricidae in her husband'slife.
I once asked this prolific author whether he had
ever thought of compiling all his accumulated
knowledge into an easy reference book for lazy
collectors. With his natural gentlenessand genuine
modesty, Houart said. . . surely, surely he had
considered it! But not just yet, one day after he
8. Muricopsis (Risomurex) withrowi Vokes & Houart,
retires. . . as there is still a lot to do before then.
---
9. Trophon barnardi Houart, 1987. Cape St. Blaize. South
Africa from gut of fISh.
10. Ponderia abies Houart, 1986. Off Newcastle from
154-164m.
1986. Curncao,NetherlandsAntilles.
NOAA Launches
Undersea Habitat
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
recently placed an 81-ton undersea
laboratory, Aquarius. with living and sleeping quarters at a Sa-foot depth on the sea floor of the Salt
River Canyon off St. Croix, the US Virgin Islands.
It is about the size of a small recreation vehicle.
The main chamber has laboratory equipment, computers, sleeping quarters and a modern galley.
Scientists will be able to live and work nearly indefinitely
at the bottom of the sea as they conduct
studies in physical oceanography, fisheries and marine engineering.
From The Retired Officer April 1988
11. Pterynotus (Pterynotus) richeri Houart, 1986. Nova
Seamount,Coral Seafrom 320 m.
Page 6
HAWAllAN
June, 1988
SHELL NEWS
WORLD SIZE RECORDS
Patronize HSN Advertisers
,(CONT.)
NUED)
This .list comprisesmore of the "',New Entries,.,' Conus praelatus ...
submittedfor use in the World Size Records Sl!P- Conus rogmartini
plement o'f Wagnerand Abbott's Standard Catalog Conus rufimaculosus
of Shells as of November .1987.
Conus samiae
.Individuals who believe they have record size Conus sazanka . ...
shells should have the measurement,confinned by a C'onus schepmani
professional malacologistor other approvedperson. Cvnus sculleti
"""""""""""""""""'"
Then send tire infonnation to RobeR J,L. Wagner, Conus sibogae .
19751S.W. 79th Ct., Miami, FL 33189.
.'C'onus sponsalis sponsalis
""""""""""""
SPECIES
Conusadvertex
,
Conus,aemulus
Conusaltispiratus
Conus attenuatus
Conusauratus
Conus balteatus
Conusbarthelemyi leehmani ..
Conus beddomei
Conus broderipii
Conus cancellatus
ConusconclJlor
Conus cumingii
Conus cuneolus
Conus dondani
Conusdorreensis
Conus duplicatus
Conus emaciatus
Conus eumitus
Conus eutrios
Conus excelsus
Conuseximius
Conusfloridus
Conus!ulgelrum
Conusfulmen
Conusfurvus
Conusgradatulus
Conus hyaena
Conus illawarra
Conusjickelii
Conus kerstichi
Conus lani
Conus lienardi
Conusluteus
""
Conus magellanicus ..
Conus magus (sinistral)
Conus miliaris
Conus moluccensis
Conus muriculatus
Conus Rutulis
Conus neptunus
Conus nigropunctatus ...
Conus nimbosus
Conus nobilis marchionatus
Conus nobilis victor ... ...
Conusochroleucus
Conus orion
Conus otohimeae
Conus parius ..
Conus parvulus
Conuspiperatus
'CENTlMETERS*
4.11
4.92
6:20
4.23
3..87
4..47
4:57
3.00
'Conus stercusmuscarum
6,49
.Cvnus stramineus
4.99
4.27
..Conus
subaequalis
"""""""""""""""
4.45
5.10
'Cvnussubulatus
4..75
.8(4'4
'Conus sugimotonis
10.07
3/41
'Conus sugimotonis vicdani
9..18
1'4.;19
ICon us tabidus
4,46
14::7.1
'Vanus terebrathomasi
,
7..70
;8164
'Vonustextilinus
3;80
B:40
IConustimorensis
432
'4.38
Conustyphon
'5:54
,4:971
'Conus villipini """"""""""""""""""""'"
7.75
'6.36
!Conusxanthicus
6.70
,4./43
'4.1'5 ~Oneinch 2:54 centemeters
l.'95
'4:58
71!6!l
:"5.i63
7,'66
""Since my diving partner had a case of bends last
17:90 ifall, we have been diving less, and shallower,"
10:21 ,re,ports Wes Thorsson of Honolulu. "This was the
:5;52 ..causeof my diving in shallow water off the Shera71,'69 It,," Waikiki Hotel and finding my very first Ha'4:00 'willian :Cypraea mariae Schilder, 1927 in 13-14 me'171:63 ;ters -my
first new shell in diving ina long time."
