Dextral Phuket, Thailand. 2. Neptunea Antiquata L., Valves to Discover If Something Is Wrong About the /758 Scotland; Dextral "Standard"

LEFT-HANDED CORNER:

By JEAN-CLAUDE CAILLIEZ* MEYRIN - Except for the triphorids, left- handed shells are rare among marine gastropods. There are plenty of left-handed freshwater snails, and half of the land-snails are sinistral: In Recent fossils, the frequency of sinistrality is higher than today and left-handed Conus or Terebra are well known to collectors. One out of 1,000 men is left-handed, but only one in 3,000 Helix pomatia, the edible European land-snail, is left-handed. About one Aulica vesper- tilio per million and one Indian Chank shell, Xan- cus pyrum, per six million have such orientation. This is why in the past centuries, this kind of shell, called in 1750 "unique" (unique/sole)or "bouche a gauche" (left-mouthed), was attributed to the Gods. A good definition of the sinistral phenomenonfor univalves could be: the aperture of the shell is on the observer'sleft when the apex (shell's sharppart) is directed upward. Conversely a dextral or right- handed shell would have the aperture on the observer's right when similarly oriented. This phenomenoncan be seenalso among bivalve shells, especially with Spondylus, Chama and Os- traea. It is not easy to distinguish the left and right /. Aulica I/espertilio L., /758; sinistral Philippines; dextral Phuket, Thailand. 2. Neptunea antiquata L., valves to discover if something is wrong about the /758 Scotland; dextral "standard". 3. Helix lucorum L., /758; Turkey; sinistral & dextral. 4. Busycon animal's orientation. But sometimesthe valves are contrarium Conrad, /840; Florida; sinistral "standard". 5. B. coarctatum Sow., /825; E. Mexico; dextral reversed. "standard". 6. Amphidromus perversus L., /758; Bali; sinistral & dextral. 7. Neptunea contraria L., Some sinistral gastropod species, such as Busy- /77/; Morocco; sinistral "standard". 8. Antiplanes I/oyi Gabb, /866; Sonora, Mexico; sinistral "stan- con perversum, also produce right-handed speci- dard". Photo: Cailliez mens. It is a problem to separate these "wrong shells" from Busycon carica and B. eliceans which trality," meaning they are sinistral specimens of are the majority (83 percent); the superfamily Vol- are allied right-handed species. Conversely, right- species that are usually dextral. utacea has 53 percent, while 33 percent of the fam- handed Busycon coarctatum and left-handed B. Shells also have dextral or sinistral protoconchs. ily Marginellidae is sinistral. The last figures reflect contrarium look like brothers! When possible, analysis of the animal soft parts will a population situation with a high number of speci- Looking deeperthan the sinistral shell in the col- show if the animal living in a left-handed shell is mens in a closed area. This permits easy duplication lector's hand is the classification of this anomaly. dextral or sinistral. The protoconch orientation de- of inherited genetic parameters, such as sinistrality. The term "generic sinistrality" is used for a genus fines the animal's anatomical modification, if any. Some explanations as to the origin of sinistrality in which every species is left-handed, as are the have been given. They are not convincing even Back to the shell list: Pelseneer (1920) listed 32 turrid shells of the genus Antiplanes. "Specific though some offer a part of the solution. Few sinistrality" applies to left-handedshells of a mostly sinistral species; S. P. Dance (1972) gave 62, and I studies have been made on this subject among large right-handed genus as in Busycon including the (1980) reported 81. Today, we recognize as many populations of mollusks, i.e. bivalvia. "opposite species," B. perversum and B. carica. as 100 species. More than 10 percent of these spe- A sea god may have reacted upon seeing that cies may not yet be indexed here because they have The above sinistral specieshave "teratologic sinis- uniformity was bringing sadness. There may be not been publicized. When analysing this list, we "eccentric" mollusks as there are shell collectors. *75 avenuede Mategnin, Meyren, Switzerland can see that the Neogastropods (recent gastropods) (Cont'd on Page 4) Page 2 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

~ 4«!;~ S Ieett ~4. ISSN 0017-8624 HMS APRIL MEETING To no one's surprise, Chris Takahashi's slide lec- Editor Emeritus E. R. CROSS ture on Hawaii's Shells at Home, the feature attrac- Editors OR. TOM BURCH. STUARTLILLICO tion at the April meeting of the Society, was a treat. Associate Editors ELMERLEEHMAN, OLIVE SCHOENBERG The sessionwas again at the Waikiki Aquarium, our ScienceAdvisor OR. E. ALISONKAY meeting place pending resolution of uncertainty Science Consultant W. O. CERNOHORSKY Editorial Stall LYMANHIGA, JIM ROHRBACH, about continued use of the First United Methodist WALTERSAGE, OOROTHY WENOT Church. Editorial Assistants GEORGECAMPBELL, In the absenceof Vice President Jim Rohrbach, BUNNIECOOK, OR. CARLCHRISTENSEN CorrespondingEditors MARGEBRAONER, OONALO OAN, President Olive Schoenberg doubled as program FR. AL LOPEZS.J., HENKK. MIENIS,PETER van PEL, chairman. Attendancewas about 45. AURORARICHAROS, THORA WHITEHEAO Beatrice Burch opened the program with a short Index Editor RAYMcKINSEY Back Issues Manager BUNNIECOOK presentationon the bivalve genusSolecurtus. Using both slides and black-and-whitephotos (plus one of HAWAIIAN MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Foundedin 1941) the small shells in a pillbox), she showed the char- POBox 10391 Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 acteristic striationsof this group. President OLIVESCHOENBERG Takahashi'slive-shell slides mostly were taken at Vice President JIM ROHRBACH Treasurer BARBARAKUEMPER depths ranging from a few feet to (in one instance) RecomingSec'y RAYMcKINSEY about 200 feet down. They ranged from "can-you- Corr. Sec'y OOROTHYWENOT spot-the-shell?" shots to a spectacularseries show- Ollice Manager KARENCABRAL ing a Lima fragilis Chemnitz "flying" through the Directors water column to escapeChris' camera. DR. TOM BURCH GEORGECOOK * * * STUARTLlLLlCD INGABORGSHIELOS LEEHMAN COLLECTION SOLD Honorary Directors E. R. CROSS DONALDDAN BRUCECARLSON The personal collection of Elmer Leehman has The Society currently meets the first Wednesday of each been sold to a private collector and will leave Ha- month in Honolulu. waii in the near future. The new owner has asked VISITORS WELCOME! Hawaiian Shell News is issued free to members of the not to be identified. The combined collection is Society. Postage rates have been computed and added to understoodto be intended as the basis for a museum membership dues Individual copies of any issue may be obtained, free of charge, by qualified individuals for bona fide display. research projects. The Leehman collection includes multiple gem Members outside the United States are asked to pay with a bank cheque (not a draft) payable to HMS on a US. bank. specimensof many rare species. Several are. near (Be sure your name and address appear on the cheque.) world record size. instance) 'apex' and so forth. By the time I get back HMS DUES FOR 1987 to the book, I have forgotten what it was I went to Includes delivery of HSN The collection has never been on public display -U.S. Zip Code Addresses (Handled as bulk mail, as a whole, although a few outstandingshells have the dictionary to look up." not forwardable to new address) $17.50 -Canada and Mexico (First Class mail) .. 22.00 been included in HMS Shell Shows in earlier years. He adds that if someone would help him, he -All Other Countries 24.00 The relatively few people who have seen the com- would gladly give that person some shells for his/ OPTIONAL DELIVERY OF HSN BY AIR MAIL (Dues included) plete collection regard it as probably the outstanding her work and bother. -U.S Zip Code Addresses 22.00 personalcabinet in the United States. The editor suggeststhat a glossary should be a -Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean Islands. Central America, Colombia & Venezuela 28.00 * * * great help with this type of problem. An excellent -Europe (except USSR, Latvia. lithuania, & W. S. BITLER, R.ADM. US NAVY (KET.) one is Arnold, Winifred, 1966, "A glossary of a Estonia), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Malta, and South America (except News of the death early in April of Conus expert thousand-and-oneterms used in conchology." Vel- Colombia & Venezuela) 30.50 W. S. "Skip" Bitler at his home in Medford, NJ iger vol 7 (suppl.), 50 pp, 155 figs. According to -Africa (except North Africa), Australia, New Zealand, Asia, USSR, Estonia, Latvia, has reached friends in Honolulu. Admiral Bitler, the April 1987 Veliger, this can be purchasedfrom Lithuania, Israel, Middle East, Indian Ocean Mr. Morgan Breeden, The Shell Cabinet, 12991 and Pacific Ocean Islands lacking U.S. Zip who began collecting shells on a tour of duty in Codes 33.50 Panamaearly in his Navy career, gathered an out- Bristow Rd., Nokesvi1le, VA 22123 or it can be -ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP (For family standing selection of both rare and common cones purchasedon microfiche from Stan J. Long, Shells members; HMS card but no HSN) 1.00 Articles of interest to shell collectors are solicited. Con- from around the world. He transferredthe lot to A. & SeaLife, 1701 Hyland, Bayside, CA 95524. tents are not copyrighted. Republication, with credit to HSN, J. da Motta three years ago. is invited. * * * The opinions expressed in signed articles in HawaIIan Admiral Bitler has been in declining health for COCOS ISLAND Shell News are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent policies of the Hawaiian Malacological Society. the past three or four years. He was 87. Don Shasky wrote from Redlands, CA, that we Advertisements are accepted at the rate of US $2000 per * * * column-inch per issue, payable in advance. Discounts are HELP WANTED really boo-booed when we decided to dub Isla de offered for six and twelve insertions. Vincent Cusumano of 309 Court St., Brooklyn, Coco, Costa Rica as Coco Island. [HSN 12/86P 10] Typesetting, composition and printing of Hawaiian Shell News is done by Fisher Printing Co., Honolulu N. Y. 11231 writes that even with all the books he He has a large bibliography, in English, on this has on shells, he still can't make heads or tails out island. All books and articles use Cocos Island not of them. "The authorsjust don't explain the word- Coco Island. Shasky enclosed a Costa Rican ing. Some will explain some parts of the shell but brochure issued by the State Open University, the leave out others they mention in the article." National Parks Fountion, and the National Park Ser- He complains that diagrams in shell books only vice of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. show some of the parts referred to in the text. "This The brochure was in English and definitely used meansI have to usethe dictionaryto look up, (for Cocos Island. May 1987 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS Page 3

