AN EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE HAWAIIAN

AN EDUCATIONAL PUBLICATION OF THE HAWAIIAN MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY
by STUART
There were surprises as well as solid satisfactions in the HMS 1972 Hawaiian Shell Show,
held from September 5 to 10 at the giant Ala
Moana Center in Honolulu. Quality was high,
the physical layout good, and public interest and
attendance more than satisfactory.
The chief disappointment was in the relative
scarcity of adult-level displays of Hawaiian
shells. This was in sharp contrast to the 1971
show, which was strong in Aloha State shells.
The two major prestige awards went to Anderson Butler, of Honolulu, who received the
Smithsonian Institution
Certificate for an
aquarium display representing the actual habitat of the rare Cypraea rashleighana and related seabottom life, and to Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Armington, of Cleveland, who got the John
du Pont "best exhibit" award for a display of
world-wide postage stamps together with the
shells they depicted.
In addition, Butler's aquarium was voted
"most popular by the shell show audience,
with the Armington's exhibit second.
Edward Konopka, Honolulu student, surfer
and Scuba diver, took the Hawaiian Shell of the
Show honors with a very larjte Tonna melan-
LILLICO
ostoma in perfect condition, found "crabbed"
while he was diving off W aikiki. He received a
koa wood bowl presented by the Hawaii Council
of Diving Clubs.
Donald Rowland Jr. of Honolulu received the
Ala Moana Merchants Association bowl for the
World-Wide Shell of the Show - a Cypraea
surinamensis in a jewelbox display of four rare
and spectacular cowries.
In organizing the show, the committee this
year created a new conservation-oriented category to cover crabbed, beach and dead-collected
shells. The quality of the entries was very high
- in most cases the specimens were indistinguishable from live-taken shells - and the
ecological lesson was obvious. Several of these
displays had excellent graphic material in addition to comprehensive collections of shells. Ron
McOmber won first honors, followed by George
World-wide shells - Adult
Mr. & Mrs. Stewart Armington
Ron McOmber
Donald Rowland Jr.
World-wide shells - Single family of Shells
Mrs. Ruth Fair
World-wide shells - Junior
HMS Junior Shell Club
Jose Villanueva Jr.
Hawaiianshells- Novice
Edward Konopka
T. J. Nelson
Na Mea Lu'u Kai Dive Club
Hawaiian shells - Junior
Allan Sanford
Randy Stevens
Aquariums
Anderson Butler
Ron McOmber
Dead-collected shells -
Novice
sampling of crabbed shells recovered from deepwater fish traps off Windward Oahu - also re-
Edward Konopka
Dead-collected shells -
Adult
ceived special mention in the Smithsonian
Award competition.
The competitive show at the Ala Moana Center was the Society's third large display of the
year. Earlier, it had an educational exhibit at
the 50th State Fair, followed by a major noncompetitive show at the new Pearlridge Shopping Center in Aiea.
The HMS Directors have approved participation in the Innerspace Pacifica program jointly organized by the State of Hawaii, the University of Hawaii, and the Hawaii Council of Diving Clubs at the Aloha Tower in Honolulu on
October 21 and 22. The Shell Show Committee
expects to use the display material prepared
originally for the 50th State Fair.
Complete results of the 1972 Shell Show fol-
Ron McOmber
George Donner
Fn~~il ~hpll~
Donner
of Laie, whose display
-
an extensive
low:
l..ejt, Andy Butler's Smithsonian Institution
Award-winning aquarium featured the elusive
Cypraea rashleighana. Above, part of the display area, below shoppers and shell collectors
were plentiful at the week-long shell show at Ala
Mnana Center.
Page 2
HA WAllAN SHELL NEWS
October. 1972
Personality
Periodically the question of binding the HSN
comes up. Now Curtis Pracht of Herman,
Minn., advises us that plastic "report" covers
will hold six issues, He has found that three
companies make these covers, which are readily
available in drug and variety stores.
From Mrs. Mary Brumbelow comes this interesting note (as the result of her having had
some shells damaged in a flood I: there is a man
in California who repairs shells. His prices are
reasonable, she says, and she was pleased with
his work. If you need a shell repaired, contact
Herbert Fletcher, 23255 Long Vue Dr., Desert
Hot Springs, Calif. 92240.
'/I~ati4'"
Sleelt
1teett4
Official Publication of the
Hawaiian Malacological Society
(Founded in 1941)
2777 Kalakaua Ave.
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Issued monthly and mailed to all regular
members.
Annual
membership
(January
through December) $7.00; $8.00 Foreign Surface; $9.00 Foreign First Class; $15.00 Foreign
Air; $9.50 U.S. Air. Immediate members of a
regular member's family may become an
associate member for $1.00 but will not
receive the HSN.