7.11
"The shell was 20.5 mm long, dead and juvenile,
7:08 :but ..in good condition. Only a small number of live
'6.73 C. mariae have been found here."
3;01
'-4,99
3;95
'4.89
4;49
4.30
2:70
'5166
3.67
5.26
5;59
5:04
6;92
4.60
5,40
6.76
6;47
,8A9
4.11
3.97
3.79
"Cypraeamariae Schilder, 1927. Specimenfrom Philippines
5:174 -not Hawaii.
Burch collection &pholo
,6.30
Recent Fi nd
...
7:5.2
HAWAIIAN
June, 1988
Page 7
SHELL NEWS
SHELL WEALTH OF MINA QABOOS
(Cont'd from Page 1)
TABLE 2
SHELLS NOT LISTED IN
SEASHELLS OF OMAN BY BOSCH
TABLE 1
SHELLS LISTED IN SEASHELLS OF OMAN BY BOSCH
Quan. Size3
Page' Name2
Normal Distribution'
Rarity and Remarks
Name
Masirah only
common
uncommon
uncommon
uncommon
rare
uncommonexceptat Masilrah
fairly common; None
collected; All very poor.
uncommon
uncommon
common
rare
both drilled.
uncommon
uncommon
uncommon
rare
very badly eroded
fairly common
common
uncommon
spire missing
relatively uncommon
rare
poor condition
fairly common
rare
rare
part only
I 60
3 26
Masirah. Quriyat only
Masirah only
uncommo spire missing
rare
11'5 Cancilla isabella
116 Harpa ventricosa
118 Cancellaria melanostoma
f20 CrassispiragrifFlthi
123 Conus tessulatus
1-24Conus ebraeus
125 Conus zeylanicus
1.26Conus achatinus
127 Conus generalis maldivus
2
1
4
5
#
I
I
I
#
Masirahonly
Masirah 'only
rare
rare
part only
rare
rare
uncommon
rare
uncommon
uncommon
uncommon(Mashirah);
rare (Muscat)
128 Conus inscriptus
rare
3 67
rare
# 55
10 90 (70) Muscat, Salalah, Masirah rare
fairly common
2 52
uncommon
# 71
rare
# 83
# 125 (120)
uncommon
# 126
uncommon
# 72
AI
J~ ~.
rare
41 Turritella
coclea
50 Rhinoclavis fasciata
59 Strombus gibberulus
62 Terebellum terebellum
63 Cypraea annulus
'64 'Cypraea caurica
68 Cypraeanebrites
#
'8
8
#
2
4
#
69 C;ypraeaocellata
69 Cypraeapulchra
71.2
iNalicaalapapilionis
72 Nlltica gualteriana
71.4
Neverita peselephanti
J6 Semicassisfaurotis
il9 CymatiumJrilineatum
'80 'Cymatium ranzanii
;~ Tvnna luteostoma
'87 Ficus subintennedia
89 Chicoreus ramosus
'95 Rapana bulbosa
97 'Coralliophila neritoidea
t01 ,Pisania ignea
108 ,Latirus bonnieae
11;2Mitra guttata
2
5
'5
2
8
4
4
1
4
3
1
#
1
1
I
1
,113Mitra mitra
114 Mitrapunctostriata
129 Conus vexillus
130 Conus terebra thomasi
130 Conus pennaceus
131 Conus quercinus
131 Conus striatus
131 Conus textile
131 Conus betulin us
132 Terebra cingulifera
139Pyramidellaacus
105 (55)
73
53
59
30
52
21
58
32 '(25)
16
49
'65 (60)
'80 (7Q)
160
78
8J (75)
125
82
34
33
59
40
43
67
36
37
60
24
47
4J
83 (70)
Salalah & Masirah
Muscat to Ras aI Hadd
Masirah only
Masirah only
Masirah only
Masirah only
Masirah only
Masirah only
'Pl!ge number in Bosch.