Thoughts on Rarity II

By PAUL F. PATCHICK* MONTEREY BAY, CA - Where i!i the collector prior to 1900 and only 10 before 1800. rating of some of our most highly prized cones. A who has not had the experienceof wat(:hing a prized If we acceptthe opinions of Peter Dance and Dr. few, nevertheless,retained their elevatedstatus. shell shrink in rarity as new sourcesof .' supplyflood TuckerAbbott as authoritative(and who doesn't?), How do we summarizeall the foregoing?Rarity, the market?What law condemnsa spe(:ies originally the nearly two decadesbetween Rare SheDsand the like fame, can be fleeting. Enjoy your prize cone rated "very rare; seldom collected" In-- -rr--.."""..r n"--- Compendium saw a broad reduction in the rarity today; tomorrow it may be only "formerly rare." later dealers' lists as "a gem specimen of this once-elusivespecies?" S. Peter Dance, in his classic 1969 Rare Shells, listed eight cones among the 50 molluscan species COMPARISON OF RARITY RATINGS BY VARIOUS SPECIALISTS OF CONE SHELLS LISTED AS "RARE" BY S. PETER DANCE IN 1969 he rated as "rare." "A book like this," Dance admitted in his re- Jerry Walls, 1979 Elmer Leehman, J. Eisenberg, 1981 Abbott & Dance, 1982 marks, "is necessarily a very personal, subjective Cone Shells 1979 Seashells Compendium of affair. . . I hope that much of what appealedto me Honolulu of the World Seashells appealsto others, too." Conus thomae Gmelin, 1791 Fair enough. Very rare. . . was rare; not illustrated' formerly rare His eight cones were Conus thomae Gmelin, almost never in now scarce 1791, C. cervus Lamarck, 1822, C. crocatus private collections Lamarck, 1810, C. gloriamaris Chemnitz, 1777, C. Conus cervus Lamarck, 1822 milneedwardsi Jousseaume,1894, C. excelsus Sow- A classic rarity2 no change; not .illustrated. a classic rarity erby III, 1908, C. adamsoni Broderip, 1836, and C. still rare dusaveli H. Adams, 1872. Conus crocatus Lamarck, 1810 In this article I shall compare how the following was rare; (form thailandus (= C. colubrinus) authorsrated those samespecies: (= C. colubrinus) Rare everywhere now scarce daMotta) extremely rare Jerry Walls, 1979, Cone Shells rare C. crocatus Elmer Leehman,Honolulu, 1979 except New Caledonia, uncommon in JeromeEisenberg, 1981, Seashellsof the World where it is uncommon. Solomons. R. Tucker Abbott & S. Peter Dance, 1982, locally common Compendium of Seashells Elmer Leehman, popular columnist in Hawaiian Conus gloriamaris Chemnitz, 1777 Shell News, based his revisions chi~fly on his Moderately rare, but was rare; very rare; moderately rare knowledge of the recent startling increasein use of widely distributed; now scarce a famous and gill nets set in deep water off the southern Philip- a rare and famous classic rarity pines; the fact of parallel discovery of the ecologic shell; more common habitat of several species; and authoritative reports than usually suggested. from dealers, advancedcollectors and malacologists Conus milneedwardsi Jousseaume,1894 worldwide. Where only a decade or so earlier, a Usually very rare, no change; extremely rare; rather rare few Filipino fishermen had been lowering a dozen but recently has still rare a classic rarity nets into relatively shallow water at Punta Engano, come onto market now hundreds were out daily (or, more often, in some numbers. nightly) lowering thousandsto ever greater depths. Conus excelsus Sowerby III, 1908 Dealers with big money in hand watched over their Probably widely no change; not illustrated' rare shoulders.Scuba divers were diving deeperand tak- distributed; an still rare ing greater risks in far-off places like Thailand and extremely rare shell Okinawa. The most recent rating came in Abbott and in collections. Dance's fine Compendium of Seashells, 1982. It Conus adamsoni Broderip, 1836 classified C. pergrandis for example, as rare, com- Very rare species no change; extremely rare; rare; not uncommon in ing from deep water of the Western Pacific. The seldom seen in still rare a classic rarity Phoenix Island. figured "grand cone" was said to attain five inches good condition. (125 mm) in "average adult specimens." Conus dusaveli H. Adams, 1872 Two of our rare old favorites - C. gloriamaris Only rediscovered in no change; not illustrated' moderately rare and C. bengalensis - were downgradedto "mod- last few years; will still rare erately rare" while the once-rareC. milneedwardsi prove merely uncommon was now only "rather rare." when ecology is known. The Compendium figured 354 Conus species, subspeciesand varieties, of which 65 were considered to be either "rather rare," "moderately rare," I. Presumablynot present in this prominent dealer's per- servus (sic) one of the two rarest shells in the world, or "rare." Thirty-five of the 65 had been described sonal collection - an interestingindication of rarity. adding that "$10,000 offered for a specimen had been 2. The 1982 Guiness Book of Records called Conus refusedin 1978," Later editions ballyhooedC, "servus" as *1123S. Los PalosDr. (#10), Salinas.CA 93901 the "mo.t valuahle" .hell Page 4 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

