THE CONE COLLECTOR #30 May 2017 THE Note from CONE the Editor COLLECTOR Dear friends, Editor It is a great pleasure to complete yet another number of out bul- António Monteiro letin The Cone Collector. I sincerely thank all those who made Layout it possible through their contributions. It is clear that we do André Poremski need everybody’s help to keep this project rolling. Remember, no note is too short or insignificant! A report of a recent shell Contributors trip, a book review, photos of unusual or exceptional speci- Marco Bettocchi mens, etc., these are all things that you are invited to share with Remy Devorsine everybody else in the Cone world. Bill Fenzan Lucy Muehleisen I do hope that you will enjoy the contents of TCC # 30. Once George Muehleisen again, special thanks are due to André Poremski for his great Chris Schönherr proficiency in preparing for publication the disparate texts and articles accepted, and for giving the final product the high quality looks that we all recognize. In the meantime, we are already considering the organization of a new International Cone Meeting. Hopefully some excit- ing news will be available towards the end of the year. We will certainly keep you posted. So, until next time, warm regards, António Monteiro On front cover Pionoconus catus from Capricorn Bunker Group, photo courtesy of Remy Devorsine Page 1 THE CONE COLLECTOR ISSUE #30 Table of Contents Who's Who Lucy & George Muehleisen 3 Broward Shell Show Cone Report Bill Fenzan 7 Killer Snails: Assassins of the Sea António Monteiro 13 Chelyconus ermineus (Born, 1778) Morphological Continuity or a Beginning of Separation? Marco Bettocchi 15 Shell Trip 2016 (25th Anniversary Trip) Remy Devorsine 32 Cone Report of the International Sydney Shell Show Remy Devorsine 41 The Challenge of Collecting Cones …in Angola Chris Schönherr 43 On the Description of New Species António Monteiro 47 Book Review: Conidae de Polynésie française Bill Fenzan 54 Paris Shell Show Trip Report Bill Fenzan 57 New Website Dedicated to Cones 65 THE CONE COLLECTOR ISSUE #30 Page 2 Who's Who Lucy & George Muehleisen Caution! This article contains no taxonomic, morphological or other technical data, only cone people anecdotes. On Self-Collecting... The Muehleisens, originally from Philadelphia, PA, moved to the Washington, DC area in 1971 to pursue careers with the U.S. Gov. Neither had any interest or awareness of shell collecting, nor had they heard of cone shells at that time. (Although their employer may have done more work with cone toxins than openly admitted!) It wasn't until the early 1980's, while on a family vacation to Florida, collecting got its hooks into them. You guessed it ... Sanibel Island. I suppose many American collectors got their feet wet in collecting (no pun intended) at that location. Easy access to excellent beach specimens as well as legal collecting of live specimens in the bay and mud flats of the island made it very popular then. Of course, we also fell prey to the local hype of looking for the elusive Scaphella junonia! Our active shell collecting waned for some time and cones were not a focal point yet. Actually, Lucy took more of a liking to the Coralliophilidae. Collecting picked up in 1993 when we took an assignment to Indonesia to assist the Ministry of Finance improve automation of their tax system. Lucy worked with the "Voice of Indonesia" by helping them translate and edit for English language broadcasts. For a budding shell collector, this job was a dream come true. The only thing that could top that would have An Indonesian shell shop been assignment to Manila -- but that tax project was covered by another team of advisors. In Jakarta, many In 1994, we took a rest and recuperation trip to Gold Saturdays were spent with John Abbas at the Pasar Coast, Australia and though some means by which I Ikan, sorting through shells in baskets with no data as can't recall, we contacted a collector named John G. to source. Most of those were cowries and other species; Jordan. cones were reserved at the fishing villages for dealers. My only guide was Tucker Abbott's "Seashells of John had an extensive collection of Indo-Pacific shells, Southeast Asia", but later I found Bunjamin Dharma's he cultivated orchids, and he maintained a wondrous "Siput Dan Kerang Indonesia" to be very helpful. display in his garage. When you entered the darkened Edition 1 was best for cowries, and Edition 2 was best room, he lighted a display that looked like a 3m by 7m for cones. swimming pool with a coral reef at the bottom! It was Page 3 THE CONE COLLECTOR ISSUE #30 Cowry hunting in Pasar Ikan Fresh Pionoconus aurisiacus