'Shells describedas "common" in Bosch are not listed unlessthey are of unusualsize.
)Maximum size collectedin milimeters. Figures in parenthesisare maximum size in Bosch when smaller.
'Normal Distribution is "general" in Bosch unlessstatedotherwise.
'Rarity value is that listed in Bosch.
6# indicates "olentiful"
2
6
Bufonaria echinata
Mitra fissurata
Reference
Size'
QuaD.'
Vexillum coronatum
#
Conus nussatella
Conus lividus
5
10
61
60
{50) Sharabatipi 25 f 5
37
(24) SharabatipI 27 f 7
56
57
(50) Harnlyn p 266-267
(45) Shaarabati pI 27 f6
Dentalium longitrorsum
#
97
'# indicates "plentiful"
'(on) indicatessize given by "REFERENCE"
UTERATURE CITED
Bosch, Donald & Bosch, Eloise. 1982. Seashellsof Oman,
LongmanGroup Ltd., London, 206 pp.
Oliver, A.P.H., 1975. The Hamlyn Guide to Shells of the
World, Hamlyn Publ. Group Ltd, Middlesex. England.
Sharabati, Doreen, 1984. Red Sea Shells, KPI Ltd, Boston.
Piliquaria
ponderosa Morch, 1860. "Fun or Marriage"
Photo: Roussy
Shelletter
CORDOBA,
ARGENTINA
I am a young shell collector and need help with
this delightful
hobby. Is there a listing of species
and other information that would assist me in learning more about the shells of this area? I would
appreciate any assistance that you can give me.
Daniel D'Alessandro
Rosario de Santa Fe 2630
5000 - Cordoba, Argentina
HAWAIIAN
Page 8
June. 1988
SHELL NEWS
OTHER SHELL CLUBS
SHELLS FOR SALE
NEW CARIBBEAN MOLLUSCAN FAUNAS
by E. J. Petuch (1987)
168 pages (8V2x 11" format). Over 100 new
species described and identified for the first time.
$38.50 (prepaid) plus $2.50 shipping & handling.
CERF Books, P. O. Box 8068
Charlottesville. VA 22906
-
WORLDWIDE SPECIMEN SHELLS
!
- -~ SelectQualit, Specimens
-' "
'"KnmtIi«lgeaNe &Courteow
Service",.
Write for Free Illustrated List
I c
f Richard Goldberg/Worldwid. Sprcimtn Shell, f'
dpo. Box /97. Frtm Mtadow,.N.>C.//965.U.S."
MERV COOPER & ASSOCIATES
'
P.O. Box 186
Mt. Hawthorn, W. Australia 6016
Phones: (09) 328-5166, (09) 328-8206
After hours: (09) 446-7119
Seashells-specimen& commercial
Offset, GeneralPrinting
Fish live-salt & fresh-aquariums Typewritters,Copiers,Calculators
Fishingor shell collectingsafaris
Taxidermy-bird's
Darwin (live) mud crab supplies Crazycrabs (live) to AustraliaShOPS- The Club Conchylia announcesthat the INTERNATIONAL SHELL FESTIVAL will be held 28 to 30 October 1988 in
Eberbach, Germany.
Dieter ROCkel
TOWNSVILLE SHELL CLUB
The Townsville Shell Club of Queensland,Australia, will have its annual shell show on August 6
and 7 at the CutheringaBowling Club Hall in Hermit Park. Interestedpersonsshould write to Marshal, Townsville Shell Club, P.O. Box 41, Hermit
Park, 4812, QLO, Australia.