tied (securely!). The other end of the cord has a Anticlockwise Direction slip-knot loop which goes over the wrist. Other (Cont'd from Page 1) forms of attachmentsuch as Velcro fasteningsto the 100 SpeciesKnown to Produce P. apicinum Menke, 1828 forearm, weight belt, shoulder harness,etc. can be Sinistral Shells P. bello Conrad, 1868 tried P. guttatum Dillwyn, 1817 The plastic screw-top lid is the secret. It is mod- P. pellucidum Pfeiffer, 1840 ified as follows: using a hole-saw or simply a sharp Turbo sarmaticus L., 1758 Hyalina biannulata Fabricius, 1826 Littorina littorea L., 1758 H. capensis Krauss, 1848 knife, remove a circular section of the lid leaving a L. saxatilis 0livi, 1792 H. cylindrica Sow., 1846 rim of about 10 mm around the edge. Roughenthe Philippia fallaciosa Tiberi, 1872 H. effulgens Reeve, 1865 Heliacus cylindricus Orne1., 1791 H. gracilis C.B.Adams, 1850 H. variegatus Orne1., 1791 H. mitrella Risso, 1826 Strombus gigas L., 1758 H. obscura Reeve, 1865 Aporrhais pespelicanis L., 1758 H. sua vis Souverbie, 1859 Polinices josephina Risso, 1826 Closia sardo Kiener, 1834 P. flemmingiana Rec1uz, 1844 C. angustata Sow., 1846 P. tumidus Sw., 1840 Persicula taveriana Petit, 1851 Cypraea capensis Gray, 1828 Gibberula miliaria L., 1758 C. declivis Sow., 1870 G. philippi Monterosata, 1878 C. edentula Gray, 1825 Cypraeolina clandestina Brocchi, 1814 C. fuscodentata Oray, 1825 C. pumilia Tate & May, 1901 C. mus L., 1758 Granulina ovuliformis d'Orb., 1841 C. stolid a L., 1758 Mitra cornicula L., 1758 Murex brandaris L., 1758 Vexillum australe Sw., 1820 M. recurvirostris Brod., 1833 V. ebenus Lam., 1811 Chicoreus cichoreum Orne1., 1791 Conus floridianus Gabb, 1868 Ch. virgineus Rod., 1798 C. furvus Reeve, 1843 Ch. damicornis Hedley, 1903 C. mediterraneus Hwass, 1972 Photo: Tarr Hexaplex trunculus L., 1758 Homolocantha secunda Lam., 1822 [The number of sinistral shells might double, if inside of this rim for better glue adhesion and, if Urosalphinx cinerea Say, 1822 the minute lniforis, Viriola, lnella, Mastonia, Muricopsis cristatus Brocchi, 1814 Litharium, Cautor, Triphora, and other sinistral present, remove the rubber sealing "washer." Next Nucella lapillus L., 1758 Triphoracea were included in the list. T.B.] cut out a disc of 2 mrn double-nylon neoprenethat Mitrella scripta L., 1758 will just lie inside the lid without any distortion. A Galus gracilis Dacosta, 1778 BIBLIOGRAPHY ready source of this material is the wrist section of Neptunea antiquata L., 1758 Cailliez, l.C., 1980. "Senestralitechez les Mollusques," Babyloniajaponica Reeve, 1842 Bull. Soc, Int. Couchyl. 2(3):6-10. an old neopreneglove. (Motor car inner tube mate- Dance, S.P" 1972, "Sinistrismo anormale in conchiglie Buccinum undatum L., 1758 di gasteropodimarini," La Conchiglia 4(36):13. rial also works, but is not as soft as neoprene.)This Euthria corneum L., 1758 Pelseneer, 1920. Les variations et leur heredite chez material is glued to the inside of the lid rim using Boreotrophon candelabrum Reeve, 1848 les Mollusques. Bruxelles M. Hayez, 826 pp Fasciolaria lignaria L., 1767 waterproof contact adhesiveor neoprenecement. It Nassarius reticulatus L., 1758 is important that no distortion of the material takes N. thersites Brug., 1798 place at this stage. Bullia vittata L., 1767 The resulting diaphragm is then cut through the Melongena corona Orne1., 1791 THE "T ARR-JAR" Volemaparadisiaca Rod., 1798 center to create a slit opening to the jar. If well Pugilina cochlidium L., 1758 By ROB TARR* made, the jar can be turned upside down and still Melo amphora Lightfoot, 1786 TABLE VIEW - Here is a suggestion for pro- retain water. Live and delicate shells can now easily M. melo Lightfoot, 1786 Cymbium marmoratum Link, 1807 tecting live shells collected while scuba diving. Pre- be dropped into the jar through the slit with no C.cymbium L., 1758 viously I had stuffed the shells under the wrist damageto the mantle. Cymbiolacca complexa lredale, 1924 section of my neoprene glove. After this treatment it Cymbiola nobilis Lightfoot, 1786 was seldom possible to get a photo of the animal in C. verspertilio L., 1758 Back Issues C.jlavicans Orne1., 1791 a healthy state. Thus the "Tarr-Jar" was born. Scaphella junonia Lam., 1804 It consists of a 375 or 500 ml (about one pint) The Hawaiian Malacological Society maintains a Aulica imperialis Lightfoot, 1786 clear plastic jar with a slightly constricted neck modest stock of back issues of Hawaiian SheD Amoria dampieria Weaver, 1960 News. Copies of most issues back to 1960 are Volutoconus grossi Ireda1e, 1927 around which a strong, soft, braided nylon cord is Olivella oryza Lam., 1811 available although some are in xerox form. Write O. mutica Say, 1822 'P.O. Box 34. Table View 7439, Republic of South Africa the Back Issue Managerfor information. Ancilla ventricosa Lam., 1811 A. cinnamomea Lam., 1801 Ancillista velesiana lredale, 1956 Turbinellapyrum L., 1758 Tudicula armigera Adams, 1855 Marginella aurantia Lam.,1822 M. desjardini Marche-Marchand, 1957 M. glabella L., 1758 M. goodalli Sow., 1825 M. limbata Lam., 1822 M. nebulosa Rod., 1798 M. ornata Redfield, 1870 M. piperita Hinds, 1844 M. johnstoni Petterd, 1884 M. muscaria Lam., 1822 M. pygmaea Sow., 1846 Prunum amygdala Kiener, 1841 P. curium Sow., 1832 P. orunum Orne1.. 1791 May, 1987 HAW AllAN SHELL NEWS Page 5

