New Series No. 74 -- February, 1966 -- VOL. XIV No. 4

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Shelling On Malaita
Collecting On The Wild Coast Of S. E. Africa
Cypraea arenosa Gray (1824) Must Be Replaced by schilderorum Iredale (1939)
On Oahu Reefs With The O'Briens
Three Dozen Murex insularum
Warning To Shell Collectors
Cowries From Bowen

Photos - Weaver --- Mag. x 1.5 [mag. unknown]

[Fig. 1]           [Fig. 2]

Figs. 1 & 2: Two views of a live- collected Cypraea catholicorum Schilder & Schilder, 1938 taken by the author at Malaita I., British Solomon Islands. Length 15.5 mm.

[Fig. 3]                [Fig. 4]

Figs. 3 & 4: Two views of the New Georgia form of C. coxeni Cox, 1873 referred to by the author in this article. Length 23.5 mm., diameter 13.5 mm.

[Fig. 5]              [Fig. 6]

Figs. 5 & 6: Two views of the Malaita Id. C. coxeni. Length 24 mm., diameter 11.5 mm.

Malaita, one of the main islands of the Solomons, although not the biggest, is certainly the most densely populated one of the group, having almost half of the entire population. On the northeast coast is a lagoon approximately 20 miles long and 1 - 2 miles wide, in which there are some 60 artificial islands, built by the local people on the reefs. Ataa is near the southern end of the Lau lagoon. Incidentally, Ataa is a somewhat out-of-the-way place, as the nearest air-strip and post office are 100 miles away by sea... Nobody has ever collected shells here in the past, but since I became interested in them in 1960, shelling has become a kind of community project. Almost every day some person or other will show me shells, but the school kids are really the experts in shell collecting. At present, they don't bother anymore to pick up common ones; they go for the less common and rare ones, and even the very tiny ones don't escape their attention. I am glad to say that the kids really benefit most by what they find, as I am now building a school for them of permanent material, which I certainly could not erect otherwise, for lack of funds.

Last year's yield was quite interesting, but this year's was fantastic. The most common cowries are found anywhere in the lagoon, such as C. moneta, annulus, lynx, arabica, erosa, errones, chrysostoma, caputserpentis, and tigris. Some species are fairly-common, although they don't seem to be living in colonies; vitellus, eglantina, caurica, carneola, isabella. Others are rather rare, viz. mauritiana, depressa and talpa and are only found occasionally. And mappa, argus and testudinaria are really scarce.

As for the small and tiny cowries, the main collecting area is on the reefs near the outer edge of the lagoon near the open sea. At low tides a long stretch of reef falls dry (dry water, the locals call it) and it is possible to walk there without getting wet feet. Plenty of stones are scattered around, under which many kinds of cowries have been found, as well as a variety of other shells. The first cowries discovered here were labrolineata, kieneri and rhinoceros, but gradually staphylaea, felina, helvola and asellus came to light. Further exploration revealed the tiny minoridens and an odd fimbriata, both very difficult to find as they are so small and well camouflaged and the very attractive cribraria, which the kids christened "madai." Some rather small "madai" turned up which appeared to be somewhat different from the other cribraria, and experts have identified them now as being catholicorum. They are quite rare, as one may find just one among some 15-20 cribraria, which by no means are common either. Some nucleus, a couple of teres and an old punctata (very small) were also found in this general area on the edge of the lagoon. And this year in August, a kid of about 10 year[s old] started to smash soft coral heads, and discovered poraria with a very dark base.

A second collecting area which has been completely overlooked until recently is a small bay, almost wholly surrounded by hills, and partly cut off from the sea by a little natural island. Even when the wind sweeps through the lagoon and the sea gets rough, the little bay remains quiet and peaceful. The greatest depth at low tides is only a few feet, one fathom at the most. I used to get the ecological variety of coxeni (long and slender, without swollen margins) from South Malaita, but when the weather got somewhat rough in August, people started to investigate the little bay, and came up with a fair number of the Malaita variety of coxeni. And in company of coxeni, they found also rather large punctata and some microdon granum, in a proportion of just one each for 10 - 15 coxeni. Incidentally, the three last species seem to prefer very quiet water, and it would appear that they mainly feed on weeds which are plentiful in the little bay. Some coxeni have a greenish coloring, especially when the animal is still in it.