PUBLICATION COMMITTEE
Editor
E. R. CROSS
Tech. Advisor
DR. E. ALISON KAY
Ed. Assistants.
IBBY HARRISON, RUTH
FAIR, STU LILLICO, ELMER LEEHMA.N
The Society meets the first Wednesday of
each month at 1st United Methodist Church,
1020 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, Hawaii,
at 7:30 p.m. Visitors welcome!
HMS OFFICERS
President
'.
Elmer G. Leehman
Vice President ...,..
Thomas Burch
Treasurer
George Cook
Recording Secretary
Harriet Howe
Corresponding Secretary..
Ibby Harrison
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The above elected officers and the following HMS members make up the Board of
Directors with HMS President Elmer Leeh.
man serving as Chairman of the Board;
elected by the members:
Fran Wright,
Charles Wolfe and Jim Fair; serving automatically as immediate past president, Neal
Seamon; serving automatically as Editor of
the HSN, E. R. Cross; appointed by HMS
President with the advice and consent of
HMS officers, Dr. Thomas Richert, Stu Lillico, Ruth Fair and Ron McOmber with Una
May Young as chairman Of the Junior Divrsion of HMS.
Items of interest to shell collectors are
solicited for publication in the Shell News.
Deadline is 10th of the monthly preceding
date of publication. Address 01 contributions,
comments, suggestions, and other correspondence, including information and payments
for ads to The Hawaii Malacological Society,
2777 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu,
Hawaii
96815. Advertisements are accepted at the
rate of $10.00 per column inch per issue.
For special six or twelve time rate write
The Editor.
The Guam Shell Club has been active lately.
It instituted a competition called "Shell Find of
the Quarter." Winners for the first three quarters of 1972 were: Joyce Stone, Cypraea
mariae Schilder; Lee Casteel, C. goodalli
goodalli Sowerby; and Mary Jane Dufault, C.
schilderorum Iredale. All are rare shells in the
Guam area.
A note from Manfred Blocher of Germany reminds HMS members that there are restrictions
on sending money out of Taiwan. As a consequence, he warns, it is almost impossible to obtain cash refunds for shells returned to dealers.
Your editors would like to remind HMS
members around the world that the Shell News
can always use articles, data and photographs of
shells. If you are shy about writing, send us the
basic information. The editorial staff will edit or
rewrite or pull it together with additional information into an article of interest to all. Help us
to keep the HSN a great publication, full of
worldwide news of shells.
ThirdInternational
An outstanding exhibition of rare and beautiful shells and se8-Qriented materials has been
organized by Mr. Jean-Bernard Lozet, manager
of "Le Peigne de Venus", and will take place
November 9th through 20th at 34 Rue du
Colisee, 75 Paris 08. Hours of the exhibit are
from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily.
Among the worldwide specimen shells on display will be several Conus gloriamaris, Cypraea aurantium, C. joycae, Conus milneedwardsi, Murex
loebecki,
Pleurotomaria
schmalzi and Lambis violacea, plus thousands
of other specimen shells from the world's seas.
A 3pecial feature will be an exhibit of strange
submarine animals such as the famous Coelacanthe from the Comores deep seas. Also, the
submarine department will be headed by Mr.
Petron, a well-known underwater photographer,
who will be on hand to advise photographers
and give demonstrations of macro photography
of ~h"l1~ ..nil fi~h.
by FRAN
Notes
WRIGHT
HMS is privileged to have many notable
members around the world, including scientists,
authors and malacologists. Recently, some of
our members, severat temporarily roving, have
been honored or are otherwise newsworthy.
Chiye Oshima, a '70 Director, recently traveled in Europe and now temporarily located in
Manila, was featured in an article in the March
..Arts of Asia Magazine". The article describes
one of her many talents
-
creating exquisite
jewelry using an electroforming process on
natural objects, including shells and coral. Our
August 20 Sunday "Star-Bulletin & Advertiser"
also ran a photo of one of her gold-plated shell
necklaces on view at Daisy Gallery in Honolulu.
We remember her professional-looking posters
for the 1970 Shell Show and beautiful decorations tor our annual Christmas dinner of that
year.
Don Hemmes, who served as our Treasurer in
1970, and his lovely wife, Helen, have been living in Zurich, Switzerland, for the past year.
Besides skiing, they visited Europe, and Don
says, "saw two beautiful shell collections: first,
in Monte Carlo (collected by the grandfather of
the current Prince I, and the best of all in Nice."
They have also been searching for old shell
prints.
Here in Honolulu, Western Airlines magazine, "Western's World" for July-September
features, in living color, HMS Director Dr. Tom
Richert's daughter, Tiare, and her original
macrame designs, using scallops and other
"h"JI,,Our own local and distinguished member, Dr.