By EDWARD [ IUNLAP, M.D.* Collected Cypraea RHlNEBECK, NY - It is with both dismay and HMS former president Andy Butler in HSN apprehensionthat I report on my recent two-month November 1977, reported on "The Mysterious By ALLAN CONNELL* shelling visit to the Hawaiian island of Maui. I fear Sicknessof Maalaea Bay," describing the marked BRIGHTON BEACH, RSA - Cypraea Julton; that disaster has befallen much of its shallow-water decreasein the shell population even that far back. shell population. Bill Austin, skipper of the researchvessel Machias. Sowerby, 1903, is known almost exclusively from During November and December of last year wrote a concurring report in HSN March 1978. The specimenstaken from the stomach of the mussel- [1986], I found that radical changeshad taken place same issue carried a dissent by the Mayor of Maui cracker fish, Cymatocepsnasutus. The shell is less since exactly two years previously. Several sites and the state Departmentof Land and Natural Re- were involved. Those of you who have visited Maui sources. A decade later, there can be no question often seen on the Natal coast, becausethe mussel- - a truly beautiful island despite the recent explo- that Butler and Austin were right. cracker has becomedepleted by heavy fishing pres- sive growth of its visitor facilities - will recognize Kihei. The situation is similar at the old Ha- sure. most of the following sites. waiian fish pond at KalepolepoPark, in front of the Lahaina town. Two years ago, in the mile or so Maui Sunset Apartments. This is where Severns of reef stretchingbetween the Lahaina ShoresHotel found his rare live Cypraea erosa about sevenyears and Mala Wharf, just north of the Jodo Mission ago. It now features dead coral, much silt, heavy pagoda, I found seven Cypraea lynx (Dr. Alison algal growth and few shells of any kind. Three Kay in her Hawaiian Marine Shells, (1977) stated years ago, off Cove Park, I found the three largest that only four or five takings had been recorded in Conus lividus in my collection. Hawaii), two C. viteUus and two C. moneta (both Wailea-Makena. Although this area near the uncommonin Hawaii), and one C. talpa, severalC. eastern end of Maalaea Bay has not been devas- maculifera, and two good-sizeConus marmoreusf. tated, the shelling is spotty. Some pocketsare good, bandanus, plus others. All were live-taken and most others are sterile. were in gem condition. Four years ago, in this same Kaanapali and northward. I have had little per- area, I found my record-size Cypraea mauiensis sonal experiencealong this stretch of shore toward (16.9 mm), also live taken. the western end of Maui, which never has been Today, this entire stretchof reef is totally dead. It regardedas prime shelling country. I gatheredthat it yielded me no shells, alive or dead. has not improved. Olowalu. This is the stretchof fringing reef about Interestingly, in all the dead and dying reefs there five miles east of Lahaina town where Dr. C. M. has been an explosion of seaweed,the helmet urchin Burgesstound the holotype of Cypraea mauiensis. Colobocentrotusatratus, and brittlestars. Two years ago this area yielded me little, but it was I am convinced that this devastationis the result still a rewarding place. This time I found the coral of chemical runoff from Maui's ubiquitous sugar- about 80 percent dead and the whole bottom silted cane fields, combined with pollution from the over. In two long, hard-working sessionsI found rapidly proliferating new housing. Since this pollu- only three live Cypraea maculifera, plus a dead tion is unlikely to lessen - indeed, it may well Cymatium pileare. increase dramatically with occupancy of new and Maalaea Bay. The bottom in front of the area's projected housing - the future of shorelineshelling new condominium complex is almost totally dead. on leeward Maui appearsgrim. Conditions are a little better in the much larger There is disagreementwhether primary responsi- stretch of shallow water still without condos along bility for the destruction of marine life lies with the shore. I found a few common and ubiquitous sugar-canechemicals or runoff from new housing. Cypraea caputserpentis. The question may be answeredin the next five to 10 HMS member Mike Severns, in a personal years by monitoring the Wailae-Makena shoreline. communication, advised me that the entire floor of There is no sugar in that area, but housing Cypraea Julloni Sowerby from stomach of a fish MaalaeaBay is heavily silted and almost dead. developmentils exploding.

During 1985 a specimen was taken from a mus- 'R.D.I. Rhinebeck.NY 12572 selcracker caught on the charter boat of Nolan Ac- ton. When a photo of the shell appeared in local newspapers, three more specimens came to light. A sharp eyed angler from the small coastal resort of Port Edward on the lower Natal south coast thought he saw a likeness to shells he had pulled from some fish stomachs while gutting his catch. The shells were left lying in the house until the smell inspired the lady of the house to toss them out into the garden. Imagine the anguish and excitement as the garden was searched in response to the newspaper photograph. Happily the shells were located and found their way to collections in other parts of the world, where they are, doubtless, more appreciated! Last year, 1986, was a very lean year. I know of only one specimen that was collected. It is a small exquisitely colored gem measuring 50 mm. The photograph shows the variable cross on the dorsum of the shell. *301 Graypark Rd., drighton Beach 44052, Natal, Repub- lic of South Africa. [See also USN Aug. 1984 pI] Page 6 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

By R. M. FILMER. would appear that C, caillaudii occurs rarely in the My special thanks to Dr. Graham Oliver and CHOBBAM - To the best of my knowledge central/southern Indian Ocean from Madagascar to Alison Trew at NMW and Kathy Way at BMNH. Conus caillaudii Kiener, 1845, has been described, Mauritius. No data are available on habitat, but this REFERENCES illustrated and photographed only as a very worn, species probably is a deep-water sand dweller. Coomans, H. E. Moolenbeek, R. G. and Wils, E., dead-collected shell (Kiener 1845; Of Sea & Shore Conclusions. The distinctive characteristics iden- .1983. Bastena Vol 47, 5~6 p 71. & fig 318. ype and other worn Spe cimens are Kiener, L. C., 1845. Coquilles Vlvantes, 2: pi 55, 1973-74 ,' W as,II 1979. Coomans,W 00I enbe ek an.d tified in the holot . . . fig 5; 1849-1850:285. Wils, 1983). Furthermore, the only specimens that I substantIated by the lovely specImen m CardIff. Walls, Jerry G., 1979. Cone Shells. p 259 & 181 know of - the holotype in Nantes, two specimens There can no longer be any doubt that Conus cail- upper. . . la d '. . I . d d . 1973-74, Of Sea and Shore Winter 178, 183- m BMNH, London, one m IRScNB, Brussels, and u U IS a va I an extant specIes. 184 ( . II d C .l.la d , mlsspe e . cal u I.. ) one in my own collection - also are badly worn and dead collected. SHELLS FOR SALE Imagine then my surprise and delight when I came across a perfect live-collected specimen of this SHELLS'CABiNETS'BAGS & BOXES'BOOKS very rare and distinctive cone. Early last December ,erA THE SHELL STORE ~~'.:'" 440 - 75th Avenue [1986], Dr. P. Graham Oliver kindly pennitted me 'Ar . St. PetersburgBeach, FL 33706 to study the Conus types in the Melvill-Tomlin .'. BetweenBlind PassRoad and Gulf Boulevard ~ If Phone360-0586 Collection in the National Museum of Wales in ,," ROBERT LlPE / BETTY LlPE C. sp~rius SHELLS - OUR BUSINESS & OUR PLEASURE Cardiff. During this visit I was also able to read the allantlcus Send $1.00 (Applied to your first order) and catalog of Conus in this collection, compiled by receive a COMPUTER PRINTOUT OF OVER BOOLOTS Alison Trew. This listed a specimen of C. caillaudii OF SPECIMEN SHELLS. (Most families represented.) (number NMW.Z. 1955. 158. 1205) which I was able - For Quality and Service - to examine and photograph. THOMAS HONKER Description. A graceful elongate obconic shell Specimen Shells with a low spire which is concave in outline. The 615 Wiggin Rd., P. O. Box 1011 Delray Beach, FL 33444 shoulder is acute and undulately coronate. The eight 305-276-9658 flat postnuclear whorls possess strong spiral cords Conus caillaudii Kiener. 1845, from the National BUY- SELL- TRADE FREELIST Museumof Walesin Cardiff. Photo: Filmer and some fine curved axial striae. The body whorl . jane's Shells And Gifts is almost straight although a touch convex below the RELIABLE DEALER OF WORLDWIDE SPECIMEN SHELLS. shoulder and slightly waisted at the centre. The ~ - :HELL~;;LL&AFJ~~;ELW~ik;T;ER GIFTS texture is somewhat waxy and shiny. PERSONAL AD