A third collecting area, much frequented this year, are the inner reefs in the lagoon, on the edge near deep passages, right in front of the station. One just walks out through a mangrove swamp onto a vast area of sand and reefs. In the mud patch quite close to the mangrove, we picked up a good number of errones caerulescens and ovum chrysostoma, as well as a couple of teres and cylindrica. But the edge of the inner reefs is really the place to look for the uncommon and rare ones. In only 1 or 2 feet of water at low tides, the kids found clandestina, eburnea, nucleus; hirundo and ursellus, quite distinct from one another and from kieneri; stolida and chinensis, and even scurra; and also some punctata and microdon, both of which are smaller than the same species found in the little bay, just a couple of hundred yard way. By breaking submerged coral heads they discovered also two types of pea cowries, which I think are cicercula or perhaps globulus and bistrinotata. By diving down along the edge of the reefs, some kids even managed to find a couple of ziczac and lutea humphreysii which up till now haven't been known to occur in the Solomon Islands. None of the above mentioned cowries seem to live in "colonies" and although we managed to get a couple or a few of each species, they are by no means common, but rather rare.

Cypraea aurantium also occurs here but is seldom seen. I also have one each of childreni and irrorata in my collection, both collected in this same area of North Malaita.

Of all the cowries mentioned by Prof. Dr. F.A. Schilder in the Solomon Islands region (Mel. 41s.) or rather the Melanesian region, only 3 species are still missing from my collection, viz. mariae, margarita and quadrimaculata. On the other hand, however, depressa, lutea hymphreysii and ziczac which are not known to occur in Mel. 41s. do in fact occur here, as well as onyx melanesiae, of which I just received two very nice specimens (one very dark, one light) from a friend on South Malaita (East coast).

But perhaps the most surprising fact is that all my cowries have been collected in an area of only a few square miles...

*Ataa / Malaita
Br. Solomon Islands

The 'Wild Coast' is the name by which the strip of coast between Port St. Johns and the Kei River is generally known, that is to say, the coast line of the Transkei.
...
In our three months of wandering along this coast I found alive only (1) Cypraea helvola, and (1) Epitonium coronatum, several dozen of the common Nerita (3 varieties), several small Turbo coronatus, several Trochus nigropunctatus, (1) Conus minimus, several Barbatia alfredinus, several dozen Kroussina rubra and dozens of Janthina. Not a great many mollusks for one day, and very disappointing for three months search. However, I found many Cypraea in good condition and the best beach-specimens of Voluta africana I have yet come across. This last is valued even as beach specimens as they are impossible to find unless taken from the stomachs of trawled fish. The few good specimens in museums were obtained from that source.

I have made contact with a trader and have since received two boxes of beach Cypraea. These are still glossy but many have a minute puncture showing that the mollusk had been killed by another predatory creature. I have about half a dozen Cypraea marginalis which I found at Bashee River mouth. These are rare and I have already parted with two. This is dead material.

The Pondoland coast, between the Transkei and Natal, has been explored with better results by the Natal conchologists, but even this is now Bantu territory and access will not be as easy as formerly. These two coastal areas constitute the most delightful climatic regions in the winter months. They enjoy a certain amount of rain all the year from the south-east trade winds, but the wind is stronger in summer and their rainy season is therefore spoken of as a summer one. Their winters are very mild.

Judging from beach results I think the following areas may prove profitable for future exploration:

Haga-Haga, Cypraea capensis; Kei Mouth, Epitonium coronatum; Bashee Mouth (to right of Hotel), Cypraea marginalis, Cypraea carneola, Cypraea chinensis; Coffee Bay, Cypraea vitellus, Cypraea helvola; Xora Mouth, this locality has species also found on east and south coast including Voluta africana, Cypraea citrina, vitellus, helvola, arabica, moneta, and Tonna variegata. I think this should prove the most profitable during the winter months of July and August.
...

