harpa identification - internethawaiishellnews.Org

VOL. XXXV NO. 10
OCTOBER, 1987
NEW SERIES334
HARPA IDENTIFICATION
Figs 1,2. Halpa major Roeding, 1798, Zarnboanga.Figs 3, 4. Harpa ventricosa Lamarck, 1816, Madagascar.Cook Collection.
By GRAHAM MELVIN
SUBMI1TED By OLIVE PEEL.
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - The other day I
almost discovered the difference between Harpa
major Roeding, 1798 and Harpa ventricosa
Lamarck, 1816. Olive Peel invited me to morning
tea. I didn't want to go to a hen's tea party, but
when Olive told me the she and Dawn Brink were
going to identify her Harpa, I changedmy mind. I
couldn't miss such a golden opportunity to have two
expert conchologists teach me all about Harpa.
Armed with my own Harpa in a packet, so as not
to look conspicuous,I set off, brain alert, ready to
be taught somethingnew.
Dawn Brink arrived with an enormousdrawer of
Harpa of all sizes. The double doors had to be
openedfor her majesticentrance.Thesetwo women
got many Harpa from ships which traveled between
Mozambique and Durban. They were able to buy
specimensfor a song when they first startedcollecting.
Olive asked me to fetch her drawer. There they
were, and there I was - a mere amateurspectator
- wondering what the morning was to unfold. The
Dawn: They are easy to identify. We'll put
Harpa major in that comer and Harpa ventricoso in this comer, becauseyou have both.
Olive: Hurrah!
Dawn: You can tell the difference easily because
major has a definite point here where the pale
section cuts through the brown. However, Dick
told me that although this one has no point on
it, it is a major.
Olive: Well, then this one is a ventricosa and not
a major.
Dawn: Yes, I agree, so we'll put it in this comer.
Olive: Then this is a ventricosa as well, and also
this one.
Dawn: It looks as though all are ventricosa.
Olive: I don't believe it! Do you mean to tell me
that after all my years of collecting, all I have
left are Harpa ventricosa?I've given away all
my Harpa major!
Dawn: Yes, I'm afraid so. No, on second
thought, this one could easily be a major.
What do you think?
Olive: Well, there is no point there but it looks
just like the one Dick saysis a Harpo major.
Back and forth went the specimens.My neck was
beginningto ache.I could have beenat a tennis
match - first to the left, then to the right. Speci-
curtains opened for me on the mysteries of the
Harpa world.
Olive: I've put all my common Harpa together
becauseI can't tell which are which. They all
look alike to me.
mensof Harpa moving from one comer to the other
- first too many ventricosa, then too many major,
*Dept Surveying & Mapping. University of Natal, King
GeorgeV Avenue, Durban 40001, South Africa.
then some of both and then all in one comer again.
I felt as though I was watching some newly de-
Photos: Burch
veloped game, one up, one down, first one comer,
then another. I wonderedwhen tea would come or if
I should say that I had an urgent errand - but no,
the drama was too exciting. I might miss something,
and I wanted to seewhich was going to win: Harpa
ventricosa or Harpa major.
Dawn: I don't know. I thought I had them all
sorted, but I'm so muddled now I'll have to
recheck them. This one feels different but I
know it's a major.
Dawn: The note on this one from overseassays
ventricosa but it is a major.
So Olive crossesout ventricosa and puts major.
But by now she is cautiousand writes in pencil, for
who knows what the next two secondswill bring
forth - just in time, too, for Dawn has changedher
mind again; and the name is changedback to ventricosa.
As far as I'm concerned,they all look the same
and I am going to keep my specimensright where
they are, in my packeton the floor.
After an hour Olive gave up and said she didn't
care whether they were Harpa ventricosa or Harpa
major and went to make tea. Well, if these two
women are the "real" thing, what chance have I?
So I kept my big mouth shut and my packet on the
floor. I was so muddled, I left, forgetting I was
supposedto stay for lunch. But I couldn't think of
lunch after all the excitementof the morning!
"Dallas" has nothing on this.
October, 1987
SHELL NEWS
~a«taU4Ie
Science Advisor
OR. E. ALISON KAY
Science Consultant
W. O. CERNOHORSKY
Editorial Staff
LYMAN HIGA. JIM ROHRBACH.
WALTER SAGE. OOROTHY WENOT
Editorial Assistants
GEORGE CAMPBELL.
BUNNIE COOK. BILL & TRUOI ERNST
Corresponding Editors
MARGE BRADNER. DONALD DAN,
FR. AL LOPEZ S.J.. HENK K. MIENIS, PETER van PEL,
AURORA RICHARDS, THORA WHITEHEAD
Index Editor
RAY McKINSEY
Back Issues Manager
HAWAIIAN
BUNNIE COOK
MALACOLOGICAL
(Founded
P
h LL
Bov"""'O
a
SOCIETY
in 1941)
Honolulu,
'v
Treasurer
Recording
Hawaii 96822
OLIVE SCHOENBERG
President
Sec'y
JIM ROHRBACH
..,.
BARBARA KUEMPER
C. mauritiana Linne
C. moneta Linne
C. nucleus Linne
C. ostergaardi Dall
C. peasei Sowerby [= C. gaskoini Reeve]
C. poraria Linne
C. punctulata Gmelin [C. punctulata Ostergaard
= C. teres Gmelin]
RAY McKINSEY
DOROTHY WENDT
Office Manager.
KAREN CABRAL
Directors
GEORGE
COOK
INGABORG
SHIELOS
DR. TOM BURCH
STUARTLILLICO
Honorary Directors
DR. ALANALLISDN
BRUCECARLSON
E. R. CROSS
DONALDDAN
The Society currently meets the first Wednesday of each
month in Honolulu.
VISITORS WELCOME!
Hawaiian Shell News is issued free to members of the
Society. Postage rates have been computed and added to
membership dues. Individual copies of any issue may be
obtained. free of charge. by qualified individuals for bona fide
research projects.
Members outside the Un~ed 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 FOR 1987
Includes delivery of HSN
-U.S. Zip Code Addresses (Handled as bulk mail,
not forwardable to new address)
-Canada and Mexico (First Class mail)
-All Other Countries
$17.50
2200
24.00
OPTIONAL DELIVERY OF HSN BY AIR MAIL
(Dues included)
-U.S Zip Code Addresses ...
22.00
-Bahamas, Bermuda. Caribbean Islands, Central
America, Colombia & Venezuela
28.00
-Europe (except USSR, Latvia, Lithuania, &
Estonia), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. Libya,
Egypt. Malta. and South America (except
Colombia & Venezuela)
30.50
-Africa (except North Africa), Australia, New
Zealand. Asia, USSR. Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Israel, Middle East. Indian Ocean
and Pacific Ocean Islands lacking US Zip
Codes
33.50
-ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP (For family
members; HMS card but no HSN)
1.00
Articles of interest to shell collectors are solic~ed Contents are not copyrighted Republication. with credit to HSN,
is invited.
The opinions expressed in signed articles in HawaIIan
Shell News are those of the authors and do not necessarily
represent policies of the Hawaiian Malacological Society
Advertisements are accepted at the rate of US $20.00 per
column-inch per issue, payable in advance Discounts are
offered for six and twelve insertions.
