Triton’S Legacy
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Marine Pollution Bulletin 64 (2012) 891–892 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Marine Pollution Bulletin journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpolbul Editorial Triton’s legacy In Greek mythology, Triton was the son of Poseidon and Amphi- sale, as a bedside table lamp for €35. And, except for the hundreds trite and, although he is thanked for calming seas and assisting of thousands of shell bracelets, necklaces and assorted braids and sailors, he was actually quite a coxcomb, preferring to dance and belts, which may have a Mediterranean origin, all the larger ‘tro- play with the 50 Nereids and making beautiful sounds by blowing phy’ shells were from the Indo-West Pacific. into seashells. A few examples will suffice: species of giant clams (Tridacna) Triton’s name is given to a group of seashells belonging to the were on sale from €15 to €80 each; gastropod species of Tonna Ranellidae, which are a family of poorly understood marine gastro- (holothurian predators) at €30 to €40, and Cassis cornuta (echinoid pod predators and amongst which is the pan-tropical ‘triton’s’. Last predator) from €25 to €50; species of Cymbium (baler shells) and year (2011), I was invited to participate in a research workshop other volutes (mollusc predators) at €20 to €30; Murex ducalis based in a village, Mosteiros, on the island of São Miguel in the Aç- and Murex inflatus (also predators) at €35; and, of course, the spiny ores. The Açores workshop was convened at the Casa do Pescador Lambis lambis at €40 to €50. But, the most expensive shells (€180) dos Mosteiros (the Mosteiros Fishermen’s Club) and where, on the were those of Syrinx aruanus (Turbinellidae), the biggest gastropod shelves of the little museum and in the village Café/Restaurant alive today, and a chaetopterid predator with an attained shell Ilhéu, were 52 shells of the triton Charonia lampas of various sizes. height of 90 cm – the size of a small child! The Limassol shop Actually, I had seen and collected this species in the Açores before, was big and I have not singled it out for any particular reason. in 1965, as a participant in the undergraduate Chelsea College Aç- One can go almost anywhere coastal in the world today and, guar- ores Expedition, where five individuals of C. lampas were collected anteed, there will be stands, stalls, shops, and emporia – all selling from off the village of Urzelinha on São Jorge. These specimens are shells and other dead marine animals or their bits for souvenirs now lodged in the collections of the Natural History Museum that have no connection with locality. (NHM), London. Some may attempt to persuade you that these shells are col- For such a predator, the Açores sample of C. lampas is large and lected dead, from beaches or coral rubble, but it is not true. Dead a study of them has revealed, amongst other things, that individu- and devoid of colour and sheen, shells are valueless. No, the shells als with a shell height of 265 mm probably lived for at least are live-collected, mainly from coral reefs, cleaned out of soft tis- 13 years. In the NHM collections is a specimen from Malta that is sue, for no human consumption purpose, and brought together in 390 mm tall: so how old was that? By any standards this is a big huge warehouses, principally in the Philippines, and sold on animal. Observations on C. lampas in 1965 and 2011 also demon- wholesale to dealers throughout the world. It is a gigantic trade. strated that in the Açores it is a predator of the starfish Ophidiaster These shells are bought as trinkets by tourists and end up, as they ophidianus. Elsewhere, it also feeds on O. ophidianus and other echi- age, either being put in the garden or thrown away. A memory, like noderms. The largest species of Charonia, and perhaps the most a life, wasted. well known, is the Indo-West Pacific Charonia tritonis and which, But, it is not the end of the story. There is another shell trade – on the Great Barrier Reef in eastern Australia, eats the crown-of- that of the collector. Shell collecting became fashionable with the thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci. In reviewing the crown-of- early Victorians, perhaps sooner, as pioneer tourists returned home thorns problem on the reef, it has been suggested that depletion with natural history trophies and established curio cabinets as of its natural predator, C. tritonis, by shell collectors might be one drawing room conversation pieces. Today, shell collecting, like bird factor involved in the starfish outbreaks and thus their destruction egg and butterfly collecting, is not so popular among the young of reef corals. Whether this is true or not, C. tritonis is now fully but, nevertheless, the trade persists in a few countries such as protected on the Great Barrier Reef. And so, ostensibly, is C. lampas, the USA, Italy and Holland. There are generalist and specialist shell which is considered ‘endangered or threatened’ in the Mediterra- collectors – the former aiming to build up an attractive, possibly nean by the European Union (Convention of the Mediterranean comprehensive, cabinet; the latter only interested in particular Sea against Pollution, Barcelona 1976). families – for example the highly popular, mostly beautifully pat- Which brings me to the Mediterranean. On another research terned, but also venomously predatory cone shells (Conoidea) or visit to Cyprus, my eye was attracted to the ‘Sea Sponges Center’ cowries (Cypraeidae). The trade for both collector categories is, in Limassol, only because above its door front was a large painting however, also large, but has a morsel of merit in that the items of the Atlantic triton C. lampas. The center does indeed sell ‘bath- of most value have a provenance. Such collectors like to think of sponges’ but it also sells the usual motley assortment of shark jaws, themselves as ‘professional’ shell collectors and indeed their col- ballooned puffer-fishes, dried seahorses and stuffed terrapins, pos- lections from the earliest days of travel have formed the basis for ing as (now protected) turtles. But, the center mostly sells shells – the cabinets of the world’s museums. Today, some shell collectors thousands upon thousands of them. It had only one C. lampas for publish comprehensive reviews of their favourite genera or 0025-326X/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.01.007 892 Editorial / Marine Pollution Bulletin 64 (2012) 891–892 families in either conchological journals or shell club newsletters has dried up, it has transformed itself into a vast industry, which and catalogues, but many will also engage in the shell trade to earn is feeding a booming tourist trade with a thirst, albeit in ignorance money. of the truth, for that ‘authentic’ seaside souvenir. The ecological Historically, some of malacology’s most famous and revered impact of this trade must be gigantic. I mean, if C. lampas is now names were, actually, little more than shell collectors. Museum locally extirpated, what is the impact of that upon predatory, graz- molluscan collections are amongst the largest of any taxon, save ing or deposit-feeding, echinoderms, say? And, in turn, what is the in some cases for the Arthropoda, in many national institutions. impact of this loss down the food chain? The big gastropod preda- The Mollusca collection in the Natural History Museum, London, tors I identified above are scientifically regarded as being ‘key- for example, has nine million lots. In a real way the curators of such stone’ species. And their populations are being battered. collections have fostered the conchological hobby or profession, Moreover, nothing is being done about regulating the trade, save whichever way you want to look at it, by producing shell ‘guides’. for the protection under CITES of a tiny few of the suggested There are thousands of such tomes, often lavishly illustrated, and 120,000 living species of molluscs. Hence, through inaction, shell they sell well. In some respects, such books are useful for the pro- collecting, a hobby that began life as a scientific blessing has be- fessional malacologist in that, if on a research trip to Australia or come an environmental scourge. The frivolous Triton’s legacy. Patagonia, say, the local shell book is the first source of identifica- tion or guide to habitat for one’s object of study. Equally, such Brian Morton books stimulate the amateur collector to pursue his or her hobby Department of Zoology, and so the whole trade and hobby, is reciprocally refreshed. The Natural History Museum, But this story is not about the ethics of shell collecting. Proba- Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK bly, the hobby, like bird’s-egg collecting, will die out in time. The E-mail address: [email protected] reality of the shell trade today is that as the conchological hobby.