In HSN (n.s.) 72:8 (1965), Dr. R. Tucker Abbott tried to prove that the specific name Cypraea arenosa Gray (1824) is not preoccupied by Cypraea arenosa Dillwyn (1823) and therefore should be restored. His deductions, however, are erroneous and caused further confusion among collectors.

First, Dillwyn did not say that arenosa is a synonym of pantherina as suggested by Dr. Abbott, for Dillwyn's explanation to Lister's figure 685.32 runs as follows: "Quoted by Dr. Solander in his Ms. for his Cypraea arenosa; and it is probably a young shell of Cypraea pantherina." Therefore he adopted Solander's name in the same way, as he quoted, on the same page, the published Cypraea nebulosa of Gmelin and C. cervus of Linnaeus as varieties of stercoraria and C. exanthema respectively. In 1827, Dillwyn treated "Cypraea arenosa of Solander" as a synonym of C. turdus.

But even if Dillwyn had intended to publish arenosa as a synonym only, it would be a senior homonym preventing the validity of arenosa Gray, for the article 11(d) of the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature quoted by Dr. Abbott is obsolete! In the second edition (June 1964) the article 11(d) has been emended according to the decisions of the 16th International Congress of Zoology (Washington, August 1963) in the following way: "A name first published as a synonym is not thereby made available unless prior to 1961 it has been treated as an available name with its original date and authorship, and either adopted as the name of taxon or used as a senior homonym."

As Iredale in 1939 (i.e. "prior to 1961") has "used" Cypraea arenosa Dillwyn (1823) "as a senior homonym" of Cypraea arenosa Gray (1824), the latter comes an invalid homonym and must be replaced by the specific name schilderorum Iredale (1939) forever.

Many reefs are not too accessible unless you have a minus tide, but one reef that can be reached at any low tide is at Fort Kamehameha. It is surprising what can be found on one reef, in an area no larger than a city block.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, and low tide was at one-thirty, so we grabbed our buckets and headed for Fort "Kam." After crossing the mud flats to reach the reef, we donned gloves to protect our hands and started turning over rocks. What an education is to be gained with the turning of each rock. Under the first rock were two Cypraea caputserpentis and a pretty scorpion fish while another uncovered a well disguised rock fish. Our companion, Ursula Wade, found the first Cymatium gemmatum. As we continued along the reef turning rocks and putting them back carefully to preserve the assortment of sea life living there, we found over twenty-five different species of shells.

It seemed to be egg laying time for Conus catus, as they were to be found in pairs under many of the rocks sitting next to their strange looking egg cases. Also to be found were all of the most common varieties of Conus such as flavidus, lividus, ebraeus, sponsalis, and abbreviatus as well as Cymatium pileare, tuberosum, nicobaricum, and Bursa affinis.

The weather was beautiful, sunny but not too warm, and as we walked along the reef we uncovered numerous eels which always startled us. As Mrs. Wade turned over one rock, an eel darted out right between my feet. A little shook-up, I decided it was time for a rest. Resuming our search a little later on Mrs. Wade found a beautiful juvenile C. maculifera. We were also rewarded with Cypraea helvola, poraria, isabella, and moneta.

If you become a little too ambitious, and try to turn rocks that are larger than you can handle, you may end up sitting in the water as I did. This provided a good laugh for my loving husband Bob and our ten year old son Patrick, so all was not lost. Only my dignity.

As is usual when you are enjoying yourself, time passes too fast and we found we had spent almost four hours in this one small area. We left many rocks unturned for our next trip back. So if you should happen to get there before I do, the shells are where you find them. Good luck.

During the first week-end after the New Year I happened to be diving again in the same area and decided to take another look at the same spot. Sure enough - there was a very lonely "Number 37." Of course I did!

[See "Letter to the Editor" in next issue.]