Typesetting. composition and printing of Hawaiian Shell
News is done by Fisher Printing Co., Honolulu
HMS October Meeting
NOTE
HAWAIIAN
NEW
ADDRESS
MALACOLOGICAL
.~
C. rashleighana Melvill
C. reticulata Martyn [= C. maculifera Schilder]
If anyonehas any that I have not listed, I would
C. scurra Chemnitz
like to borrow and copy them. I would prefer to
C. semiplota Mighels
make the copies myself since many of these have
C.
sulcidentata Gray
color or black and white photographsattached to
C. talpa Linne
them. I'll return the originals.
C. tessellata Swainson
*
*
*
Ditlev Due Thaanum, one of Hawaii's most faC. tigris Linne
mous conchologists, was a charter member of the
C. vitellus Linne
The following species of Cypraea were not in
Hawaiian Conchological Club in 1924. Can anyone
Allen's article but are in Kay, 1979. The namesin
sendme information about that organization?
bracketsare synonyms.
FORTY YEARS AGO
C. beckii Gaskoin
The October 1947 meeting of the Hawaiian MalaC. cernica Sowerby
cological Society was held at PunahouSchool. The
C. chinensis Gmelin
following officers were elected: president, Charles
C. leviathan Schilder & Schilder
A. Allen; vice president, Dr. C. M. Burgess;secreC. maculifera Schilder [C. reticulata Martyn]
tary, Mrs. G. Bromley; treasurer, Mrs. Maybelle
C. mariae Schilder
Roth.
C. schilderorum lredale [C. arenosa Gray, Allen]
Miss Julia Ellen Rogers [author of the Shell
C. teres Gmelin [C. punctulata Ostergaard]
Book, 1908, Charles T. Branford Co] thanked
membersof the shell club for the "token of friendship" she was given upon her departure from the
islands.
Bruce Seaman
attendedthe meetingon his way
The October 1947 News and Views on Shells by
Charles A. Allen was devoted to "Hawaiian Cyp- back to Bora Bora.
Our treasurer, Barbara Kemper, reported that on
raea." Thirty-one specieswere describedand illustrated - 26 with color photographs.Dr. E. Alison her recent trip to Barbados that she was in the
Kay in Hawaiian Marine Shells, 1979, placed research submarineAtlantis on a two hour trip at
eight of the Cypraea in synonymy with other spe- night through the reefs at 150 feet. An unforgettable
cies. Hence 23 or 74.2% of the speciesin Allen's experience.
Bob Dayle spoke "On the Origins of Some Ha1947 article are still considered valid. I wonder
what proportion of the specieswe recognize today waiian Cowries." He discussedsome of the genetic
contributors of some of the current Hawaiian spewill be consideredvalid forty years from now.
The following specieswere in the article by AI- cies, the geology of Hawaii and how ocean fluctual"n Th" nam". a. \I...n hv Kav- 1979- Hawaiian tions effected fauna from basic to SDecific!!enetics.
OLIVE SCHOENBERG. BEATRICE BURCH
--~--~~
Mar 47
April 47
Oct 47
Dec 47
Mar 48
June48
July 48
Sept?48
Oct 48
Dec 48
49
OR. TOM BURCH
President
2
3
6
7
8
9
10
II
10
12
I?
Editor
Sec'y
I
I
I
1
I
1
1
1
1
I
2
I Aug 46
E. R. CROSS.
STUART LILLICO
Associate Editors
Vice
I
Main Topic
CONE SHELLS OF HAWAII
GOING DREDGING?
CONSTITUTION & BYLAWS.
CYMATIIDAE
TEREBRA
MITRIDAE
CYPRAEIDAE
MELANELLillAE
NAUTILUS, STROMBUS
CaNIDAE PART 1
CaNIDAE PART 2
CaNIDAE PART 3
TEREBRIDAE PART 1
TEREBRIDAE PART 3
MITRIDAE
Editors Emeritus
Corr.
Vol. No. Date
Sleett 1tef4l6
ISSN 0017-8624
Marine Shells, if different, are in brackets.
C. ORneRoberts[= C. semiplota Mighels]
C. arenosa Gray [= C. schilderorum lredale]
C. caputserpentisLinne
C. carneola Linne
C. childreni Gray
C. cicercula Linne
C. cruenta Gmelin [= C. childreni Gray]
C. erosa Linne
C. esontropia Duclos [= C. gaskoini Reeve]
C. fimbriata Gmelin
C. gangrenosa Solander
C. helvola Linne
C. isabella Linne
C. lynx Linne
C. madagascariensis Gmelin [madagascariensis
Martens& Langkavel = C. granulataPease]
~---~-~---~---~
PRE HSN NEWS LETTERS
I would like to have a completefile of the various
news letters, etc. issued by the Hawaiian Malacological Society before they were formalized as the
Hawaiian Shell News in May 1952.
The ones that I have were given to my mother,
Rose Burch, by CharlesA. Allen. These were done
with the "Ditto" or similar processwith purple ink
in the late 1940s.The ones I have are listed below:
~~--~-
HAWAIIAN
Page 2
SOCIETY
P. o. Box 22130
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
:_~
~-~
~- ~---~
~~-~ ---
--~--~~
.!
October. 1987
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page
Conus excelsus Sowerby III, 1908. Figs I, 2. Trawled 110 fathoms north of Lady Elliot Island, 90.5 x 9.5 mrn; fig 3. Trawled 120 fathoms south southeastof Lady Elliot Island,
87.0x 34.8mrn;fig 4. Trawled120fathomssouthsoutheast
of LadyElliot Island,71.8x 28.6 mrn.
Photos:Limpus
By ALLAN
BUNDABERG,
LIMPUS*
QUEENSLAND
in June 1985 I got two more dead specimens of this
-
A lone spec-
imen of Conus excelsus Sowerby III,
1908, washed
rare shell for my collection.
These two shells came from
ashore on a beach at Tanna in the New Hebrides
fathoms to the south-south-east of Lady Elliot
after an underwater eruption in
land, approximately
1878. This shell
came into the Kenyon collection and is now in the
Is-
25 miles from the first speci-
men. Although more heavily coral encrusted, there
South Australian Museum, the holotype of Conus
was no mistaking the shape and, upon cleaning, the
tannaensis Cotton, 1945 No. D.6172.
patterning verified my identification.
Although
previously
described
by Brazier
as
Unfortunately
all three shells were dead, but their presence extends
Conuspulcherrimusin 1894,Edward Cottonde-
the known range of Conus excelsus to Australian
scribed it as C. tannaensis since Brazier's label on
waters.
the shell bore the locality but no name.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Records of South Australian Museum, 1945, vol 7:2.
Walls, J.G, 1979, Cone Shells, T.F.H. Publications
Cemohorsky,W, 1978, Tropical Marine Shells.
Lan, T .C, 1979, Rare Shells of Taiwan
Estival, J.C, 1981, Cone Shells of New Caledonia and
Vanuatua
However, in 1908 Sowerby III published the description of Conus excelsus which is the now accepted name; but with the doubtful location of New
Caledonia.
Other specimens have been recorded
from various locations in the China Sea, from off
Japan, Taiwan, the north-eastern Indian Ocean, and
from the vicinity of the Solomon Islands.