PERSONAL AD
Use HSN Personal Ads. Three dollars per 25
words, plus name and address. One time only!
Dealerspleaseuse display ads.
EXCHANGE: Want local shells with data from
Europe, Scand., So. Amer., W.Afr., Japan/Korea
for museum.Have many extras. . . No lists. Helen
Martz, 1908-CColfax St., Evanston,III 60201.
Rob and Barbara Masino won the DuPont award at the
SouthwestFlorida ConchologistSociety's [Fort Myers] shell
show and the Conchologistof America award at the Sarubel
Island Shell Show with their exhibit "Between Gulf Tides;
Shelling Sarubel-Captiva(self collected)." Their forty-foot
display had 306 different specieswith over 600 specimens.
Photo:Dan
Manuel Vilella Tejedo, Siencia, 57, 1°,3',
E-O8032Barcelona, Spain, a specialist in malacology, a member of the Spanish Royal Society of
Natural History and of the Commissionon Zoological Taxonomy, writes that he is eager to exchange
shells. He has endemic speciesfrom points that he
does not list, but says he is interestedin "typical
Hawaiian species" as well as others. He asks
malacologistsand collectors to write, and promises
both exchange lists and reprints of his papers in
return.
Freak Cypraea, rare to very rare Cypraea and
volutes. I. Yeroslavsky, P.O. Box 85, Beer Yaacov,
70300, Israel.
June, 1988
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page 9
(Cont'd from Page3)
13. HEUCOSTYLA LEUCOPHAEA SUBFENESTRATA (KOBELT, 1910)
Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822) from mountainsof northernLuzon.
in the 5,000 to 6,000 foot range. In a terrarium A.
fulka, like H. vidali, are active, constantly searching for food, and eating everything available. In the
wild A. fulica are associatedwith a native vegetable, cayote/sayote(Sechium edule), feeding on the
leaves of the plant. When equal amounts of cayote
leaves, cabbage and lettuce are placed in a terrarium, the lettuce would disappearfirst, the cabbagesecond,and the cayote leaveslast. .Whenfood,
particularly pungent lettuce, was placed in the terrarium, A. fulica, as well as other species,converge
on the food container. This probably indicates that
terrestrials have a sense of smell. To provide the
snail with a senseof smell may be the function of
the smaller pair of tentacles.
The shell of a fully grown A. fulica is solid and
large, averagingabout 70 mm, but generally with an
unfinished lip. The cream color shell is heavily
marked with red-brown axial streakswhich is nearly
solid on the body whorl. The apertureis ovate and a
pearly gray-white within.
Helicostyla leucophaea subfenestrata is one of
the rarest of all Philippine terrestrials. The snail is
found only in remote areasat elevationsof 7,5(}{}to
8,500 feet in the mountains where the three provinces of Benguet, Ifugao and Mountain meet, and
never near population centers. A mountain climber
collected several H. leucophaea subfenestrata at
around 9,000 feet on Mt. Pulog, the highest peak in
Northern Luzon.
The snail bodies, which averageabout 67 mm in
length, are dark brown, with darker head and tentacles. The body is comparativelysmooth and evenly
grained. In its mountain abode,H. leucophaeasubfenestrata have been found living on parasitic
plants, which are living on pine trees. In a terrarium, the snails act like typical Helicostyla, climbing to the highestpoint of the tank and moving little
thereafter.
The shell of H. leucophaea subfenestrata is
solid, elongated,and nearly all brown. It is usually
covered with a heavy coating of lighter brown hydrophanous periostracum placed in axial streaks.
Some specimens are further decorated with light
brown bands of hydrophanousperiostracum. The
base is a shiny red-brown, and the white columella
and lip are edged with shiny brown. The aperture
Helicostyla leucophaea subfeneSlra/a(Kobell, 1910) from mountainsof northernLuzon.
interior is usually a milky white. H. leucophaea
subfenestrata is similar to, and is probably closely
related to, H. montana, but the animal of this terrestrial is always larger and darker and the shell is
always much larger than that of H. montana.