There are some angled spiral grooves at the base -.I OWNERS and some uneven axial growth lines. In ad4ition An HMS member who desires to place a PER- AT '. BOX 292 HWY 659 Telephone PO BOX 1100 there is one damage scar on the ventral side. The SONAL AD should plan on the ad not appearingin GRAY.LA 70059 (504)8721258 GRAY.LA 70359 HSN for approximately 45 days after the copy and Specialize in Philippine Shells body is yellowish tan with fine, regular, red-brown Writ" Inr Ir"" Pri"" / i..t /r"t"i/ nnlvl spiral lines. three dollar fee are received at the Society office. The base is slightly darkened. The apex is purple For example, ads for the July issue should be re- and the interior off-white. The aperture is almost ceived by May 15th. The advertiser should tell us, straight and rather narrow and the lip, inset at the if he wants his ad to be in a specific issue. shoulder, is straight and strong. There is a small, * * * elongate ovoid operculum (7 mrn) which may be- A Hawaii SheDFair in '88? long to this specimen. The HMS Board of Directors is studying a pro- Dimensions. The Melvill- Tomlin specimen in posal to hold a combined Shell Fair and Auction in Cardiff is 43.4 x 21.5 mm; the holotype 51.5 x Honolulu in 1988. A range of possible dates and 24.8 mrn; my own specimen 41.0 x 20.7 mm; the sites is under consideration. specimen illustrated by Walls 47.3; and the two The study committee includes HMS president specimens in BMNH are 44.4 x 22.5 mm and 41.1 Olive Schoenberg, vice president Jim Rohrbach, x 20.8 mm. Dan McNally and Stuart Lillico. Range. The Cardiff specimen has no locality data, merely a note stating that it came from the Lombe- Taylor collection. There are no locality data with the two BMNH specimens. My specimen, which came from an old collection, is said to be from Reunion. The specimen illustrated by Walls is from Mahebqurg, Mauritius, and that in Of Sea and Shore is from St. Brandon, Mauritius. The specimen in Brussels is from Cargados. Kiener gave no locality, but Coomans, Moolenbeek and Wils desig- nated the Cargados (Carajos) Islands as the type locality (Bastena 1983). From these limited data it 'Winterboume House, Chobbam, SurreyGU248AL, En~land May, 1987 HAW AllAN SHELL NEWS Page 7 SHELLETTERS COOLANGA1TA,QLD. buhl,ri respectively. Both of the latter are endemic JACKSONVILLE, FL Of the land snails depicted in Aurora Richard's to Manus Island which is 600 km from New Britain. Paul Patchick's discussionof shelling in Monterey article "New Britain, A World on Its Own" (see No. 10 could be either M. admiralitatis or M. Bay, California [USN 3/87 P 7] was a bit of nostal- USN 2/87, P 21) as being New Britain species,only tabarensis. Neither of these species is found on gia to me. I dove those waters from 1970 to 1972 Rhyneotrochus wiegmanni actually comesfrom that New Britain island. while a residentin a nearby hospital. island. Two are not even found in Papua New The comment that the Papuan mainland seemed to I was amazed that he found a green abalone, Guinea. be spared in the plague of Achatina fulica is also Haliotis fulgens, in those waters. I failed to find Shell No.5 is Camaena lutea Sowerby. No.6 is not correct. These snails have been established in any evidence of this species in over 100 hours of Helicostyla virgata Jay. These two speciesare well the Port Moresby area for at least 25 years to my diving in and around Monterey Bay. He doesn't illustrated in JamesBarnett's recent seriesof articles knowledge, and possibly for a much longer period. actually state that he found living examplesthere. in USN [11/85 P 5] on Philippine land snails and in Alan G. Hinton [It was at a market in Santa Cruz which is on the recent publication Shells of the Philippines. Monterey Bay. ] Perhapshe should document the

Shell No.7 is Chloritis majuscula, and No.8 DUBAI, U.A.E. "Monterey Bay to Baja California" range. The lit- and 9 are Megalacron admiralitatis and Forcatia The diving here is much better than on the Qatar erature places the northern limit at SantaBarbara or

coast. This is particularly true in the Straits of Hor- Point. Conception, California. [Both are about 250

muz which is very similar to the Omani coastline miles south of Monterey. ]

with 6.000-foot-high mountains dropping into a Needless10 reiterate I continue to read USN with

warm blue sea. There are plenty of little bays to great interest and pleasure - often down to the

explore with lots of spectacular marine life. minutiae.

A. J. Woodward c/o Al Habtoor Motors Harry G. Lee P. O. Box 9879 Dubai, United Arab Emirates [My father, the late John Q. Burch, and I did not collect H. fulgens north of Santa Monica, Califor- nia, during the 1930s and 1940s ("Distributional .() " IRAN List of the West American Marine Mollusks," &r~. "~" "- Proc. Conch. Club of So. Cali., 1945 vol 60 P G'l.I/F 20). However, Oldroyd, 1927, The Marine SheDs Strait 0, of the West Coast of North America, and Keep & Baily, 1935, in West Coast SheDsgive the range as Dubai Monterey to Lower California while Grant & Gale, 1931, in Pliocene and Pleistocene Mollusca of ~i California gives the Recent range as Farallon Is- lands (about 60 miles north of Monterey off San Gulf of Francisco, California) to the Gulf of California. Oman T.B.] (Cont'd on Page 10) SAUDI ARABIA

OMAN 6 Kalika K. Perera, 95-2 Subadrarama Rd, N Nugegoda, Sri Lanka, writes that he wishes to exchange marine and land shells. He has a large worldwide collection and requests that collectors, 1 researchersand museumslet him know their desires. He specializesin Conus, Murex, and Cypraea. United Arab Emirates and nearby areas. * * * Stan Jazwinski, 777 Kapiolani Blvd No 3313, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 is interestedin trading for worldwide specimensof Triphorids (either identified or unidentified). He offers Hawaiian triphorids or Hawaiian endemicsof the more popular families in exchange. * * * I. Yeroslavsky, P.O. Box 85, Beer Yaacou, 70300, Israel, is interested in freak and unusual cowries; rare volutes and cowries; and common to rare Marginella and Spondylus. In exchange can send common to rare volutes, cowries, and Mar- ginella. Page 8 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

SHELLS FOR SALE

LEONARD c. HILL 6713 S.W. 113thPlace Miami, Florida 33173 By A. J. DA, MOTTA* HONGKONG - Roger Martin recently sent me a that the young shell could still evolve and perhaps picture (fig I) and asked if I thought it could be a develop the features seen in adult C. pergrandis. It FREE LISTS! Specialties- Cones.Murex & Miters juvenile specimen of Conus pergrandis Iredale, will require more specimensfor further study before 1937. It was found in Panglao,where C. pergrandis a positive identification is possible. occurs in the Philippines. It is white and has similar Martin took the opportunity of also asking me to brown maculationsand measures67.5 mm. comment on Paul Patchick's article in HSN Nov. Soon after, I acquired a similar specimen, which 1986, p 6. The photograph is not clear enough to measuredonly 56 mm. This allowed me to physi- determine exactly what speciesit might be, but in cally examinethe shell in detail. my opinion it is quite unlikely that it can be a C. There were 10 spiral whorls, excluding a perfect pergrandis. Observe the prominently steppedspiral protoconch. The first seven were beaded, the sur- whorls and the sharply keeled, much wider and SPECIMEN SHELLS face of the penultimate whorl deeply concave cul- bulging shoulder with pinched-in sides, rapidly con- DECORATIVE SHELLS Worldwide, Wholesale, Retail. Buy, Sell. Price lists US $1 Requests accepted FRANZ SEFCSIK P. O. Box 59,1091 Vienna, Austria Phone (222) 3727024