'Pat' C. M. Burgess, received an excellent review on his book, "The Living Cowries", in the
May-June issue of "Sea Frontiers", published
by the International Oceanographic Foundation. The writer states, "This magnificent book
. . ."
and ". . . a volume to be treasured
by all."
Larry Saltzgaver, President of thf' Guam
Shell Club, P.O. Box 164, FPO San Francisco
96630 w?uld like to exchange shells with traders from Hawaii and Western Australia.
Mr. P. D. de Broglio, P.O. Salt Rock, Natal,
South Africa offers one Conus milneedwardsi, one Pleurotomaria africana and one
Lambis violacea in exchange for a Cypraea
Iluttata.
Page 4
SHELL HABITATS OF TONGA
by RUTH FAIR
Shell collecting in a new and untried area can
be an interesting experience, as was recently discovered by 16 HMS members who visited the
remote Ha'apai Islands of the Kingdom of
Tonga.
Except for two articles in back issues of the
HSN, both concerned with the capital island of
Tongatapu, there was almost no concrete information on what species and what concentration
of mollusks we would find. Few, if any, serious
shell collectors have covered the central Tongan
islands and no data has been recorded on mollusks from here.
We were fortunate in having a fairly evenly
divided group of reef-crawlers, snorkellers and
Scuba divers, which enabled us to obtain a
profile sampling of species at different depths to
a maximum depth of 45 feet under different
conditions.
The area we worked was much like a gigantic
lagoon, being protected from heavy wave action
except during the one brief storm we encountered during our two-week stay. The water was
almost unbelievably calm and clear, and the
calm at full low tide was more like working in a
lake than in the ocean.
For the reef crawlers, tracking in shallow sandy areas was fabulous, with the usually elusive
Terebra dimidiata being found with regularity
by most of the group. However, T. dimidiata
appeared to be almost the only Terebra found
in very shallow water, unlike other areas where
T. crenulata seems to be the most abundant
shallow-water species.
Several species of Nassarius, including N.
arcularis L., Polin ices, Oliva miniacea, O.
episcopalis,
Strom bus
(gibberulus)
gibbosus, S. mutabilis and Cerithium species
were other shallow-water sand dwellers which
were very much in evidence during low tides,
and the tracks they left in the sand were enough
to drive the shell-collec-'torwild.
There was a surprisingly small amount of
dead reef area, the type which provides the best
habitat for mollusks in shallow water. Living
reef abounded, in all its beauty, and was singularly unproductive. Very few dead slabs of coral
or rubble were in evidence. When we did find
these, however, they always were productive of a
number of species of mollusks.
The usual shallow-water cones were abundant ; Conus ebraeus, C. lividus and C.
flavidus being at all areas we worked, with the
added bonus of C. moluccensis on one extensive section, exposed at low tide. Some areas
were most productive of Lambis lambis and of
course there were literally millions of Cypraea
annulus. It was a real thrill, for those of us from
Hawaii where Cypraea vitellus is rare, to find
thesein fair quantity. . . we really had to keep
Nassarius arcularius.
Phot 0: Olive Schoenberg.
reminding ourselves that in Tonga, as in other
places throughout the Indo-Pacific, these cowries were not rare. In addition, there were
Cypraea moneta, C. lynx, C. carneola, C.
caurica, C. erosa and C. errones in enough
numbers that all of us were quite satisfied with
our "take."
Snorkellers found that their depths, from
about five feet to 15 feet, were the "best of all
possible worlds", and one Scuba diver remarked, during the trip, that he would just as
soon snorkel in most areas, because those depths
seemed to yield more. Great patches of sand,
sand rubble and dead coral slabs yielded an excellent haul; among them were numerous
species of Mitra, Lambis truncata, numerous
Terebra species, Murex ramosus, Conus
generalis, Cypraea tigris, and two lucky
snorkellers found Strombus sinuatus L.
The divers brought up all these, plus Cypraea
cicercula, C. bistrinotata,
Vasum ceramicum (only one), and, in one isolated area,
Strom bus thersites. They raved about the
beautiful live reefs, the clarity of the water, the
excellent conditions for underwater photography, and the general area.
The story of the Strombus thersites is a tale
in itself. We knew befort- we left for Tonga that
the Tongan isles were purlJOrted to be the center
of population for this spe(:ies.It was the desire
of all of us to bring back at least one of these
shells for our own collection. We tried to explain
to the Tongans what we were looking for, but
just couldn't get the idea across until one of the
divers brought up a lone S. thersites. I called
the skipper of our boat out to look at the shell
and explained that this was really the shell that
all of us thought of as "a Tongan shell", and
asked if he knew where to find any more.
Mano's answer was a surprise to all of us as he
said, "Why, yes, I know where these shells are,
they're in the waters around my home island. . .
I've collected them snorkelling . . . I'll take you
there and show you where to find them".