14. EUWTA SP
This apparentlyunnamedspeciescan be found in
great numbersin and around Baguio City and other
populated areas of southern Benguet. It averages
about 20 mm, is light brown, with dark gray tentacles which have a lighter gray areaaround the eyes.
The body is smooth and just slightly pebbled. The
(Cont'd on PaRe10)
~
HAW AllAN
Page 10
SHELLS FOR SALE
SHELLS. CABINETS.
June,
SHELL NEWS
LAND SNAILS
(Cont'd
1988
from Page 9)
BAGS & BOXES. BOOKS
THE SHELL
STORE
440 75th Avenue
St. Petersburg Beach, FL 33706
Phone: (813) 360-0586
SHELLS ARE OUR BUSINESS
AND OUR PLEASURE
Robert and Betty Lipe
Send $100 (Appliedto your first order) and receivea COMPUTER
PRINTOUT OF OVER 900 LOTS OF SPECIMEN SHELLS (Most families
represented.)
DOV PELED
1, Zvolon St., K. Tivon, 36000, Israel
Tel.: 04-936625
First source and specialist
for Red Sea Shells
Largest choice ever seen of world wide specimens.
1987 Price list on request
Bought, Sold & Traded
FLORIDA LlGUUS: WORLD'S MOST BEAUSNAIL. Limited nur:nber of sup~rb
shells from my personal collection. Free price..
list.
ARCHIE L. JONES
8025 SW 62 Ct., Miami, FL 33143, USA
TIFUL TREE
Displays At Most
Shell Shows
DONALD
I
DAN
Eulota sp from Baguio City, southernBenguet
body of this speciesretractswell inside the shell and
fomls a white film which closes the aperture after
retraction. The body also createsa sticky substance
on the lip which enablesthe snail to adhereto flat
surfaces.This speciesprefers flat, smooth walls as
resting places.
This
. Eulota acts strangely when strong tropical
.
stOmlS pass through the mountains. The usual mountain tYphoonhas about five days of heavy rains and
strong winds. The first two days representthe com-
Several days after the passing of the stOml, the
Eulota sp were once again observed among the
.
cayote leaves on the stone wall. Th1s phenomenon
was observedtime and time again as heavy trop~al
stOmlSbatteredthe Baguio area, particularly during
August and September.
h II f E I
.
II
.
The s e 0 u o.a sp IS sma, averagmgabout
16
d . I. h b
.
rom.. an IS Ig t rown WIth a narrow dar k
brown band at the periphery. It has been observed
that the brown band is not present at birth, but
ward the SouthChina Sea.
lip.
.
QUALITYSPECIMEN
SHELLS
2620Lou AnneCourt. West Friendship,MD21794 ing of the stOml;on the third day the stOml'Scenter begins to appearw~en the shell rea~hes.about
(301)442-1242
InquiriesWelcome- No Lists is over, or near Baguio; and the last two days 4 rom. The apertureIS round and the lip thm and
representthe departure of the stOml westwards to- white. The umbilicus is just slightly coveredby the
Shelletters
During nOmlal rainy periods, Eulota sp snails
station themselveson a four-foot stone wall along
the side of an eight-story hotel. On the first day of a
KARACm PAKISTAN:
n I dea occurre d to me many month's ago that all
A .
conc h0Ioglsts
. ble set 0f welg
. h
. shou Id possess a sulta
tYpical tropical stOml, it was observed that the snails
. ht 0f any empty and
had abandonedtheir nomlal perch and had climbed. mg scaIes because the welg
.
part 0f Its
.
about five feet up the stone wall of the hotel itself. cIeaned sheII shouId be an Important
aI da Th .
Id
th tho
d.
.
On the secondday, the group
had
moved
up
to
the
.
.
Imenslon
ta.
IS COU , among 0 er
mgs,
h
.
f d I
h .
.
fifteen-foot
level. On the third day, at the height of
s ow ItS stage 0 eve opment, emp aslze a size
. observed
.. aroundforty
. feet record , or prove that a dwarf specimen
.
was f uIIy
the stOml, the snails were
.