La Jolla Cave and Shell Shop 1325 Coast Boulevard La JoUa, California 92037 J' ,. (619) 454-6080

SPECIMEN SHELLS DECORA TOR SHELLS CORAL JEWELRY

NO USTS VlSn" OUR CAVE REQUESTS ACCEPTED

Juvenile Conus pergrandis fredale, /937, from Hololype of Conus fietcheri Petuch & Mendenhall. tangle net off Panglao, Philippines. 1972. The Veliger, 15(2):96. minating in a smooth, angular, but not keeled stricting at the lower end. These characteristics are shoulder.The outer lip was sharply thin, confmning not seen either in the Panglao specimens or in any its immaturity. The basal end, however, is quite mature specimens of C. pergrandis. straight. Incidentally, the holotype of Shikama's C. Compared with C. pergrandis Iredale, 1937, tamikoae figured by Walls on p 532 is a typical (holotype 137 mm) [see photograph in USN April specimen of Conus kinoshitai Kuroda, 1956, and 1987 P 6 ] and a synonym. C. fletcheri Petuch & not a form of C. pergrandis. Mendenhall, 1972, (holotype 105 mm) shown in fig 2, the shell has an elevated, conic spire consisting of II whorls (with the protoconch broken off), the first six of which are beaded. The shoulder is ATTENTION SERIOUS LANDSNAIL COLLECTORS! rounded and smooth with a somewhatinflated body A one-off chance to acquire material of common, rare and exceedingly rare status. Large list of whorl. One characteristic not mentioned either by landshells available from a large collection amassed over 80 years from sources such as the lredale or Petuch is that the basal end is noticeably famous Godwin-Austen and Sykes material. Many from obscure Indo-Pac Islands as well as recurved. Madagascar, West Indies, India, Australia. Several of the rare cave species from Borneo/Sarawak On the basis of the comparative features of the also offered and much from now severely restricted conservation areas, too! Send $1.50 to cover list/postal costs. This is refundable on all orders received. two, there appear to be distinct differences. How- ever, there are also sharedaffinities, which suggest EATON'S SHELL SHOP 16 Manette St., Soho, London WIV 5LB England. Tel.: 01-437-9391 *1118 PeninsulaCenter, 67 Mody Road, TsimshatsuiEast, Kowloon, Hong Kong. [See also USN April 1987, p 6 ] May, 1987 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS Page 9

Patronize HSN Advertisers Unidentified Pecten from the WORLDWIDE SPECIMEN SHELLS ~STOP Marine & - of Select Quality Specimens- ,r ""Knowledgeable 8cCourteous Service" Write .for Free Illustrated List Richard Goldberg IWorldwide Specimen Shetl.. " .1/865.U.S ~l de ~er=- e"terpri"~ ~:_~'~~"-::!8~:,,o.eP~~~"~. Outstanding.._~. quality,, and , ...personal . service on

\.- worldwide specimen shells Rarities are our spe. ; ciaity. Free price list on request !lure. '\ , Tel. (516) 481-11456 phyllopterus

PHilLIP R. CRANDAll 1800 Parkside Terrace, Kitanakagusuku Okinawa, Japan 901-23 GEM Cypraea teramachii, kuroharai, midwayensis, armeniaca, rosselli, artuffeli; Conus vicweei, au- risiacus, excelsus, bengalensis, PI. beyrichii, sa/miana & rumphii, and other rare Japanese & Indo- Pacific shells. FREE LIST. 15 years of personalized service. FREE POSTAGE - SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.

WORLD WIDE SHELLS FOR SALE CYPRAEA AND CONE LISTS READY WRITE FOR LISTS Three unidentified Pecten from 175 m off Punta Engano. Central Philippines. Top two valves from Others will be mailed as they are completed. samespecimen. Photo: Barnett Get some good trading material, inexpensively. E. R. CROSS - P. O. Box 1267 Port Angeles, WA 98362-0234 By JAMES BARNETT* has a slightly flatter left valve and the ribs are both STEVEN M. ROSENTHAL BAGUIO - A so-far unidentified speciesof Pec- wider and flatter. Also, the ears of the top specimen 207 NEWTON ROAD ten was netted in 175 meters at Punta Engano, near are straighter than those of the bottom shells which RALEIGH, NC 27615 U.S.A. Cebu, early last year. Three specimensare figured are more curved. 919-846-0876 below. Common and uncommon worldwide shells, including The closest pecteniid in appearance is Crypto- good selection from USA and Indo-Pacific. Write for free The top two valves, from the same specimen, pecten (Chlamys) alii Dall, Bartsch, & Rehder, lists. measure 21 mm. The two shells at bottom are 19 1938, known from Hawaii but not from the Philip- and 21 mm. The bases range from light brown to pines. [See figure of holotype below.] DARYL E. FOOTE medium or dark brown. There are 18 to 20 ribs on P. O. Box 86424 the left and right valves of all the specimens. North Vancouver, B.C. Although at first glance, all three shells appear Canada V7L 4K6 similar, it is possible that two species are repre- Worldwide Specimen Shells (Cont'd from Page 12) sented. The two bottom shells are definitely con- Free List REFERENCES: specific. The single specimenon the top, however, Coomans,H. E., Moolenbeek, R. G. and Wi!s, E., 1979. "Alphabetical Revision of the (sub) Species in Recent Conidae 2. adansoni to albuquerquei," Basteria 43:88- 90. Coomans,H. E., Moolenbeek, R. G. and Wi!s, E., 1985. "Alphabetical Revision of the (sub) Species in Recent Conidae8. dactylus to dux," Basteria 49:151-152. Coomans, H. E., 1986. "Old and New Names in the Conidae," Haw. SheDNews 34(10):7-8. Lozet, J. B., 1975. "Caribbean Cones," La Conchiglia 7(79-80):20. Mol, J. J. van, Tursch, B. and Kempf, M., 1967. t. ~~8Bpa~!n~~a~~~~~ka~i~PjJ~~liPPines "Mollusques Prosobranches:Les Conidae du Bresil," ~ PO Box 5035, Makati Central Post Office Ann. lost. Oceanogr., Monace 45(2):243-244. Tels- 864-294/864-140/863-825/863-826 Sander, F., 1982. "Two New Deep-waterConus Species PHILIPPINE SPECIMEN SEASHELLS Hololype of Cryptopecten (Chlamys) alii, D. B. & from Barbados,West Indies," Veliger 24:319-320. we sell - common & rare beauties - philippine R. from 238-52 Fm off Oahu, Hawaii. Vink, D., 1979. "Four Mystery Cones from the Carib- specimen seashells carefully selected for every col- bean," Haw. SheDNews 27(10):14. Vink, D., 1982-a. "On the Identity of Conus capricornis," lector's satisfaction at reasonable prices. *225 SessionRd, Bagnio, Philippines. Haw. SheDNews 30(4):5-6. Please write us for your requirements now! Vink, D., 1982-b. "Conus beddomei Again, or is it C. Shelling with Schelling archetypus?" Haw. SheDNews 30(12):3-4. Vink, D. L. N. & Sander, F., 1983. "Systematics and Distribution of Conus sanderi s.I." Veliger 25:199-202. Vink, D. L. N., 1984. "The Conidae of the Western Atlantic, Part 1," La Conchiglia 16(186-187):18-22. Vink, D. L. N., 1985. "The Conidae of the Western Atlantic, Part III." La Conchiglia 17(194-195):8-10. 8] Wils, E. and Moolenbeek,R. G., 1979. "Two New Conus PO Box 68 Speciesfrom off Barbados,Lesser Antilles, (Gastropoda, Shallmar. florida 32579 U.~A 904/862-7844 Conidae)," Bijdr. Dierk. 49:255-260. Page 10 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