It was nearing the end of our stay in the
Ha'apai group when this trip was arranged, and
later Mano confessedto me that he was holding
his breath all the way over to "his" island for
fear that the shells might have moved, all died,
disappeared in some way and that he would be
called a braggart who didn't know anything
about shells.
When the boat arrived, Mano told the divers
to all stay on board, that he would go over the
side first, and reconnoiter. He put on mask, fins
and snorkel and hung in the water for a few
moments, then dove and came up holding a S.
thersites in his hand, asking "Is this what
you're looking for?" Then the divers were
allowed to go over the side to collect, not only for
themselves but for those who did not dive, so
that all would have a fair share. When Mano felt
that enough of the species had been taken to
satisfy everyone's needs, he called all the divers
back aboard the boat, saying "You've collected
enough. This is my island, and these are my
shells, and you aren't goint to wipe them out!"
For which "all of us said Bravo for him!
All in all, through our two-week stay, the
aggregate group collected over two hundred different species, some of them beach specimens,
some which we purchased from the natives and
ICont'd
on Page 51
TONGAN SHELLS
ICont'd from Page 41
never did find ourselves (Charonia tritonis, for
one 1 and some of which were so abundant that
we stopped picking them up after the first day.
A complete listing of species,depths and habitat
is being sent to Dr. Harald Rehder of the Smithsonian Institution, in the hope that this will further add to the knowledge of a heretofore unknown area.
The following articles from the Tongan
Chronicle were sent to us by Mrs. Margaret
Nicolle of Tonga.
Rare Cowrie Shell Found In Vava'u
ITonga Chronicle August 19th, 19711
A rare cowrie shell, of which only five others
are known to exist, has been found in Tonga,
Mr. L. J. Lancaster told the Chronicle this
week.
He said "this very important scientific find
for the Kingdom" had been verified in a letter
from Dr. Harald A. Rehder of the U.S. National
Museum, the Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.
The
cowrie,
Cypraea
(NotadustaJ
rabaulensis Schilder, 1964 was found in
Vava'u, Tonga by John Fatu in April this year.
This brings the number of species of cowrie in
Tonga to 56, said Mr. Lancaster. Another species, Cypraea (NariaJ irrorata, usually said not
to exist in Tonga by most shell authorities, had
also been found here he said.
Mr. Lancaster is engaged in a research programme to list the shells of Tonga in family lists
so that people from the outside world will be
drawn to the Kingdom for longer periods than
most tourists stay. Smithsonian shell authority,
Dr. Rehder, met His Majesty King Taufa'ahau
in Washington in 1963 when the King, then
Prince Tungi, visited the U.S.A. In 1964 Dr.
Rehder visited the Kingdom for two weeks for
preliminary investigations on Tongan shells.
Tongan Biologist Honoured
ITonga Chronicle September 13th, 19711
John Fatu of Ma'ufanga (Nuku'alofal has
been informed by Dr. Harald A. Rehder of the
U.S. National Museum, the Smithsonian, in
Washington, D.C. that a sub-speciesof abalone
is being named after him. The shell, a relative of
the New Zealand paua shell, comes from the
Ha'apai Group and is to be called, Haliotis
sepiculata fatui Rehder, 1971 (fatui would be
pronounced in Tongan, fatuail.
Mr. Fatu is sure Tonga has other species and
sub-species that are markedly different from
those outside the Kingdom. Little work has been
done on Tongan shells as compared with other
islands of the Pacific, and according to Mr.
Fatu, Tonga should lay claim to the naming of
speciesendemic to the local waters so that shell
collectors will be drawn to the islands for longer
periods than most tourists usually spend in the
Kingdom.
Page 5
HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS
October, 1972
SHELL SHOW
ICont'd from Page l~
ARUBA FOLLOW-UP
Dear Editor:
Since January, 1972, my wife and I have
been members of the HMS. Living on Aruba for
almost 22 years noW and being enthusiastic shell
collectors for more than 18 years, you will understand that the article on "Shore Collecting on
Aruba" by Mrs. Veronica Cetnar in the Aug.
1972 HSN, had our special attention.
We are able to identify the shells mentioned in
the article and shown on the picture on page 4.
Top left: Not Leuco%onia nassa Gmelin but
Leuco%onia ocellata Gmelin, 1791. See
Abbott: American Seashells plate ll-e or
Warmke Caribbean Seashells plate 22-kl.
Bottom:
the Nitidella
species (second from left
I
is Nitidella laevigataLinne, 1758 (seeWarmke
plate 20-ul. Top right: The shell Mrs. Cetnar
describesin the middle of column two on the
picturetop, far right, is, we are certain, Tudora
megacheilos megacheilos Potiez & Michaud.