. ht has rareIy been part 0f the descnpup the wall. They remamedat this height durmg the mature.Welg
.
f h II b I b I.
. h Id b
last two days of the stOml.
.
tlon 0 s e,
ut
e 1eve 1t s ou
e an Important
-
aspect to any description.
There are thick-shelled
specimens which are otherwise comparatively lightweight and thin-shelled specimens which are otherwise comparatively heavy. Weight should constitute
the fourth dimension, apart from length, width, and
height. What do HSN readers think?
J. A. Wood-Anderson
[See HSN June 1987 p 8 for Shelletter from Wes
Thorssonon sametopic.].
Just a short note to let you know that I have left
South Africa and have settled in New Zealand.
Mike Hart, 54 Central Ave., Papatoetoe, Auck'!Inn
NZ
Page 11
A Shell Club
By ARTHUR WEIL*
Alth
h th
oug
h
ere
b
ave
een many
Shelletters
.12. If.the meeting is at YOUR house, be sure
. I
.
artlC es wntten
to serve your
.
famous
seaweed
cookies
and keep
b
.
the radIo or TV on during the meeting.
a out how to make a shell club successful .little
attention has been given to the art of des~oYing
That's, my lis.t of wa:s.10 break up a club. :t
one. There are things YOU can do. This handylittle
wouldn.t surprise me If everyone out there In
guide may be just what you need to polish off a Shellville couldn't come up with their own.
shell club of your very own.
.I. Never volunteer. There are people in the
clubwboLIKE.todothatsortofthing.Yourjob
is to appreciate- nothing more.
2. Never pay dues on time. A full year delay
should be your goal. When you do pay your
dues, wave the check triumphantly overhead so
everyonecan see what a good guy you are.
F I
.
U ton I Rebuttal
Re b utt ed
YACHT WHALESONG
One cowry, found in Tonga three years ago, continued to defy identification [using Burgess, 1985,
Cowries of the World] even when all others had
found their niche. Gordon Verhoef, publisher of
Burgess' book, was here last week, and helped us
with the shell.
It most nearly fits the description of Cypraea
bernardi but has much finer teeth. Gordon feels that
it is a new species.So, it looks like Tonga will be
our next destination.
Harry & Mar~e Mitchell
By j, A. WOOD-ANDERSON*
KARACHI, PAKISTAN -
John Landin's "Ful-
BIRMENSDORF, SWITZERLAND
To my great surpriseStan Jazwinski sent me two
specimens of Vexillum (Costelloria) tankervillei
(Melvin, 1888) from the Solomons. These match
the holotype of this species (see photograph)
3. If you feel you have to run for office, run
only for President. The Presidentgets his name
on the .letterhead.
4. Form a clique. Get a few people like yourself together and convince yourselves that anything nasty you sl!y is really for the benefit of the
club.
5. Wait until everyone is ready to leave, .then
start.a discussionof .theduesstructure.
6. If the club has a "MembersoiOnly" show,
bring your seven casesof "Oysters 1 Knew and
Ate." Everyone will .love the Polaroid snapsthat
.go with it showing you eating an oyster in Moscow, eating an .oyster on .the Great Wall of
China, and eating an oyster only two tables from
Don Ho.
7. BriI\g the baby. 1f you don't have a baby,
then 'borrow one. Don't feed or changehim for
10 hours before the meeting, but be sure he has
had .lots of slet;p. At 'the meeting. ask Miss Mor,ganstem, who never had .any of her own, to
watch him while you go out for a smoke, a coke,
and a .tidying up. Wh~n you hear the baby
screaming, don't Tespond. If you can't get a
'baby, large dogs will do. Be sure that the dogs
1ail is just high enough to sweep all those .little
,plasticboxesoff .thedisplay table.
8. Everyonelikes the smell of a cigar. You.lI
be doing the membersa real service if you sit in
the center of the room and share the aroma of
rani Rebuttal," February 1988 HSN P 4, disagreed
with my suggestion[HSN December1987 p 6] that
Cypraeafultoni might become common in about a
year and that they would be a poor investment.
closely.