[This article has nothing, directly, to do with cowries. However, Ed deVaul was a close friend of mine and well known to C. M. Brugess. These two gentlmen came from the same town in North Dakota and shared interests in sea shells and firearms. Shortly after Ed died, his wife, Kato (Katy), allowed me to purchase most of his modest shell collection – for a token sum. Later, Katy gave me the 20 years of Hawaiian Shell News New Series issues which had been languishing in a closet. That 'seed' caused me to acquire the subsequent 13 years, and is the fundamental reason for these items being available in their current format. "Aloha" and "Mahalo," Ed! – Bob Dayle (a.k.a. makuabob), March 9^th, 1999.]

The erroneous and often forged locality data one so frequently encounters on shell labels, has prompted me to write this short note. Traveling shell-collectors are aware of the existence of the Suva shell market in Fiji, and are probably aware that this market is occasionally the source of shells foreign to Fiji and also of plain simple forgeries. One will encounter cowries of various species, which have been mechanically ground down, buffed and polished, until the dark purple layer of Cypraea eglantina Duclos, or the chocolate brown bands of C. mauritiana Linnaeus are exposed. These specimens are sold to souvenir hungry tourists as genuine deep-water species from between $3 to $5. Such forgeries, however, are too simple to be taken seriously, nor can they be the cause of an inadvertent description as new species. A more serious problem, however, is the appearance of Volute shells at the market-stalls which, according to the vendors, have been collected on the Suva reef in deep water. Although species of Volutidae do occur in New Caledonia, this is about the family's most eastern limit of distribution (with the exception of New Zealand). Amateur collectors apparently are ignorant of this fact, since local shell collections contain Voluta hunteri Iredale, V. zebra Leach and other Australian volutids, all of which have been purchased at the Suva shell-market with the assurance of having been collected on the Suva reef.

This regrettable circumstance is the outcome of a visit by an Australian shell collector to Fiji, who brought with him a number of Volutes for exchange with local collectors. There was no demand for these shells in local shelling circles and the lot was disposed of through sale to the vendors in the Suva shell-market. The same shells were sold for triple the price to unsuspecting collectors with a verbal "Suva reef" label. Even the East North American species Busycon contrarium Conrad, has been offered for sale at the Suva shell-market for $5 - $10, although it is worth only about 25 cents in its country of origin. These chank-shells are of religious importance and are being used in local Hindu temples, and must have been imported at one time or other for this specific purpose. Shells originating in the Suva shell-market should never be accepted as genuine records for faunal lists. Indeed they should not be purchased by locality-conscious collectors in the first place.

Mr. Cedric Coucom of Yeppon (Queensland) has sent me 331 cowries which he had collected in 1965 during a short visit to Holborne Island, about 20 miles north of Bowen, Queensland; the small island is rarely visited by shell collectors. Plenty of worn, bleached shells have been collected on the sandy beach, but only a few living cowries on the adjacent reefs so that the animals are thought to live in deeper waters. In the following paragraph the species have been enumerated according to their frequency, indicated by the number of specimens collected on the beach:

49 carneola (25 to 74 mm long), 33 isabella, 28 labrolineata, 27 erosa, 22 nucleus, 18 pallidula, 16 eglantina, 16 caurica, 14 errones, 14 gracilis, 14 quadrimaculata, 13 cylindrica, 10 vitellus, 10 stolida (large), 8 talpa, 6 annulus, 5 cicercula, 4 argus, 4 lynx, 4 teres, 2 scurra, 2 margarita, 2 caputserpentis, 2 hirundo, 2 cribraria, 1 arabica, 1 staphylaea, 1 limacina, 1 asellus, 1 clandestina, 1 kieneri -- but no specimens of globulus, moneta, xanthodon, subviridis, listeri, etc.

The total of 31 species among 331 cowry specimens is amazing, and the relative frequency of species is unusual in East Australian waters. The absence of xanthodon points to the insular character of the fauna, and the white aperture of caputserpentis as well as the large lateral blotches of erosa point to its affinity with Melanesian faunas, as the relative frequency of quadrimaculata, talpa and argus does.