I would like to congratulateyou and your
staff on your very interesting, and above all,
beautiful publication. I would like to let HMS
membersknow that, if they evercometo Aruba,
they are most welcometo seeour Aruba collection. We have shells from Imm up to the big
Strom bus gigas, Cassis tuberosa and Cassis
madagascariensis and the beautiful Murex
macgintyi M. Smith from 38mm! Uohnsonia
describesthe shell up to 3Omml.
Cordially yours,
(SI Adriaan N. deMan
Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
by LYMAN HIGA
While looking for octoPU8 at Waimanalo in
knee-deep water, Dougla8 Frieta8 found a live
Cypraea vitellus.
We8 Thorsson has fina1\y found his first
Strombus hawaiensis, dead, but sti1l a prize in
Hawaii. This was co1\ectedoff Moanalua Bay in
40' of water.
Randy Steven8found a number of rare she1\s
off Maui thi8 summer, some of which he displayed in the recent She1\Show. Among them he
found many species of Terebra, including two
T. achates and also two Cypraea talpa and a
fresh-dead C. rashleighana. Not to be outdone
by hi8 son, father, Bi1I, came up with a Strombus hawaiensis.
Andy Butler, Tom Richert and Martin Redlich uncovered an exciting habitat in a soon-tobe-dredged area, for Cypraea rashleighana . . .
more on this in the article on the She1\ Show.
Andy also found a Strombus hawaiensis off
Waikiki.
Edwin S. Tomihama
Shell handicrafts and novelties
Mrs. Tetta Richert
Mrs. Lee Armington
Jose Villanueva
Shell handicrafts Special award
-
Mrs. Joan Grace
Smithsonian Institution award for exhibit "furthering our knowledge of molluscan fauna of
Hawaii." - Anderson Butler.
The du Pont Trophy of the Delaware Museum
of Natural History for "the exhibit which
contributes most to the successof the show."
- Mr. & Mrs. Stewart Armington.
Hawaiian Shell of the Show, koa wood bowl
presented by the Hawaii Council of Diving
Clubs
Edward Konopka.
-
World-wide Shell of the Show, koa bowl presented by the Ala Moana Merchants Association - Donald Rowland Jr.
Most Popular Display, koa bowl presented by
Fisher Printing Co., Honolulu, on basis of
public vote
AndersonButler.
Three special noncompetitive awards were
voted by the judges:
To Elmer G. Leehman for his "outstanding
display of rare world-wide mollusks."
To Col. Charles Wolfe for his educational ex.
hibit on venomous cone shells.
To Anderson Butler "for imaginative use of
shell-derived displays" in the show decor.
Judges this year were Dr. C. M. Burgess, Dr.
Alison Kay, and E. R. Cross. Dr. Kay restricted
herself to selecting the winner of the Smithsonian Award.
A noncompetitive exhibitor was Tom Rice,
editor of Of Sea and Shore, from Port Gamble,
Wash. He displayed the second known livetaken Voluta duponti, two Conus milneedwards;' and other specimen shells.
-
SHELLS FOR SALE
AUSTRALIA
Lance Moore Marine Specimens Pty., Ltd.
27 A George St., Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Free catalogue on request. All specimenscannot be listed, our stock too comprehensive. Ask
for your "wants".
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN SHELLS
Box T 1738 G.P.O., Perth,
Western Australia 6001
Australia's finest shellscomefrom the west.
ern seaooard.. . . We specializein Cypraea
rosselli, c. jeaniana, C. marginata and Voluta
nodiplicata, V; irvinae, V; reevei and many
others.
New list just released now features Australian
chitons and Australian and worldwide mar/r;inellas.
Shells Color Slide" - Books
-
HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS
Page 6
BOOKSPEAKING
FOR
(Monopl!lcophoral.
Section two of the book de!lls with how shells
live; how their shells are m!lde, their egg C!lpsules &nd brooding, how they build their shells,
shell colors and patterns, their feeding habits,
and other fascinating bits of information about
the lives of shells. The next $ection of the book
deals with where shells live; from mangrove
swamps to coral reefs and from muddy bays to
the open sea.
To me one of thl) most interesting sections of
Kingdom of the Seashell deals with the evolution of shells from their beginning 500 million
years ago to the 70,000 kinds of shells existing
today. Still another fascinating section of this
marvelous book is that dealing with the habits of
shells.
Still other informative sections cover collecting shells, c.leaning shells, starting, and building
a collection. Then the book covers many of the
interesting shells of several f&milies: volutes,
cones,cowries, murex, the $pider conchs, strombus conchs, the slit shl)lIs, and many others.
Shells and primitive man, and shells in ancient
art and shells in the Renaissance were other
SHELLS FOR SALE
SHELL COLLECTORS
E. R. CROSS
by
If ever there was a true meeting on common
ground of molluscan science !lnd information for
the average collector R. Tuckl)r Abbott's Kingdom of the Se!lshell is it. And then some. This
extremely well done book will bl) useful !lnd of
interest to everyone.