It is not every day that one reads about a cowrie
This is the first time I have seen such typical
being sold for the neat sum of $24,000 [HSN Sep- specimensof the species apart from the holotype.
tember 1987 p 6], and, off hand, I'd be tempted to
However, I have a color form from Okinawa and I
call .that a connoisseur'sinvestment. Who else has have seen another color form from the Philippines.
beenoffended?
One of Jazwinski's two specimens (erroneously
However, the essentialpoint behind my commen- labeled "V. mirabile") is a slender form, but
tary was my personal contention that C. fultoni is
otherwisetypically a V. tankervillei.
being overratedby collectors and dealersand that it
This speciesis rarely found.
will soon prove more common. This was based on
Hans Turner
analysis of information and based on some logical
deductions,not necessarilyhard facts.
I have always consideredCypraeafultoni an inhabitant of submarinerocky formations becauseof
its strongly callousedmargins, and not the classical
Tare deep water cowrie which are inflated and have
little marginal callosity. Trawling C. fultoni off the
coastof Mozambiquesuggeststhat it inhabits waters
no deeper than 30 fathoms. Since the two trawled
specimenswere of record size suggeststhat musslecrackerfish go for smaller shells.
Mr. Landin has aptly described this trawling
method and what it does to marine life on the
bottom. I have been on many such trawlers myself
and often the total catch has consistedof one third
mollusks - Tibia, Stellaria, Murex, Rapana,
Architectonica, Tonna, Ficus - and even itsy
your fine cigar.
9. Be sure you win club Competitions. One
way is to buy a thousanddollar shell and enter it
;under"Self-collected."
.10. Tell .the members bow much better they.
do things in other places. A few anecdotesabout
bitsy tiny wee shells smaller than really small needle
cones. By no stretch of the imagination are these
shells an "accidental by-productsof the procedure,"
.I can assureMr. Landin. And what I really meant is
. . well, let's hope Russian fishermen don't read
HSN!
your
years
with your previous malacological so.
.
. Townsh'p,
. C11flon
.
* G.F. 1/31 SeaVlew
Beach, Karachi-46,
Pakistan.
clety wtll make members of your present club
're~pect your expertise.
.I1. Never go anywhere without your beeper.
Be sure you get beeped several times during the
meeting. It will make you seem important. If you
don't 'have a beeper, set your alarm watch .to
beep during the program.
DISCLAIMER
HA W AllAN
for new taxa.
"5662 Delhi Pk.. Cincinnati. Ohio. 45238.
SHELL
NEWS
does not
knowingly carry original descriptions of species and does not wish to be cited as authority
Holotype of Mitra tallkervillei Melvin, 1888 from National
Mu",um
nf Wolf'O
ror'!;ff
Phntn.
T"~p
June, 1988
HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS
Page 12
A Rediscovered Columbella From Honduras
By EMILIO
F. GARCIA
University of Southwestern Louisiana
LAFA YElTE, LOUISIANA - For a number of
years I have been collecting on Roatan Island, Honduras, a species of Columbella
identification
which has defied
with the sparse literature available to
me. Finally, I decided to ask Dr. William K. Emerson, of the American Museum of Natural Historyin
New York,
for help. He sent me the literature I
needed to identify the Honduras specimen, at least
to my satisfaction,
as Columbella
dysoni Reeve,
1859.
In his Conchologia
Columbella
dysoni
Iconica,
as follows:
conical, yellowish-white,
of red-brown
Reeve described
"Shell
fusiformly
painted with wave stripes
spots, spire short,
sharp,
whorls
strongly spirally grooved throughout, aperture elongated, lip flatly
(Columbella:
thickened,
denticulated
species 92). Although
within"
he did not
compare this species with C. mercatoria,
he did
publish a figure (see fig 1) and gave its type locality
as "Honduras."
Fig 2. Top row: Columbe/la dysoni Reeve. Bottom row: Columbella mercatoria (Linnaeus, 1758)from
samelocality.
Photo:Garcia
6
I thank Dr. William K. Emerson for providing me
with the necessary literature.