only after you were asked to step into the water, you from Maryland, who had an excellent collection of discovered that everything was mounted on the ceiling Western Atlantic cones and had prepared a very nice and the lighting created a reflection on the 10mm iconographic guide comprised of his collection. At that trough of water on the floor. It was an amazing illusion time, he had lost interest in his collection and offered and beautiful sight to see! to sell me any or all of it. Unfortunately for me, the collection was a bit more valuable than a government As Antonio often observes, collecting has provided the employee with 4 college age children and a mortgage opportunity to develop friendships that one could not could afford. A collector with much deeper pockets imagine. For us, I suppose our first contact with other than I snapped that collection up quicker than a collectors was via the American Conchologist's list jackrabbit! However, Matt took pity on me. He had server called "Conch-L". It hasn't been that long ago a large bin of cones, mostly unidentified, that didn't there were no websites or internet auctions, just emails meet his standards and he gave them to me! That got and attachments with price lists and trade offers among me started on cones. enthusiasts. (You surely remember at that time, the printed "Rice's Prices" was the best gauge to knowing Don Barclay in American Samoa, got me really interested if you were paying or exchanging a shell at a fair value.) in self-collecting cones. Perhaps you will remember him posting photos with Darioconus episcopatus and It was through "Conch-L" I met Matt Grote, also magnificus and Cylinder canonicus chasing Cypraea THE CONE COLLECTOR ISSUE #30 Page 4 It's not a fossil, but it looks good to me it was to Trinidad and Tobago. I brought all the right reference books, had diving certification and gear --- and I spoke the language! The Internet was available and more collectors and dealers were easy to access. So, what happened? No cowries or cones because the island is in the outflow zone of the Orinoco River of Venezuela, thus creating murky waters that prevent the growth of coral. Waters were clearer on the north and east coasts of Tobago, but another hindrance existed. No one collected or dealt with shells, unless you wanted Looks warm doesn't it? Strombus gigas, or as the locals call it "Lambie". There was no dive club, shell collectors' club, shell collection around his aquarium! We collected quite a few cones in the Port of Spain natural history museum or and cowries snorkeling in Pago Pago, which I placed malacology department at the University of the West in a large plastic container and filled with alcohol to Indies in Trinidad. I am sure there are cones in the preserve them for the trip home. My delight turned to offshore reefs north of Tobago, however, going alone in dread when the Honolulu agricultural inspector told me an open boat with inexperienced local fishermen didn't I had to turn them in because they were snails. Snails fit my risk profile. are not allowed to be brought into the U.S., especially ones with soft parts still remaining. After a "courteous So... the most fruitful shelling expeditions were to Isla educational conversation", he conceded that the snails Margarita, Venezuela, not Trinidad. The fishermen I had collected did not crawl from a terrestrial habitat, there are happy for you to clean up the beach by into the sea for a swim. taking some shells. In the photo below, my friend, Dave Gaugler, who has since passed away, joins me in In 2002, we took another assignment that I thought finding a fresh cone among the Strombus pugilis and for sure would enhance our cone collection. This time Phyllonotus margaritensis. Page 5 THE CONE COLLECTOR ISSUE #30 Shell Mountain - Isla Margarita, Venezuela All things shell at Schloss Muehleisen We are much more casual and less conversant collectors Conclusion than many of our friends in the TCC group, but we never felt dismissed. It is impressive how carefully Self-collecting is very gratifying, but very difficult, arranged, labeled and stored are the collections of the sometimes dangerous, and not accessible to most members of the TCC "family" we have visited. It is collectors. Make friends and trade with other collectors clear this has been a lifelong passion for them. I can or "shell out" the big bucks to your friendly dealer who guess that like me, many of you can tell a story about will be happy to make your life safer, less smelly, and each of your specimens. Usually, there are memorable ever so accessible to that little gem that makes your people in those stories.