The book starts by telling the reader what attributl)s an anim!ll must h!lve to be listed in the
kingdom of the se!lshell. The book then takes
the reader, interestingly !lnd fully, yet briefly,
through the anatomical differences between the
various classes of shells including the little
known and seldom mentionl)d gastroverms
October. 1972
chapters. A section also deals with harmful and
medicinal mollusks and still another with mollusks and pollution. And as sort of a grand finale
a section, No. 11, deals with shells and the connoisseur: early shell art, today's shell art and
jewelry, voyages for shells, famous shell collectors, famous malacolQgists (there is a difference), famous shell books, shell auctions and
shell shows. The final section provides the reader with a guide to the seashell literature.
Organization of the book is good. Indexing,
with lots of cross referencing, is good. However,
for my own use as a collector and one who writes
about shells, I wish the index had a complete list
of shells illustrated or discussed arranged by the
scientific name of the shell. As an example,
Sinum perspectivum, a shell I knQw, is listed
as Common Baby's Ear, which I never heard of,
with the scientific name in parenthesis.
The book is large in size (8112by 11 inches!.It
is profusely illustrated, much of it in full color
and some with double page spread color photQs.
The binding, done in Italy by true craftsmen, is
goQdbut loose enough tQ permit laying the book
flat on a table without pages turning so it can be
studied. The cover is linen. An excellent book.
The author R. Tucker Abbott is one of the
leading CQnchologistsof the world. He is author
of many leading boQksQn seashellsand editor of
three scientific journals. Dr. Abbott now heads a
new center of conchQlogy at the Delaware Museum Qf Natural History. He knows shells well
but more importantly he also knows and understands the needs of the amateur collector. His
latest work, Kingdom of the Seashell, is his
best. 256 pages. $14.95. Crown Publishers Incorporated, 419 Park Avenue South, New York,
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CALIFORNIA
COMMON WEST PACIFIC SEASHELLS
Good specimensand good data.
W. M. Ames, P. O. Box 025
San Diego, Calif. 92115
WHEN IN CALIFORNIA. VISIT
/
)
I'
--"'.ei
""--'"'"
Where satisfied customers in 1971 purchased
the following rare Cypraea
aurantium, gut~
N.Y. 10016.
tara, rosselli, surinamensis, midwayensis,
coucomi, jeaniana, langfordi, marginata,
rashleighana,
tessellata.
No li6ts
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rare shell
prices on reque6t.
Rare shells P.O.R.
22762 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu. California 90265
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WEST COAST CURIO CO.
1940 Maple Avenue
Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627
"13 Miles South of Disneyland" Longest
EstablishedShellDealeron Pacific Coast.More
than 2,000 Speciesstockedregularly. Buy or
Browse, you're always welcome! COME IN
AND SEE US.
R, Turkl'r Ahh(ltt auth(lr (If K1NGDOM OF THE SEASHEL/~, with exhibit,~ he de,~ignedfor thl'
n('IC [)l'lalcarl' .Wu,~l'umof Natural Ili.~tory.. A Rutledgl' &Jok, di.~tributed by Crown Publi.~her,~.
In(', Photo rrl'dit: (;alahro Di.~kau.
SOURCE FOR RED SEA SPECIMEN
AND COMMERCIAL SHELLS
DOV PELED
Hazalafim 6, Haifa, 34-739, Israel
Buys, sellsand exchangesshells.Price list on
reQuest.
October. 1972
HA WAllAN SHELL NEWS
Tibia Follow-Up
by
catula, T. [usus, T. [usus form melanocheiIus, and T. insulae-chorab appeared in the
August issue of HSN. We now continue with
additional information and illustrations received
of other Tibia species.
Tibia insulae-chorab form curta Sowerby
1842.
As mentioned in the May, 1972, issueof HSN
this shell is quite different from T. insulaechorab. Of the shell Reeve stated, "The form of
this shell is certainly distinct from any variety
that I remember to have seenof R. curvirostris
(a synonym of Tibia insula-chorab)
from
which it differs principally in the canal being
straight." Reeve's description of the shell is,
"Shell fusiformly turreted, spire very much
acuminated, canal straight, whorls rather flattened, the first few whorls longitudinally ribbed,
the rest smooth, columella callous, lip four to
five dentate, canaliculately produced at the
upper part, the canal being rather short and
curved backward; light fulvous-brown, with a
rather broad pale chestnut band beneath the
sutures, columella and interior of the aperture
white." At the time Reeve described the shell
only one specimen had been found. Apparently,
because of lack of specimens, Reeve failed to
note the most significant difference between T.
insulae-chorab and T. insula-chorab form
curta; i.e., the different form and length of the
posterior canal.
This shell is still quite rare. Measurements received of shells are given below.
Length Whorls
137mm?
87mm?