Shelletters A PRIZE SHELL December Shore (Cont'd from Page 7) By HENRY P. ROUSSY* One December dawn PHUKET, THAILAND - I finally got a Conus Upon a secluded shore, SOUTH HEDLAND Olive snails left their winding trails paulucciae Sowerby, 1876 courtesy of HMS Since the 1984 controls [on the collection and In the sand. sale of Western Australia marine mollusks J, every member, Sumnuk Patamakanthin.It had been found one has been asking himself: "Where do I stand alive by divers off a small island south of Rawai, I waded thigh deep now?" In the caseof commercial divers, the W. A. Phuket, on dead coral at about 37 m on March I, Into the cold dark water.. . 1987. Size is 62 mm, with operculum. Pattern and Department of Fisheries said that since the shells Suddenly two porpoises live offshore with exception, for example, of color are beautiful. There is practically no perios- - Arched from beneath the surf, Cypraea friendii a licensed boat was needed. tracum. Protoconch and outer lip are perfect. The - Their bodies glistening mouth is almost violet. There are four slightly raised Thus, in order to dive for shells commercially, some In the sun's first rays. $40,000 or more is needed to buy boat and equip- ridges. In my opinion, "gem." ment. The important point is that this speciesdefinitely It was for me As we all know, most of the shells(Zoila) are not exists, even if rather rare, in southwestThailand. A moment of beauty. collected by persons holding the license. They are Forest W. Redding taken by "weekend operators" who make a quick dollar on the side. Since those illegal operators do DOV PELED not face the overheads as do professionals, such 1, Zvolon St., K. Tivon, 36000, Israel shells can be sold cheaperthan the prices asked by Tel.: 04-936625 licensedpersons. No taxes are paid, and no records First source and specialist for Red Sea Shells kept. Largest choice ever seen of world wide specimens. One cannot blame the importer who buys his 1987 Price list on request Bought, Sold & Traded shells at the cheapestpossible rates! In order to ensure that no overcollecting takes CORAL Finest quality- Lowest prices- Wholesale- Retail. place, and to enable the professionalsinvolved to 35 tons in stock: California Rose, Purple, Red, Blue, earn a reasonableliving, one needs accurate infor- Elephant Ear, Many more. Visa, M.C. mation as to what was collected, where and how RUSE CORAL & SHELL IMPORTS 311 Walnut Ave., P. O. Box 775 HM many. Such figures are only available from profes- Huntington Beach, CA 92648 sionals. Close cooperationamong exporters, collec- Conus paulucciae Sowerby, 1887, from 37 m 1-714-969-4817 tors and Fisheries is essential since otherwise a Phuket, Thailand. The operculum is betweenthe two managementprogram cannotbe effected. views. Photo: Roussy TOM SHEPHERD The suggestion that anyone dealer had a Dealer in Marine Specimen [In discussing the synonymy of Conus aureus monopoly on the sale of Zoila was an illusion, bu1 Shells. Buy Sell Exchange Hwass, 1792, Walls, 1979, in his Cone Shells 2222 Beech Street was correct at the time. stateson p 171, "I can see no real basis on which Virginia Beach, Va. 23451 The laws to protect our beautiful shells (such as to recognize Conus paulucciae as more than an individual or perhapslocalized population variant. It (804) 481-7341 the CITES agreement)are in place, both in Western would seem that large, exceptionally beautiful spec- Australia and in countries like the USA. If all con- imens are called Conus paulucciae while smaller Merv Cooper's cerned observethose laws, we can be assuredthere and more typically colored specimensare called C. HOME OF THE ZOILA GROUP aureus by somedealers." T.B. ] PERTH SHELL DISTRIBUTORS will be shells to admire in the far future also. POBox 186, Mt Hawthorn, 6016 West Australia - Tel,: 328-5168 Joe Rinkens *P.O. Box 215, Phuket 83000 Thailand List #12 available Send $100 for list Showrooms 157 Bowfort St, Perth, W. Aust [Rinkens, proprietor of Rinken Seashell Sales at Port PUBLICATION NOTICE Also sell Murex, Voluta, Hal/lotus, Conus, etc Hedland, is one of a handful of licensed collector/dealer/ exportersin WesternAustralia (see also USN March 1987 p I, "W, A. struggleswith definition of legal sheller.')] Sea Challengers, 4 Somerset Rise, Skyline v ' ,J Rareand Forest, Monterey, CA 93940, has announcedthat ~ 0 h , Co S Exotic Specimen Shells Nudibranchs of Southern Africa by TerrenceOos- .. Gem & Museum Quality only liner will be published in May 1987. This 8 by No lists. Requests invited. HMS-ISGS IO-inch paperback has 136 pages and 268 color 1609 Annette Way OTHER SHELL CLUBS EI Cajon. CA 92020 USA plates. Price: $34.95. (619) 461-9268 TOWNSVILLE This is a great year for overseasshell collectors to be travelling to Queensland.We have shell shows on three consecutive weekends, commencing with Yeppoon Shell Show on July 18th, followed by the ProserpineShell Show on July 25th, and lastly our own Townsville Shell Show on August 1st and 2nd. We are also planning a shelling trip to the Great Barrier Reef to commenceon the low tides approximately a week after our shell show. Those interested in entering or attending the Townsville Shell Show should write (Mrs) Glenda Rowse at 19 Farrell St, Kirwan, Townsville. 4814, or n AII.tr"!i,, May, 1987 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS Page II

NEWS OF NEW SPECIES Action Among The Polyplacophora and Opisthobranchia

By WALTER SAGE In a study of the northeasternPacific membersof Two new genera and two new species of the genus Lepidochitona, three new species were Facelinidae were recently described. Hermosita In a revision of the worldwide members of the described - L. caverna Eernisse, 1986; L. ber- sangria Gosliner & Behrens, 1986, and Bajaeolis genus Acanthopleura, A. arenosa Ferreira, 1986, ryana Eernisse, 1986; and L. Jernaldi Eernisse, and A. rehderi Ferreira, 1986 (The Veliger 28 (3): 1986 (Zoologische Verhandelingen 228: 1-52) bertschi Gosliner & Behrens, 1986 (The Veliger 29 221-279) [Chitonidae], were named. Describedfrom [Ischnochitonidae]. These new species were de- (I): 101-113), were distinguishedfrom related spe- Queensland, Australia, and the Cook Islands, re- scribed on the basis of shell, animal, habitat, and cies and generaby differencesin internal and exter- spectively, these new species are distinguished by ecology. ~~nal momholol!V.. ~J animal, radula, and shell characteristics. Lepidozona berryi Wu & Okutani, 1985 (Venus 44 (3): 123-143) [Ischnochitonidae]was taken from a single specimenfrom deep water, HyotanseBank, Japan. This preoccupied name was changed to L. hyotanseana Wu & Okutani, 1986 (Venus 45 (1):42). lschnochiton skoglundi Ferreira, 1986 (The Vel- iger 28 (4):448-452), [Ischnochitonidae] was described from specimens dredged off Nayarit, Mexico, and was distinguishedfrom related species by size, shape, and sculpture. Lepidopleurus bartletti Ferreira, 1986 (The Nautilus 100 (3):98- 101), [Lepidopleuridae] was described from specimens trawled in great depths in the VenezuelaBa- sin, Caribbean Sea. This specieswas comparedto the only other membersof this genus,L. cajetanus Bajaeolis bertschi Gosliner & Behrens, /986. (Poli, 1791)and L. scrippsianus Ferreira, 1980. Lepidozonaberryi Wu & Okutani, 1985. holotype hololype.

fJh£ c4bbE-!j ~p£cim£n ~h£[[.::1.