,
LITERATURE CITED
Radwin, George B., 1977. "The Family Columbellidaein
the WesternAtlantic," The Veliger 19(4):412.
Reeve, Lowell A., 1859. Conchologia Iconica, Columbells species92.
\
a
c
b
J..v
Fig I. a) Co/umbella mercatoria, b) C. dysoni, c) Reeve's
figure of C. dysoni in Conch. Iconica.
George F. Radwin,
in his monograph on
"The Family Columbellidae
Dr.
in the Western Atlan-
tic" (1977:412), had synonmiyzed C, dysoni with
C. mercatoria (Linnaeus, 1758) - understandably
so, considering the great variability
of the latter and
the close resemblance of the two species. However,
when 1 kept finding both species living side by side
and could separate them without hesitation, I had to
give them a closer look.
Columbella dysoni differs from C. mercatoria in
the following
points: it is a smaller species (12 to
14 mm) than C. mercatoria (18 to 22 mm); it has a
higher spire in comparison to the total length of the
shell; it has 11 to 12 denticles on the outer lip
versus 13 to 14 for C. mercatoria;
older specimens
have a thick glaze over the columellar wall forming
a callus; whorls, particularly
the body whorl,
are
much less shouldered, making the shell narrower
and more fusiform; the only variation in coloring is
the presence or absence of reddish-brown dashes on
top the spiral cords, at times arranged in undulating
patterns.
The species
lives
under
rocks
on both the
northern and southern coasts of Roatan Island, in
protected areas near coral reefs in 3 to 5 feet of
water. It is not common.
TROPICAL LANDSHELLS OF THE
WORLD.By Brian Parkinson, with Jens Hemmen
& Klaus Groh. Published 1987 by Verlag Crista
Hemmen, Wiesbaden,West Germany. Producedby
Hill House Publishers, Melbourne, Australia. Hard
bound, large format, first quality paper and detailed
presentation.279 pages, 77 plates, 1245 individual
specimensin excellent color. Approx. DM200.
REVIEWED By ALLAN ffiNTON
"Landsnails have for too long been considered
the poor relatives of marine molluscs," notes HMS
member Brian Parkinsonin his foreword to Tropical Landshells of the World. "Those familiar with
the dull and inconspicuousspecies living in their
suburbangardens in temperateclimates are usually
unaware that in the great rain forests of the world
dwell many glorious snails that rival any marine
speciesin color, patternand sculpture.
'The rain forestsof the world are disappearingat
.
a horrendousrate, many thousandsof hectaresbeing
felled each day. Whole islands in the tropics have
been completely stripped of vegetation and all the
creaturesthat once dwelt there have gone forever.
Landsnailsare among the fauna most vulnerable to
loss of habitat. To give publicity to these animals
and the dangers facing them, books are urgently
neededand to fill a little of this gap this book was
written. "
Tropical Land Shells of the World contains
maps of the tropical zonesand variations of vegetation, with chapters dealing with the five major
zones. There are excellent color photographsof live
specimensand of their natural habitat and regional
and generalbibliographies.
The plates are grouped and indexed to permit the
reader a ready referenceto zoogeographicalzones,
and there is a comprehensivegeneral index in alphabetical order of species, subspecies,subgenera
and genera.
Because of the systematic presentation and the
clear par-excellenceof the colored illustrations, this
book will be invaluable to both the researching
taxonomist and to the amateur collector of these
often beautifully colored and sculpturedshells.
[The copy at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, is
beautifully illustrated but poorly bound, The index
explanation is confusing since it refers to table
numbersinsteadof plate numbersand plate numbers
are used throughout the book. Incidentally, at least
three genera and seven speciesused by JamesBarnett in his HSN series, "Land Snails of the Mountains of Northern Luzon," are not mentionedin this
book. TB]
DISCLAIMER
The HSN does not want to give the impression
that it "validates" ANY newly proposedtaxon. It
merely reports that they are newly published. The
editors do not have time, inclination or knowledge
to voice an opinion as to their biological validity.
This shouldbe left up to specialistsin eachgroup.