Dentation
5
4
SHELLS FOR SALE
E. R. ,CROSS
Preliminary comments and photographs of
shells in the Genus Tibia appeared in the May,
1972, issue of HSN. A follow-up on Tibia deli-
1.
2.
Page 7
Location
South India ~?j
Kerala, South
India
Previously we stated that this species is apparently fairly rare. Mora Williams, Dallas,
Texas, wrote, "I found T. curta (T. insulaechorab form curta) common in the shell stalls
at Clifton Beach near Karachi, Pakistan. I was
told local fishermen brought them in from that
area (?I of the Arabian Gulf.
ED NOTE: I wonder if the fishermen might
have been referring to Cape Jaddi area of Pakistan about 200 or so miles west of Karachi. This
!OOuld be an area from which this species of
Tibia might be collected,
Rimella
(Varicospira)
cancellata (Linne)
Of the two Rimella species this is the more
OOmmon, It is found, apparently, throughout
the western Indo-Pacific with specimens known
to have been collected from the Sulu Sea, Philippines, and the Dampier Archipelago, N. W.
Australia,
Of this species Reeve says, "Shell fusiform,
rather thick, spire sharp, whorls somewhat
rounded, bivaricose, longitudinally
closely
ribbed, interstices neatly cancellated with numerous small ridges, columella callous, slightly
recurved, lip thickened, slenderly canaliculatedly produced at upper part towards apex; light
glaucous-brown, stained with bands of small red
spots, lip and columella white, interior of the
aperture light chestnut," He further stated the
speciesis more attenuated and compressedthan
R. crispata and the channelled production of
the lip instead of being suddenly curved backwards on the penultimate whorl is continued towards the apex over 3 or 4 whorls.
Of R. crispata Reeve states: "shell fusiform,
rather thick, spire sharp, whorls rounded, twovaricose, longitudinally closely ribbed, interstices neatly cancellated with numerous small
ridges, columella straight., callous, lip very much
thickened, cancellated, elegantly curled at the
upper part, aperture small; glaucous-gray, interior of aperture chestnut, lip and columella
whitish. (Sinous production of the lip is suddenly curved backwardsl."
CARFEL SHELL EXPORT
1116 A. Mabini St.
Ermita, Manila D.406, Philippines
We specialize in quality Philippine specimen
shells, ornamental, commercial shells and
handicrafts. Also Indo-Pacific collections. Free
list upon request.
U.S.A.
STIX DISPLAY STANDS FOR SALE
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shops, or write for specifics: STIX, 13 Vandam
Street, New York, N.Y. 10013.
SPECIMEN SHELLS WANTED
I want to buy rare Conus,
Murex, Voluta
and Cypraea. Can use Cypraea aurantium and
I will pay good prices. Only live collected perfect
specimens considered.
SIMON De MARCO, World's Largest Dealer, P.O. Box 1664, Fort Myers, Florida 33902,
U.S.A.
HAWAII
~radi8e 8Rells
WORLDWIDE
SHELLS OF
SPECIMEN QUALITY
- Hawaiian SpecialtyWE BUY. SELL
AND TRADE
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WANT LISTS INVITED
2126 Kalakaua Ave.. Honolulu HI 96816
CALIFORNIA
AT LOS ANGELES HARBOR VISIT
"THE SEA"
525 North Harbor Blvd.
San Pedro, California 90731
Thousands of beautiful specimen shells, bulk
shells, craft shells; nautical and decorative
items. Shell jewelry and gifts. See the 40-foot
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everything for sale. Telephone 213-831-1694.
The Best Source
to collect rare, semi-rare and common
SHELLS OF CHINA
from the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait,
Rimella
cancellata (Linn~)
Rimella
crispata Sowerby
T. C. Lan
40, Lane 105, Liao-ningSt. Taipei,Taiwan
HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS
Page 8
October. 1972
Is There A Murex pele In The Audience?
by ELMER G. LEEHMAN
~\
8'
1
,
1
21
31
""
41
For several decades, Hawaiian shell collectors
have been confused as to whether Murex pete
Pilsbry, 1921 is really a valid speciesor is in fact
a variation of Murex anatomicus Perry, 1811.
This has been the subject of a number of comprehensive articles in the Hawaiian Shell News,
some by eminent authorities. Many local shell
people are positive M. pete differs in its many
brilliant colors. This theory has been seriously
undermined by lain Gower of Marau Sound,
Guadalcanal, British Solomon Islands, who has
sent the writer five specimens of M. anatomiclls
in the identical colors (red, orange and purple)
which often adorn M. pete. These were washed
up on the beachesof Guadalcanal after a hurricane this year. (See photo, upper row, top).