SPECIALIZED SERVICE IS OUR SPECIALTY

THE VERY HIGHEST QUALITY SPECIMENS AT THE VERY BEST OF PRICES LARGEST SELECTION IN THE COUNTRY OF UNCOMMON TO EXTREMELY RARE SPECIES ALWAYS IN STOCK.

Illustrated monthly lists on request.

Specieswe have handledrecently: Conusexce/sus, hirasei world record. /ohri, pergrandis, Cypraea bernardi. fu/toni, haddnightae,iutsui. /eucodon,/isetae, midwayensis, Latiaxis teramachii, Morum macdona/di,teramachii, Murex anoma/iae, pe/edi,o/iverae, concavopterus, Pha/ium adcocki, sinuosum, Va/uta beaui, knoxi, luteD,pesca/ia, and many many more. Send want list for that hard-to-get rarity.

P.O. BOX 3010 BUY -SELL-TRADE SANTA BARBARA, CA 93130 (805) 963-3228 Page 12 HAWAIIAN SHELL NEWS May, 1987

By DANKER L. N. VINK*

PORT SUDAN - In 1979, Wils and Moolen- 1. There are no morphological differences be- brown patches. Nearly a decade ago [see HSN beek describedtwo new speciesof Conus from off tween C. sanden and C. hunti. Also. the apex and Oct. 1979 P 14 ], I showed that these cones could the west coast of Barbados: C. sanden and C. postnuclearwhorls are identical. (It is true that in a be placed togetherwith intergradesinto a serieswith hunti. Three years later two other speciesfrom the number of specimensof C. hunti spiral ridges may nonnal orange-redand pale violet C. daucus. These same locality were described by Sander:C. soren- cover the whole body whorl. but many specimens specimenswere also shown in colour in La Con- seni and C. knudseni. The pattern of all thesecones are smooth.) chiglia (Vink, 1984). is quite variable and after bringing together and 2. Conus sanden and C. hunti are geographically Coomans, Moolenbeek and Wils (1985) appar- studying more than 50 specimens of this species sympatric and also live in the samebiotope. At one ently have no problem in accepting all these shells complex, Vink and Sander (1983) came to the con- occasion both "species" were in the same dredge as C. daucus, a polymorphic species. However, it clusion that C. hunti, C. sorenseni and C. knudseni haul. should be realized that intergrades between the should all be considered forms of C. sanden. In 3. The colour patternsof C. sanden and C. hunti red/white forms and lilac/brown forms have not Hawaiian SheD News, Oct. 1986, Dr. Coomans are quite variable, to the extent that new' 'species" been found. Just as in the caseof C. sanden and C. contested this point of view, maintaining that C. were described. hunti one could maintain that two separatespecies sanden and C. hunti are distinct species. In this 4. Large specimensof both C. sanden and C. must be distinguished!Yet such a position is unten- note I shall review Coomans' observations and hUM may produce a periostracum with a curious able becauseof the similarity in morphology, dis- clarify my position. "fringe" of long erect hairs on the shoulder. I have tribution range, biotope and periostracum. The following remarks were made about C. san- not seen this in any other Caribbean species (see Dr. Coomansalso sought to refute Vink and San- den and C. hunti [HSN Oct. 1986p 8]: photo). der (1983) for having lumped together material from "These two species were described. . . based South Brazil with C. sanden: on 40 specimensof type material. Additional speci- "I have not yet investigatedthe specimensfrom mens were known to them [in various collections] southern Brazil, but from their figures (5b-e) and . . . Vink & Sander (: 199) mentioned 'more than their description, holding them to be conspecific 50 specimens,' amongstthem the scarcetype mate- with C. sanden or C. hUM from Barbados seems rial (7 specimens)of C. knudseni and C. sorenseni, unreliable." but they did not include the rich type material of C. Let me start by saying that I am less confident sanden and C. huntifrom ZMA." I can only say that in our study we also included about the Brazilian shells being C. sanden than about the conspecificity of C. sanden and C. hunti. the type specimensof C, sorenseni and C. knudseni The Brazilian conesare much larger than typical C. (which were not yet known to Wils and Moolen- beek). As to the type material in ZMA, Dr. Sander sanden, and have a somewhatdifferent pattern. Not many specimensare known. I have only seen addi- knew theseshells quite weD as most specimenswere tional material in the collections of Rockel and da obtained from dredgings with the research v~ssel Motta. The cones are too slender to be identified Martiet under his direction. I myself have also seen with adult C. cleni, while a different spire mor- the shells in ZMA and I have looked at their spires phology precludes identification with C. lemnis- under the microscope. "Sander (1982) described. . . C. knudseni and catus. One could describe the Brazilian cones as a C. soren;eni as distinct and valid species. . . Some new species; but for the time being I prefer to months later he altered his opinion (Vink and San- identify these shells with C. sanden on the basis of der, 1983), and both nominal species were now considered as formae of C. sanden (why not C. the following observations: hunti?). " 1. One specimenof C. sanden was dredgedoff I fail to see the relevance of this observation. A the coast of Surinam, which shows that the range true scientist should always be prepared to change extends to the continental shelf area of South his opinion in the light of new evidence or new America. insight, even when this new insight comes a few 2. The Brazilian shells are morphologically close months later. Furthermore,the nameC. sanden has to C. sanden, only differing in size. I reported a page priority over C. hunti. (Too bad for my good similar tendency towards larger specimens in the friend David Hunt.) South in the case of C. mindanus agassizii "The two [species] are illustrated [in] Vink & (Coomans, Moolenbeek & Wils, 1979), C. cancel- Sander (1983: figs lc and 2b-e are C. hunti; figs 3a-e, 4a-d and 5a are C. sanden)." latus [HSN April 1982 P 5] and C. archetypus What about figs Ie and 2a, which were recently brasiliensis [HSN Dec. 1982 p 3]. It is interesting also shown in colour (Vink, 1985: figs 7c and 7t), to note that the subspeciesC. mindanus agassizii is which have similar features, although Ie should be only known from St. Croix, Barbados and Estado placedin a seriesof C. sanden and 2a in a seriesof Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. C. hunti? 3. The Brazilian cones have the same curious Conus sanden forma hunti, large specimen with "fringe" on the shoulder as C. sanden, described Frankly the above critical remarks fail to make distinct periostracum 'fringe" on the shoulder. by Van Mol, Tursch & Kempf (1967) as "une sere me change my point of view. Some important as- Photo: Hunt pects of the matter have not been mentioned. I still de poils proeminentssur l'epaule." 4. The only juvenile specimen known from the considerC. sanden and C. hunti conspecific for the In fact, the situation of C. sanden is similar to Brazilian population looks quite similar to specimen following reasons: that of C. daucus. Lozet (1975) published beautiful of C. sanden from Barbados. 'Port SudanRefinery Ltd, P.O.Box 354 photographsof brick-red specimensof Conus with PortSudan. Sudan white zi2za2 bands and of lilac cones with dark (Cont'd on Pal!e 9)