Now I have three specimens taken by deep-water
trawls off the Queensland coast near the southern
extremity
of the Great Barrier Reef. The first to
appear, which fits Cotton's description of C. tannaensis,
came from
110 fathoms from north of
Lady Elliot Island, which is the most southerly coral
island of the Great Barrier Reef, and lies 42 miles
off the coast 140 from the city of Bundaberg on a
latitude of approximately 240 South. This shell was
trawled in December 1984 in the same area where
many new and exciting other shells were found, i.e.
V. gardneri
Darragh,
1983, C. queenslandis
Da Motta, C. whiteheadae Da Motta, Galeodia
mccamleyi Ponder, and others.
The next exciting
shells to come up were two
Conus excelsus from near the Swain Reefs, which
lie 150 miles to the north of the previous area. Thus
*6 McKewan St, Bundaberg,Queensland,4670, Australia.
Shelletters
a depth of 120
Shelletter
DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA
I am having a problem regarding the disposition
of my collection which has become extensive. I
provided in my will that it should go to my favorite
museum, if the museum was still displaying shells
for the public. Now, however, that museum has
disbanded. I don't know where to turn. Only
through seeing these things can the general public
become aware of what beauty the oceanscan produce and develop an interest. My shells are practically all gem quality and contain many variants
and someout and out freaks.
If you have any thoughts, let me know. Since I
am 83 whoever gets them shouldn't have long to
wait.
Boyd N. Everett
209 Palm Trail
Delray Beach, FL 33444
[This is a problem most of us will eventually face. I
told my parents to relax and let their son worry
about it. That usually isn't tenable. I'll print any
"thoul!hts" sentto me. TBl
HONOLULU,HAWAII
I am donating to the society reprints of four articles on the researchsponsoredin part by an HMS
grant I received a few years ago. Once again,
thanks for the support. Money for malacological
researchis about as easy to come by as a living
AchatineUa in Honolulu nowadays.(It's no wonder
that one of the greatest malacologists who ever
lived, Paul Pelseneer, was not a professional
malacologistor professor,but a teacherof chemistry
at a secondaryschool.) Keep up the good work.
Daniel Chung
TUCSON,ARIZONA
I've nearly finished work on the article for the
Hawaiian SheD News [a requirement for scholarship grant recipients] and I have more good news.
At the American Malacological Union Meeting in
Key West, Horida last month, I was selectedas a
recipient of a StudentPaperAward. I am especially
honored since this is the secondconsecutiveyear in
which I have won an AMU award.
JanetVoight
'""
HONG KONG
Quite frankly, I prefer my own text ["Conus
luzonicus Hwass in Bruguiere, 1792" in HSN Aug
1987] to your rehash.
May I ask that you at least publish an emendation
correcting the size of Bruguiere's specimento "41 x
25 mm?"
A. J. DaMotta
[I goofed in typing the size of the cone as 61 x
25 mm insteadof 41 x 25 mm. I apologizefor any
confusion that this mav have caused.TBl
~
Page 4
HAWAIIAN
October, 1987
SHELL NEWS
SHOW RULES
By STUART
HONOLULU,
III -
LILLICO*
The Hawaiian Malacological
Society is unusual in many ways, but in none more
than that we have no opportunity
to compare our
shell shows with those of Mainland
or overseas
clubs. No chairman of an HMS shell show committee here has ever participated in a "foreign"
shell
fair.
This can be a blessing, of course, as well as a
source of frustration.
uninhibited
,!
,
We dream our own dreams,
by Mainland
"reality."
But we often
wonder if we are missing something important.
The thought of subscribing to a uniform set of
shell show rules, therefore, has a certain attraction.
It's like establishing a universal standard currency.
John Landin has done a great service by proposing
such a set (see HSN Aug, 1987). It should set us all
to examining our show rules.
As convener of the HMS Shell Show committee
to prepare for the show in November 1988, I have
given some serious thought to recommending adopting the "Landin
Rules."
I see several points, how-
ever, that need to be clarified or changed for Ha'-'f'iJi-
waii. Let me refer to Landin's rules by number.
Conusgossip. What is a very seriousAurora Richardstelling a very surprisedand amusedDieter Rokel? About the size of
apergrandis? Or a giantleopardus? Or somethingelse?
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Have just returned from a very exciting shell tour
of the world.
Met loads of super nice people and
"collected"species
by the suitcase-full.
I thought this might put a little fun in HSN, Find
a caption to the picture and I'll
give the answer in
my next letter.
Aurora Richards
exhibit did not get a blue ribbon, diplomacy and
ple. Some clubs, I suspect, will have trouble getting
tact have returned, and, as a rule, the exhibitor
three people who meet his criteria. Hawaii would. It
understands and does a lot better the next year.
HOWEVER exhibitors who fly into a rage,
damn the judges
as incompetent
and unfair
should have their ribbons (if any) taken back and
we have paid travel expenses. Bringing
removed from the shell show im-
from New York
It's an unpleasant job, but do it promptly!
expensive matter. Pay, if any, for judging should be
I can
guarantee they won't have that problem
City,
a judge
mediately! No pussy-footing by shell show officers.
or even California,
is an
left to negotiation between judge and club.
4. The thought that "judges will
Sally Diana Kaicher
about the "Unifonn Rules" for shell shows. [See
HSN Aug 1987p 3.]
1. Not all clubs have enoughmoney so out-of-town
judges can be given motel/hotel accommodations
- which many judges prefer, incidentally. I
not be enter-
tained or be guests" of the sponsoring club before
(Cont'd on page 12)
*4300 Waialae(B 1205) Honolulu, HI 96816
.!
~YJ>~
have, in the past, stayed in private homes and
found that my hosts were careful not to let me
see anything which might influence me. Any
judge worth his salt would resent attempts at
influencing his/her decisions- more than likely
questionsthe judges might have.
3. Judging is a serious business. By the time one
has to exolain to Jane or John Doe iust whv the
2. HMS has never paid a fee to a judge (nor to
their exhibits
ST. PETERSBURG,FLA.
again for years.
so I have a couple of thoughts
to the detrimentof the exhibitor.
2. I do not like club-memberclerks to accompany
me when judging and I know other judges who
feel the same. We can be brutally honest and
undiplomatic in our conversations. It would be
cruel to an exhibitor to have our comments,
made often under stress, overheard and, possibly, passedalong to the exhibitor or other club
members. However, one or two clerks should
standby - as far away as possiblein the exhibition hall - ready to come over and answer any
-
might be more realistic to require only two of the
judges to meet the ten-year-experience qualification.
anyone else, for that matter), although occasionally
practically
You asked -
I. His proposed stipulation that a show must
have three experienced judges is sound - in princi-
('J
1
I
NEW
ADDRESS
I
I
'?-O)
MEDITERRANEANSHELLS
World most completeofferingof mediterranean sea shells, land snails, shell books,
fossil shells
write to:
MAURIZIOOSTINI- BOX42
00055LADISPOLIRM -ITALY
.
CABLE
npYY1/
DERSHELL
~
-1\"¥
.
