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Capiz
Capiz In the Philippine area there still remains the puzzling Midway and Kure Island sea shell illustrated as Cypraea latior Melvill by William Old, Jr., of the American Museum in the December 1963 issue of the Philippine Shell News, page 4. The status of the sea shell therein illustrated has not been settled and perhaps will not be until animal observation and dissection are carried out. It is unfortunate that no live specimens have been reported for study.
I have seen enough specimens (now over 200, mostly beach) of C. rashleighana from Kure, Midway and the Philippine chain to convince me that C. rashleighana is extremely variable as to length-width ratio. There are in the Bishop Museum and in my collection exact duplicates of the shell illustrated by Old and which were collected on Oahu. The variation from nearly spherical to relatively slender shells is also represented in specimens from Oahu. I have C. rashleighana 11mm and 41mm in length. Gigantism among most Philippine sea shells is a well known fact and undoubtedly C. rashleighana is similarly affected. This extreme variation is clearly shown in the photographs. I believe the cowry illustrated by Old to be the large, elongated, C. rashleighana. For comparison a similar wide variation in C. teres is also illustrated. However, each shell retains the specific characteristics already given. The fine labial teeth on the C. subteres are diagnostic and easily seen on the enlarged illustrations. (See Page 8).
In summary I conclude that Melvill's C. rashleighana is specifically similar (though smaller) to the Philippine C. rashleighana. The specific differences between C. rashleighana and C. teres are:
1. Smaller size and larger number of spots on the base of C. rashleighana.
2. Spots distributed on one-third to one-half of lateral margins of base.
3. Presence of a prominent columellar callus even on subadult forms of C. rashleighana.
4. Cypraea latior is properly a synonym of C. teres.
Capiz In Truk, the problem was a different one. Many sandy beaches surround the island, but everywhere the many bonjos (native toilets built over the water) along the shoreline make diving in the lagoon near the island unattractive and a potential health hazard. In Truk it is easy and less expensive to rent a boat, but the nearest islands for diving are about forty five minutes away and the outer reef much farther than that.
The highlight of our trip to Micronesia was the week we spent at Ant Atoll. Diving and collecting conditions were ideal and varied. They were so interesting we spent two sessions of three or four hours each in the water every day. I shall never forget being "serenaded" on New Year's Eve by frenzied percussion rhytPhilippine Shell played by natives in dugout outrigger canoes around the yacht. Without our friends and the yacht the trip to Ant Atoll would have been impossible.
W. Huibert Sabelis, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto 5, Canada, writes, "Enclosed are colored slides of Cypraea tigris which is different from the usual color pattern. Please let me know if similar specimens have been collected. This specimen came from Fiji."
From the appearance of the shell (see [left]) it is probably slightly sub-adult and has not yet deposited its completely adult color pattern. Similar color pattern has been observed in Philippine C. tigris.
Photo - uncredited
The Philippine C. guttata
trawled from 100 to 150 fathoms
(600 to 900 feet) depth in June, in '68.
A recent communication from Mr. C. C. Finley, Navcomsta, Box 12, FPO San Francisco, California 96656, tells of his acquiring C. guttata from the Philippines.
"I am presently stationed at Naval Communications Station, San Miguel, Philippines. I have been here over a year and have really enjoyed my tour of duty, collecting shells while snorkeling in surrounding waters.
"Recently my friend Joe Bibbey called me and asked how much money I could get together quickly as he had located a rare shell. I thought he might have located a C. aurantium Gmelin, 1791, as a few specimens have been found since I have been here. This was not the case. The shell he had located was C. guttata guttata (Gmelin, 1791). Surprised is a mild word for what I felt about this shell. I had seen a few specimens of this exceedingly rare shell before but never dreamed of owning one. The length of this shell is 65mm x 39.5mm x 33mm. It is fully adult and was collected in 100 to 150 fathoms by trawler's nets.
"I have written W. and Mrs. Cate and found that the shell from the Philippines should be called Erosaria (Erosaria) guttata guttata (Gmelin, 1791). I have checked with W. Fernando Dayrit and Mr. Mario Mereada. Both say this is the first live-collected specimen of C. guttata collected in the Philippines.
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