John Q. and Rose Burch (parents of HMS
Vice President Dr. Tom Burch! in the March
1960 issue of HSN analyzed the entire
Homatocantha family. Concerning M. pete,
the Burchs observed: "This speciesis very close
to Murex anatomicus. One distinguishing feature is the presence (in M. pete) of a number of
small spurs along the outer lip of the aperture.
These are lacking in M. anatomicus. Both
shells have two labial digitations."
The April 1963 issue of HSN carried an article by Co-Editor Clifton S. Weaver, headed: "Is
Murex pete a Good Species?" A photograph
showed two M. anatomicus from Fiji compared
to two M. pete from Hawaii. Weaver concludes:
"There seemslittle doubt that Murex pete Pilsbry is the northeastern representative of Murex
anatomicus Perry and at best deserves racial
rather than specific rank."
Dr. Harald Rehder of the Smithsonian Institute in the April 1964 issue went into great detail to scientifically analyze Murex pete. Dr.
Rehder says: "To begin with, this species belongs in the genus Homatocantha Morch 1852,
,
51
61
7
,
'
,
R'
which is not even the same sub-family as Murex.
Homalocantha pete Pilsbry 1921 is, in my
opinion, not separable from H. anatomicus
Perry 1811. I am unable to find any consistent
characteristics by which they might be separated."
Dr. Rehder analyzed in detail the entire family including Murex rota which he called M.
anatomicus, but not M. anatomicus zamboi
which he designated as a distinct species. It does
seem a little odd that, despite his opinion that
this species is Homalocantha, it has continued
to be recognized widely as Murex.
Anthony D' Attilio, analyzing the two shells in
the September 1964 issue of the HSN, makes
the following observations: "It should be noted
that this genus (Homalocantha) is marked by
the presence of spiral sculpture consisting of
heavy costae, a morphological character which
tends to remain stable and is quite obvious even
on badly eroded beach-rolled shells. It can easily
be understood that such elements of sculpture as
spines could be more easily affected by the various forms of attrition befalling the mollusc, such
as breakage, etc. With regards to the two species
here under consideration, it is submitted that
the spiral cords or costae form a more reliable
index for speciesdifferentation than the number
of spines."
D' Attilio theorizes that the shells from
Hawaii and Japan are identical, but that those
from the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Red Sea
are different.
"Large
specimens of Homalocantha
anat(lmicu.~ (trawled in the Gulf of Aqaba I
average about 56mm and possessthree heavy
cords on the body whorl" he wrote. "Zanzibar
specimens are entirely bright white in color, also
heavily lime-encrusted, and the spines comparatively poorly developed."
In view of this obvious valid variance of
opinion even on the part of the experts, the present writer discussed the situation with several
prominent Hawaii shell personalities. HSN Editor Ellis Cross, who was one of the first divers to
find a colony of M. pete, thinks the two species
(M. pete from Hawaii and M. anatomicus from
Guadalcanail are identical. Virginia Dennis has
reached the same conclusion.
HMS Director Ron McOmber, who has recently become a foremost M. pete fancier, believes that M. pete and M. anatomicus are
synonomous. He contends that he can take ten
shells from his own extensive M. pete collection,
mix them with Gower's five M. anatomicus and
defy anyone to separate them correctly. In fact,
McOmber is confident that if he were to visit the
Solomon Islands with his scuba gear he could
assist Gower to locate the live colony habitat.
Incidentally, these shells are most clever in concealing themselves from divers, as their cover is
usually identical to the surroundings.
Despite the strong evidence to the contrary,
however, the writer remains convinced that M.
pete differs from M. anatomicus. In preparing
this article, I made every effort to study all the
shells available in Hawaii. M. anatomicus are
not plentiful here, but Gower's five shells are
good examples. The pictures printed with the
previous HSN articles were carefully analyzed,
some with magnification. Insofar as the writer
was able to determine, in virtually every instance, the fronds and extensions of the M. pete
were more elaborate and lacier than those of M.
anatomicus, which were quite blunt. Many of
the M. pete have a lacy line of extra fronds on
top the dorsum, which is not even rudimentarily
present on any M. anatomicus examined.
The spines along the top of the aperture originally noted by the Burches are also a clear differentiation, in my opinion. While it is possible
that rough living conditions might cause the loss
of sculpture (as D' Attilio contends I these differences seemfar too consistent not to have basis in
fact. If and when Gower is able to locate the
colony of M. anatomicus in the Solomons, these
differences can be better evaluated. The five
shells he sent were undoubtedly vigorously
rolled around in the hurricane but are still in excellent condition. Most of the shells he found
were still alive and all had at least parts of the
animal inside.
Gower has been requested to forward a preserved specimen of colored M. anatomicus with
the animal" for examination by Dr. E. Alison
Kay of the University of Hawaii. McOmber has
offered to provide a live M. pete of similar size
and color for comparison in the laboratory. This
will surely settle some points of an old controversy which Gower's five fine shells have rekindled.