.-
~
WORLD WIDE SHELLS-
~w::~~~~\~iN HMS-I~~~-.-
LARGESTSELECTIONOF RARE SHELLS ON WEST COAST
FINEST QUALITY
I
I
LOWEST PRICES POSSIBLE
BUY - . SELL - . TRADE
r
~
VISA" i
SEND FOR SPECIFIC WANTS
October, 1987
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page 5
PICTURES FROM THE JUNE WSM MEETING
Bert Draper, frequent visitor to Hawaii who works with
micromollusks.
Donald Shasky,frequentcontributor to HSN.
Tom Burch, editor of USN presenting his findings at the
Northern Gulf of California symposium.
By DAVm MULLINER
Judith Terry Smith, chairman of the symposium on
Northern Gulf of California.
Page 6
HAWAIIAN
Update on Ellis Cross,
HSN Editor Emeritus
By OLIVE SCHOENBERG*
October, 1987
SHELL NEWS
Other Shell Clubs
A NEW LOOK IN BOSTON
SHELLS FOR SALE
R. CRANDAll
PHilLIP
1800 Parkside Terrace, Kitanakagusuku
The Newsletter the Boston Malacological Club
Okinawa, Japan 901-23
has a new name and a new look. It is known now GEM Cypraea teramachii, kuroharai, midwayensis,
armeniaca, rosselli, artuffeli; Conus vicweei, auas The Epitonium. The new design is the work of
risiacus, exce/sus, bengalensis, PI. beyrichii, salmiana
BMC mem~r Kristina Joyce.
&rumphii, and other rare Japanese & Indo-Pacific shells.
The June issue of The Epitonium reported that FREE LIST. 15 years of personalized service.
FREE POSTAGE - SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis has
signed a law designatingNeptunea decemcostata,
A. J. (TONY) GABELISH
the New England neptune, as the official shell of
22 Kirkham-Hill Tce.
Maylands 6051
the Commonwealthof Massachusetts.
West Australia
Dealer in W. Australian Shells (License No. 7452)
BUNDABERG,QUEENSLAND
In July, our Keppel Bay Shell Club held its annual shell show at Yeppoon, which was of the usual
quality and success.Our most traveled visitor and
member of the judging panel, was [HMS member]
Gloria Scarboro from Florida. She is shown in the
photographrelaxing after a hectic day at the Show,
still talking shells at nearly midnight.
Allan Limpus
Write for free list.
AUTHORIZED AUSTRALIAN EXPORTERS.
Specialists
Australia's
in endemic
species from
exciting west coast. ZOILA,
and the more common
species.
Since 1966
WESTRALIAN SHELLS
3 GuneeRoad,City Beach(Perth)
Western Australia 6015
Catalogue
Editor EmeritusEllis Crossat homenear Port Angeles,
Washington.
Photo:Schoenberg.
Ellis lives several miles from Port Angeles,
Washington, where he keeps busy digging, plowing
and landscapinghis land, planting vegetables,fruit
trees, and flowers. Many trees, mostly cedars, he
removes, using the large trunks to make garden
furniture such as the high backedchair in the picture
here. All left-over wood he stacks for winter
firewood. Besides all this, many hours are spent
writing for Skin Diver Magazine and other ocean
related publications. [See HSN February and September 1987.]
Is he still shelling? Well, sometimes he checks
out the local seacoasts,but a peek into his "office"
tells you Ellis has endlesshours of work aheadjust
sorting and cataloging what he brought back from
his diving years in Hawaii - shells he loves and
can't part with; shells that tell stories of places,
people, and experiencesof days long past. Although
he still pours over his "friends," the bulk of Ellis'
collection was recently sold to Mique Pinkerton of
MiQue's Mollusks.
*3265 Huelani, Honolulu, HI 96822.
PERSONAL AD
For exchange:Ultra rare in collections Odontocymbiola pescalia Clench & Turner, 1964. 83 mm.
Fine. Minor chips. Interested in rare Conus, Cypraea, Harpa, etc. Write: Carlos Nunez Cortes,
Acassuso 740, (1636) La Lucila, Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
Gloria Scarboro
Photo: Limpus
$1 by sea, $2 by air.
HAWAIIAN
By LULA
ST PETERSBURG,
rans constitute
Page 7
SHELL NEWS
SIEKMAN*
FL
-
The monoplacopho-
the most recent major group of
shell-bearing molluscs to be recognized. They are
important because they provide new evidence on the
structure of primitive
interrelationships
molluscan shells and on the
of the five recognized classes of
molluscs. Many workers, however, consider them a
sixth class of molluscs.
Neopolina itself came to light early in the 1950s
as a result of submarine explorations among the hot
water "plumes"
along the East Pacific Rise. Re-
searchers found previously unimagined life in those
abyssal waters.
Since its first
Neopolina
discovery,
additional
finds
of
have been made in other deep-water
areas. The first were at a depth of two miles. A
number of specimens were taken that looked like
limpets.
Fossil Monoplacophora have been found in every
continent, in beds of Cambrian (about 550,000,000
years old) through Devonian (300,000,000 years of
age). The regional geological setting, the associated
fauna, and the various sedimentological features of
those occurrences
indicate
that the first
mono-
placophorans lived in shallow water.
It has been customary to consider molluscs as
non-segmented, since living molluscs have a lost track
of segmentation. However, now many curious features of molluscan anatomy can be explained. It had
been recognized that there were similarities between
annelid worms and molluscs on one hand, and annelid worms and arthropods on the other. Neopolina
suggest that the relationship among these three phyla
(Cont'd
on Page 8)
*5031 41st St. South, St. Petersburg,FL 33711
By CHRIS T AKAHASHI*
Of all known bivalves occurring in Hawaii none
are more fascinating to behold than the Lima (file
shell). Lima are characterizedby thin fragile white
shells with equally fragile tentaclesextruding along
the shell perimeter.
The commonestof the five speciesin Hawaii is
Lima fragilis (Chemnitz, 1784). As the name implies, L, fragilis is difficult to obtain intact owing to
the paperlike structure of the shell. Animals of liv'P.D.Box 10194,Honolulu,HI %816
ing specimens are carmine red, giving the impression that the entire shell is the same color.
When disturbed this free-swimming
bivalve will
launch itself through the water by flapping its valves
together much like Pecten (scallops).
I. A startledL. tragi/is reactsto the intruder by extending
its tentaclesin hopesof frightening him off.
2. A now worried L. tragi/is tries to hide.
3. In final desperationthe L. tragi/is takes off from its
strongholdin hopesof outdistancingthe collector.
Photos:Takahashi
HAW AllAN
Page 8
By HUGH BRADNER*
LA JOLLA, CA - At scuba depths off Easter
Island, John Earle collected a cowry similar to Cypraea cernica [HSN Jan. 1986pI]. C, cernica is an
uncommon species, found throughout the central
and Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, but not
previously reported from Easter Island. Water currents seem to have isolated that island, so that the
only two other species there (C, caputdraconis
Melvill, 1888 and C, englerti Summers& Burgess,
I %5) have evolved with very different featuresthan
their progenitors.
I report here comparisons between several of
Earle's specimensand widely distributed specimens
of C. cernica.
The populations cannot be separated by shell
markings or shape:both have consistent small suffused white spots, white base and dorsal ring of
discrete dark brown spots; both have a deltoid
shape.
The first Earle specimenI examined had coarser
teeth than a specimenfrom La Reunion. However,
when all 13 available Earle specimenswere compared with 39 C. cernica from elsewhere,there was
no significant differencein tooth count (fig I). Earle
notes that the mantle of his EasterIsland specimens
is mottled brown and cream, different from the Hawaiian C. cernica; but Burgessemphasizedin Cowries of the World that color is of no specific importance.
Scanning electron microscope photos of radulae
from three EasterIsland specimensand two C. cerRica showedno recognizabledifferences(Figs 2, 3).
Judging from these five specimens, C. cernica
shouldbe classedamong the specieswith little radular variation.
Unless detailed reports of anatomy show consistent differencesbetweenthe EasterIsland cowry and
normal C. cernica, I conclude that they should be
groupedtogether.
I am particularly indebted to John Earle and Dr.
Maurice Jay for furnishing specimensand to Dr. C.
M. Burgess for helping me make tooth counts on
his collection of C. cernica.
SHELL NEWS
(/)
z
w
~
(3
w
c..
(/)
u.
0
a:
w
co
~
=>
z
REDUCED LABIAL TOOTH COUNT
Fig.
Comparisonof labial tooth count in Cypraeacernica and the EasterIsland Cypraea.
Neopolina, A Living Fossil
(Cont'd from Page 7)
may be closer than had been indicated from past
evidence.
Two geologically Recent species of Monoplacophora are Neopolina galatheae taken by the
Galathea off Costa Rica at a depth of 3570 meters
and N. (Vema) ewingi taken by the Vema in 1958,
1300 miles south-southeastof the Galathea discovery site in 5700 meters. Later, additional specimens
were found in the Indian Ocean and off Lower
Fig. 2. Scanning electron microscope photo of Cypraea
cernica radula.
Photo:Bradner
California.
Neopolina galatheae has a single cap-shaped
shell with an anteriorly coiled apex. The body is
bilaterally symmetrical, having the mouth anterior
and the anus posterior. The mouth is nearly surroundedby paired labial palps, two tufts of tentacle
like appendages,and a pair of simple tentacles.The
animal is probably a deposit feeder. The pallial
cavity, which surroundsthe main massof the body,
contains five pairs of uniserial gills. The circular
foot is muscular with a membranouscenter. It secretes a thick slime train. Within the body, major
organsare paired.
Cypraea cernica Sowerby,1870.Okinawa.B.P. Bishop
Mus. No. 231676.
Photo: Burch
.Scripps Institution of Oceanography,La Jolla, CA 92093.
Fig. 3. Scanningelectron microscopephoto of EasterIsland
Cypraea radula.
Photo:Bradner
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Information for this report came from the "Do
You Know" exhibit by Charles and Vi Hertwick at
the 1986 St PetersburgShell Club show.
REFERENCE
Burgess. C. M.. 1985. Cowries of the World, Gordon
Verhoef. 289 pp. many col. figs. maps. 21 pis.
ADDITIONAL READING
Hyman,L. H., 1967.The Invertebratesvol 6, Mollusca,
McGrawHill Co.. N.Y. pp. 142-152.
October. 1987
HAW AllAN
Page 9
SHELL NEWS
Patronize HSN Advertisers
WASffiNGTON
-
Warning of danger to one of
the United States' foremost fish and shellfish areas,
in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, was given in a
recent study released by the Congressional Office of
Technology Assessment (OTA). Howard Levenson,
author of the paper, is project director of a three-year
OTA study of the impacts and management of waste
disposal in the marine environment.
The significance of some of the most widely publicized
environmental
problems,
such as the low
oxygen levels (hypoxia) and excessively high levels
of nutrients, metals, organic chemicals and bacteria
found in the New York Bight and the Chesapeake
Bay, was confirmed by the study.
The solution, says Levenson, does not necessarily
entail development of multimillion
dollar programs
or major legislative efforts. Instead, OTA suggests
the present system of uniform controls be continued
and enhanced to provide a minimum level of protection and that these controls be supplemented by
site-specific
management to deal with the unique
problems of individual water bodies.
The congressionally created Chesapeake Bay Program is cited as an example of the latter approach.
The national status and trends program of the US
National
(NOAA),
Oceanic and Atmospheric
now underway,
Administration
is monitoring
levels of
specific toxic chemicals in sediments, bivalves and
bottom-dwelling
fish from mpre than 150 sites along
the US coastline.
It is still
too early in the study to determine
whether the health of the marine environments sampled is improving
or decaying, program manager
John A. Calder told Science News, but the preliminary evaluation does at least provide
harbor, Salem Harbor (Mass.),
REVIEWED By STUART LILLICO
It may never outsell the current pop recordings,
but a new aural cassetteproducedand distributed by
Dr. R. Tucker Abbott through American
Malacologists, Inc. probably will be around longer.
Dr. Abbott has recorded the acceptedpronunciation
of some 1250latinized speciesand generanames,as
well as some technical and anatomicalterms, molluscan family names, and the preferred form of
different author's names. (How is d'Orbigny pronounced?).
In his opening comments, Abbott points out that
"actually there are no correct or official pronunciations of . . . Latin names." The ones he offers are
those' 'customary among most American
malacologists," and "even thesemay vary from one
part [of the United States]to another."
An LP recording done by Abbott in the late 1960s
and It's Easy to Say Crepidula! publishedin 1986
by Jean Cate and Selma Raskin of SouthernCalifornia, [HSN July 1986 P 6 & November 1986 p
13] gave much of the samematerial. The possibility
of discrepanciesamong the three (the present reviewer was able to make only a perfunctory comparison), or regional differences, or individual solecisms is less important than the fact of authoritative
efforts being madeto establishsomeAmerican standardsof pronunciation.
an idea of
which places may require the most attention: Boston
Raritan Bay (NJ),
western Long Island Sound (NY),
SAY IT RIGHT! How to Pronounce the Scientific Names of Seashellsof North America. By R.
Tucker Abbott, 1986. 35-minute cassetterecording.
Burlington, MA: American Conchologists.$7.90$2.10 postage.
A PRIZE SHELL
and San Diego
Bay (Calif.).
"The sites we sampled in those five places," said
Calder, "seem to stand out no matter what parameter you look at."
SL
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.
Oliva richen; Kay, 1979, Mamala Bay, Oahu, HI. Burch
Station 79035, 90 fathoms. U.S. National Museum Collection.
Photo: Burch
Page 10
HAW AllAN
SHELL NEWS
October, 1987
Patronize HSN Advertisers
PART III
"
t
~
SHELLS"CABiNETS"BAGS
&
BOXES"BOOKS
(~
;.-
~
THE SHELL STORE -
,
Road and Gulf Boulevard, Phone 360-0586,
ROBERT LIPE I BETTY LIPE
')
.,.
C spurius
allanticus
Petersburg
SHELLS
-
440 - 75th Avenue, St.
Beach, FL 33706,
OUR BUSINESS
Between
Blind Pass
& OUR PLEASURE
Send $1.00 (Applied to your first order) and
receive a COMPUTER PRINTOUT OF OVER 800 LOTS
OF SPECIMEN SHELLS. (Most families represented.)
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
Left to right, top row: Conus gloriamaris, C. cervus, C. bengalensis, C. dusaveli, C. duplicatus and C. stupa. Middle
row: C. thomae, C. milneedwardsi, C. smirna, C. bullatus, C. lynceus (= C. phuketensis da Motta) and C. excelsus.
Bottom row: C. aurantius (black form), C. cedonulli, C. barthelemyi and C. penusus.
Photo: Patchick
By PAUL F. PATCHICK*
MONTEREY
DAY,
CALIFORNIA
-
A
suggestedmeasure of relative rarity in collectible
shells might be to examine the prices listed in Van
Nostrand'sStandard Catalog in 1964, and those of
either Eisenberg's 1981 A Collectors Guide to Seashells of the World or one of Tom Rice's ~xcellent
catalogs(1980, 1983, or 1985).
If a shell was worth $50 in 1964, and was listed
by Rice as being valued (i.e., offered for sale) at,
say, $2,000 in 1983 - you know you have a
"rare" (and valuable) shell! Note that Rice lists
prices of shells offered for sale. He doesn't, of
course, tell you if a specimen of that species has
been sold at that price. It may not have been sold,
and the dealer subsequentlylowered his price or just
kept it for his own collection. Thus these lists and
catalogsare merely guidelines.
A listing of rare and beautiful seashellshas been
compiled by one of the great collectors of the century - Ryosuke Kawamura of Japan. Kawamura
assembled
more
100,000 specimens
than
-
10,000
species
-
over
since beginning collecting in
1930. He donatedhis vast and important collection
to the National Science Museum in Tokyo [HSN
August 1983] and was honored by a special exhibition there. The senior curator (malacology) of that
museum, Mr. Takashi Okutani, assistedKawamura
in selecting 430 specimens to be illustrated in a
magnificent booklet, World Seashells of Rarity
*1123 S. Los Polos Dr. (#10) Salinas,CA 93901
and Beauty, 1983. Listed below are the 26 cones
from this book:
I. Leptoconus cedonuUiLinnaeus(2 forms)
2. Stephanoconus aurantius Bruguiere (2
forms)
3. Leptoconus victor Broderip
4. Profundiconus smirna Bartsch & Rehder
5. Rhizoconushirasei Kuroda
6. Pionoconus timorensis Bruguiere
7. Endemnoconusotohimeae Kuroda & Ito
8. AspreUaphuketensis deMotta
9. Pionoconuspertusus Bruguiere
10. Leptoconuskawamurai Habe
II. Rhizoconusthomae Gmelin
12. Turriconus excelsus nakayasui Shikama &
Habe
13. Darioconus gloriamaris Chemnitz
14. Darioconus milneedwardsi Jousseaume
15. Darioconus bengalensisOkutani
16. Kurodaconus stupa Kuroda
17. Turriconus excelsusexcelsus Sowerby
18. Textilia buUatuspongo Shikama& Oishi
Cont'd on page 14)
~
October, 1987
ABOARD
HAWAIIAN
Page 11
SHELL NEWS
By GWEN CORNFIELD*
YACHT LORELEY - We delayed our
departure from New Zealand until almost the end of
May 1986 and missed Cyclone Namu, which roared
through the Solomon Islands and threatened to flatten New Caledonia. When we finally
got the "all
clear" signal, we set sail for New Caledonia with a
new crew member, Susan Symonds. We had more
storms than calms on the voyage and were glad to
see the lighthouse at the main entrance to the channelleading to Noumea, the capital.
Loreley is a 50 ft sailing yacht with accommodations for three or four besides Mike, the skipper,
and me. We have been fortunate in hosting a series
of pleasant and often knowledgeable
paying-guest
crew members. We plan to continue this system.
HMS members (or others) interested in joining
us
should feel free to write us.
Shell wise , our stay in New Caledonia was hardly
worth reporting, because of our delayed arrival and
a stretch of bad weather. But when we sailed to the
perfect lagoon of Ouvea Atoll,
one of the Loyalty
Islands (a dependency of New Caledonia), our luck
changed. The weather cooperated and for two idyllic
weeks we dove and explored the fabulous reefs on
both sides of the atoll. The fish life was astounding.
Everything was so big!
Mike (the skipper) and Susan had a heart stopper
on one dive when a 12 ft shark came charging down
a canyon toward them. It turned out to be only a
nervous nurse shark; until
that was established,
Mike almost sprouted hair!
Along with the common shells we round in the
Loyalties, we come up with a few small but pretty
Strombus thersites.
A day-and-a-night sail took us to Port Vila, the
main town of the new nation of Vanuatu. Port Vila
our favorite tropical town has retained its
French flavor. We enjoyed the pavement cafes, the
excellent coffee, the wonderful French pastries and,
best of all, the sensible prices for it all.
In the dark volcanic sand of a bay on Epi Island,
just north of Emae, we found some magnificent
Oliva textilina
plus some interesting variations of O.
miniacea. In addition, there were some good cones,
including several brilliantly
colored C. pilkeyi
with
chocolate-brown exteriors and orange interiors. And
we got a pretty C. mimbosus.
It was at Epi that the hunters momentarily became
the hunted. Our two guests had swum ashore from
Loreley. Mike and I donned scuba gear and dropped
to the bottom to search the sand toward shore. Our
air bubbles attracted a local fisherman sitting on the
sand in front of the tiny village opposite our anchorage. With
a shout,
pushed his outrigger
he pointed
to our bubbles,
canoe into the water,
and
began paddling furiously toward them.
Blissfully ignorant of the excitement above us, we
continued our search of the bottom. The man stood
(Cont'd on page 12)
*985 Jervis St. No 6, Vancouver,BC V6E 2B7, Canada.
°t
Page 12
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
NEW CALEDONIA AND VANUATU
(Cont'd from page 11)
in his canoe above our bubbles, with spear poised
for the kill. Eventually he realized his mistake and
paddled regretfully back to the beach. Believe me,
the shell collector's life is fraught with danger.
Susanhad to leave us in Vanuatu. We were sorry
to see her go, but sailed on through the islands to
the north with our two remaining guests. To our
disappointment,shells were lacking in many of the
bays in which we anchored. So far off the beaten
path, we had expected to find buckets full. But
when we looked ashore at low tide, we understood
why. To the local people, finding food is a constant
preoccupation.They swarm acrossthe exposedreef
flats, seeking to supplementtheir diet with edible
mollusks. Not a rock remains unturned. Even inedible (to us) critters are taken.
On the beachat Port Sandwich, near the northern
tip of Epi, we were greetedby a sign, "There Are
Tiger SharksHere." We were afraid to put a foot in
the water. The previous year, we were told, an
eleven-year-oldboy was enjoying jumping from the
stern of his parents' boat and swimming around to
the boarding ladder. A large gray shape appeared
alongside and the lad disappeared.We didn't need
to be warnedtwice!
The cruise northward through the islands of Vanuatu past Malekula and across to Espiritu Santo
brought no surprises; but we enjoyed the lonely
placesand the diving. Luganville, the main town on
Espiritu Santo, has one of the worst anchorageswe
encounteredanywhere. In addition, we were suffering from ciguaterapoisoning - for the first time in
three years of cruising during which we had eaten
hundredsof fish. Altogether, we do not remember
Luganville with much aloha.
The situation was not improved by the departure
of our friends as their time ran out. For the first
time since leaving Auckland nearly six months before, Loreley was down to a two-man crew.
Over the horizon to the north in the Banks Islands
-
the reputed home of Oliva rubrolabiata
-
we
dropped anchor in a glorious bay. Soon we made
friends with a local family for whom Mike spent
hours fixing an old outboardmotor. We alreadyhad
begun "baiting" for olives in the sand beneaththe
boat and along the shore, and were successful,we
thought. Our new friends were less impressed.They
took us out one day to show us how to really get
olives. It was all so simple it made us feel stupid.
They catch some of the little red crabs that scurry
over the black rocks along the shore, crush them in
their hands and sprinkle the pieces on the water
around them. We were amazedat how quickly the
olives come ploughing through the sand to pick up
the bits of crabs as they reachedthe bottom. After
about five minutes our friends dove in and gathered
handfuls of olives, but not one O. rubrolabiata
amongthem!
After severaltries, we cameto the conclusionthat
all the O. rubrolabiata (never plentiful) had been
found in the water shallow enough for the locals to
collect by skin diving. All that we got were from
scubadepths.
In every way possible, our Banks Islands friends
looked after us well. We dined like kings on river
prawns, lobster and fresh picked vegetablesfrom
their gardens.In exchange,we left soap, sugar, rice
and tobacco. We wished we had more soap, a much
sought after item. At one point Mike took them
fishing in Loreley. They were thrilled at the quantity
of fish with which they finally paddledhome.
As we were preparingto leave the Banks Islands,
one friend promised to throw "magic leaves" on
the water and to "make a spell" so that the wind
would be favorable. It worked, next day we sailed
for Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, some
600 miles to the northwest.
October, 1987
SHELLS FOR SALE
PATRICIANA SHELLS
James L. Barnett
225 Session Road
Bagio, Philippines
Common, uncommon and scarce Philippine tree and land
shells, including rare, recently rediscovered mountain
species. Photos and color slides of live tree and land
snails.
S. JAZWINSKI
777 Kapiolani Blvd. #3313
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Specializing in
rare to common Gem quality HAWAIIAN Specimens.
Several hundred species of Cypraea, Conus, Murex,
Strombus, Pecten, Turris, Terebra, Mitra, and more,
currently available.
CRISTINA C. DAYRIT
P.O. Box 3, U.P. Post Office, Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines 3004
"LARGEST COLLECTION
OF
FINE & RARE PHILIPPINE SHELLS"
Full data for each species
Enclose $1 for price list (refundable)
SHOW RULES
(Cont'd from page 4)
judging is alien to the Hawaiian way of doing
things. When we have a distinguished visitor, we
knock ourselvesout being cordial. I suspectmany
other clubs react the same way. I vote "No" to
Landin's Rule 4.
7. This rule calls for the show sponsorsto provide round-the-clock security. No argument there.
But it goes on to require the club to hire its own
guards. This should be left to the committee's
judgment. The same is true for insurancecoverage
or liability waiver by exhibitors (Rule 8).
9. The thought of a standardsize and design for
display casesmay not be practical. HMS, for example, has a storageroom full of casesacquired two
decadesago from a generousbenefactor.We would
resist getting rid of them. Are other clubs in a
similar position?
10. Relianceon battery-operateddevicesin a display would not be popular here, and I do not see
any real advantageto it.
12. Personally, I support the idea of inviting
dealersto "enter displays and be eligible for awards
on the same basis as other exhibitors." The longstanding prejudice against admitting them is a holdover from the Victorian resistanceto anyone' 'in
trade." Dealers' shells are attractive, too.
Landin's remaining rules are acceptable,although
I can foreseesome quibbling over specific wording.
Most of them have been in force in one form or
another for several years. I expect that they will
show up in the rules for the 1988HMS show.
Landin's rules, suitably modified, could be used
to classify shell shows instead of standardizing
them. Clubs that are willing or able to meet all the
requirements,including the expenseof three judges,
as specified in Rule I, might be rated as Class A.
Others would be Class B or - perish the thought
- Class C.
Would anyonecare to pursuethat idea?
first order
WORLDWIDE SPECIMEN SHELLS
--- -. --of Select Qualit" Specimens-
-
~
~~~~
-~
~~--
Wrilefor
F~t Illustrated List
fJ Richani Goldberg/Worldwid. SpecimenSlzLIIs
'PO Box /37, FreshMeadows,N,)C ,//365.U.S
on
October. 1987
HAWAIIAN
SHELL NEWS
Page 13
By JAMES L. BARNETT*
BAGUIO, PHILIPPINES - An earlier article on
the land snail life of the mountains of northern
Luzon [HSN August, 1984, P 11] dealt primarily
with severalspeciesfound in and around Baguio, in
Southern Benguet, and concentratedsolely on the
snail's shell.
The presentseries of articles will deal with snails
from throughout Benguet, as well as those from the
nearby provinces of Ifugao to the east, and Mountain Province to the north. The articles will concentrate primarily on the entire snail rather than just the
shell.
Mountain Province and the provinces of Benguet
and Ifugao form the southernsection of the Cordillera Central mountain range of Northern Luzon. The
Cordillera Central ranges from about 3,500 feet at
its lowest point to 9,612 feet at its highest. Most of
the snails discussedherein were collected between
5,000 and 6,000 feet.
The Cordillera Central is influencedby two climatic systemswhich prevail at different times of the
year. The southwest monsoon, which blows from
May through October, brings heavy rainfall to the
western side of the mountain range. During this
period, the eastern side of the region is generally
dry. The northeast monsoon, which blows from
Novemberthrough April, brings moderaterainfall to
the eastern side of the mountains, and during this
period, the western side of the range is extremely
dry. Tropical storms, including typhoons, which are
strongest during August-September, bring heavy
rainfall throughoutthe entire mountainMea.
During the dry season,the mountain land snails
go underground, burrowing under rocks, loose
earth, old logs, buildings, and just about anything
that will protect them from the heat and the dryness
of the dry period. During this period of hibernation,
the snails seal off their aperturesso that they will
not dehydrate, and generally remain stationary for
the entire duration of the dry period.
Given the wet conditions which prevail throughout the mountains for most of the year, scientists,
students,and collectors usually have accessto live
snails and shells on a year-round basis. Thus far,
terrestrial snails of the following specieshave been
collected and maintained in terrariums: Trachystyla
dattaensis,Chlorea benguetensis,Helicobolinus vi.
dali, Helicostyla libata, Helicostyla butleri, Heli.
costyla butleri gravida, Helicostyla montana, and
Obba marmorata benguetana, Ryssota dvitija,
Hemiglylpta semperi, as well as several apparently
unnamedspeciesof various genera.
The snails were found in a variety of places;
some on smooth tree trunks at about 10 to 12 feet;
someunder loose rocks and earth; while others were
found under damp forest debris. Several species
were found on the floors and walls of abandoned
mines and caves used as World War II ammo
*225 Session Road, Baj(Uio, Philippines.
dumps. Some arboreal snails were found on the
leaves of large and small temperate and tropical
plants including bamboo. Besides being found on
and under the ground and on low walls, plant leaves
and tree trunks, mountain snails were also found on
almost any vertical structure which afforded them
climbing space. Snails of one Eulota specieswere
observed40 to 50 feet up on the smooth wall of a
Baguio hotel.
Approximately six specimensof each of the species mentioned above were maintained in three terrariums - two seven gallon tanks and one ten
gallon tank - which were fitted with severallargeleafed plants. The behavior in the tanks was similar
to the behavior of the snails in their native habitat.
The species known to be arboreal, immediately
climbed to the highest point in the tank. The true
terrestrials, on the other hand, climbed the pots and
settledin the earth of the potted plants.
Most of the arboreal species died within one
month, while the terrestrials survived for the
three-month life of the study. Two Helicobolinus
vidali and one Hemiglypta semperi laid egg clusters. The H. vidali eggs were white and were laid in
clustersof about one-hundred,while the H. semperi
eggs were pink and were laid in a cluster of about
twenty. All eggs were approximately 5 rom, and
were removed to a heavily vined area outside after
about one week in the terrarium. The snails remained near the egg clusters, which were laid in an
upper comer of the tank, for about two days and
then returned to their usual place in the terrarium.
As to food preferences,the snails liked cabbage
better than eggplantand sayoteleaves, but preferred
lettuce best. When the more pungent lettuce was
placed in the tanks, most of the snails would converge on the plastic food container, indicating that
the snails have an olfactory capability. It could be
that the snail's sense of smell comes from organs
located in the shorterpair of tentacleslocatedon the
snail's head, but this has as yet not beenconfirmed.
(Cont'd on paRe14)
Page 14
HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS
October, 1987
Land Snails of
Northern Luzon
1856
(Cont'd from page 13)
Mountain snails are very difficult to collect in any
great quantity. Most are found in highly inaccessible
mountain areas quite far removed from population
centers, and since most snails are active during late
night and early morning hours of very rainy periods,
it has always been difficult to find collectors who
would be in the mountainsduring those periods. At
present, it is virtually impossible to find collectors
who dare venturevery deepinto the mountains.
I. Obba marmorata benguetana (Bartsch, 1933)
The only Camaenidaeknown to be found in the
mountains. The snail is comparatively small both in
girth and in length, with the rear of the foot very
seldom protruding from the shell. Mature adults average 40 to 50 mm, while the short eye tentacles
averageabout 12 mm, and the smaller, lower tentacles average 4 to 5 mm. The animal is brown SpondylustenebrosusReeve, 1856from 52 feet in MaunaiuaBay, Oahu, Hawaii.
By WES THORSSON*
Photo: Burch
As shells become scarce, as here in Hawaii,
Many species of Spondylus are spectacular and
sought by collectors, often bringing high prices. S.
it
may pay you to become more interested in the less
lovely ones.
tenebrosus, however, is an exception, with very few
adorning coffee tables. In life, ~hey tend ~o live .on
the upper surface of recesses m rock clIffs.
Arca
LIke
ventricosa they blend in very well with the
..
background,
covered
,
you
from the cliff
wIth
wouldn
t
algae
and
calcare-
close when you ap-
.
consIder
them
as
separate
identified as a living animal. They maintain. a
"normal" attitude, with the hinge toward the clIff
wall and the ventral margins outward. They may be
partially recessedinto the cliff, or entirely separate,
appearing as a hump on the upper recess surface or
.
on the cliff or rock wall. Attachment IS from the
hinge side of the larger valve by calcareousdepoSI
't s.
Spondylus tenebrosus is a large shell. I have
measured
them
to
107 mm
ind a d limited
aI
collection
A'
I
ObbamarmoraJa
benguetana,northof BaguioAt 5,000 sample, and have seen larger ea v ves. gaIn,
feet.
Photo:Barnett don't see the smaller shells when diving. It is rela-
throughout, lighter on the bottom and darker on the
top, particularly near the head. The head, foot and
tentacles all have a heavily pebbled texture. They
are generally found on the leaves of low-lying
mountain plants. In the terrarium, the snails preferred to station themselveson the sides of the plant
pots.
The shell of Obba marmorata benguetana is the
smallest of th~ large marmorata complex, but it is
the most highly colored. The shell averages32 mm
in length, and is light brown below and highly
decorated with dark brown above. The narrow,
ovate aperture is red-orangewithin., and the shiny
white lip is thin but solid.
Bull.
of
153,
pp
the
Hawaiian
100-102,
Islands.
pI
B.
P.
Bishop
Mus.
25.
Kay, E. A., 1979. Hawaiian Marine Shells,. Reef and
Shore
Spec.
Fauna
of Hawaii:
Mollusca.
Publ. 64(4) p 532 fig 171.
B.
P. BIshop
Mus.
rock. However, they do not always
close until you actually touch them, so they can be
~-~~-
Manual of the Recent and Fossil Marine Pelecypod
Mollusks
bemg
ous deposits. If they didn't
proach,
REFERENCES
Oall, W. H., Bartsch, P., & Rehder, H. A., 1938. A
tively common in a few areassuch as on cliffs off
Makapuu and Kahala (Honolulu) but is absentfrom
many cliffs. Often, you see both S. tenebrosusand
Arca ventricosa on the samecliff. At Kahala, however, I found S. tenebrosus on the cliff walls but
usually not A. ventricosa. At Makaha (Honolulu)
the opposite was true. E. Alison Kay, in her excellent Hawaiian Marine Shells, lists S. tenebrosus
being 77 mm in diameter and living in tide pools
and fringing reefs. I haven't really looked in the
shallow areas but find them at 40 to 80 feet deep
(my diving habitat). I have a younger shell which
exhibits the rib sculpture describedby Kay. When
older, the sculptureis usually severelyeroded.
*122Waialeale,
Honolulu,HI 96825.
WHAT MAKES A
SHELL RARE?
'
(Cont d f rom
. . page 10)
19. Textiha cervus Lamarck
20. Textilia dusaveli H. Adams
21. Textilia vicweei Old
22. Phizoconus
23.
Textilia bullatus
gloriakiiensis
buUatus Linnaeus
Kuroda & Ito
24. Asprella armadillo Shikama(2 forms)
25. Embrikena
Rhizoconus
26
barthelemyi
pergrandis
Bernardi
Iredale
.
I've adoptedKawamura's booklet as a guideline,
a "target" for shell acquisitions. I highly recommend this excellent booklet to any collector who
wishes to enrich his cabinets,or who merely wishes
to dream. The color photography is superb (see
HSN September1983 P 10) but, alas, many of the
illustrations are natural size - a failing of so many
.hp.ll
0"_" hnn~. ".
REFERENCES CITED
Eisenberg, J M., 1981. A CoDector's Guide to SeasheDs
of the World. McGraw-HiD Book Co, NY, 239 pp
Rice, T., 1980, 1983, 1985. A Catalog of Dealer's Prices
for Marine SheDs,Of Sea and Shore Publications, Port
Gamble, WA.
National ScienceMuseum, Tokyo, 1983. World SeasheDs
of Rarity and Beauty - the KawamuraCollection.
Wagner, R.J.L. & Abbott, R.T., editors, 1964. Van Nostrand's Standard Catalog of SheDs,Princeton,NJ.