|
|
Coral
Coral On October 24th, on the open reef, in about fifteen feet of Makaha water, the catch was two Conus distans, 93 and 83.5mm high. The smaller had a Hipponix pilosus attached to the spire, and, as it had moved a number of times, here was considerable erosion.
The thirteenth, and final dive of the month, off the rocks near the Makai Range yielded me fine exercise, as the water was fairly rough and not too clear.
So, it seems that my type diving nets about the good shell per water-hour. Wish every month was as good.
I wonder how long satellite-live football games on TV will keep the diving shell collectors away from the many "favorite" collecting spots? Or the rains? And the air temperatures in the 60's? And water temperature at 78 degrees? [Typo – 68 degrees is typical of 'winter' around Oahu; 78 degrees is typical of 'summer'. – B. Dayle] Only a very few collectors reported finds this past month.
Wes Thorsson, George Cook, and Dave Gonsalve all found Cypraea tessellata plus many other good shells in Moanalua Bay. All were collected in 40 to 50 foot depth using scuba.
New collector Francis Shitabata found the rare (for Philippines) Cypraea carneola on his first collecting trip with scuba. Francis also collected a large Terebra maculata (uncommon during winter months) and Cassis cornuta. These, too, were found in Moanalua Bay in 40 to 50 feet while diving with scuba.
Scuba diving for shells gives the collector the opportunity to be selective in his collecting. The habitat can be studied and in a short time the place to look for each shell is known. Now, with charter boats available economically from the dive shop (see ad below) new, off-shore, areas for collectors are available.
Coral ANIMAL CHARACTERISTICS
Mantle: Transparent gray-white with numerous white papillae. Eyes: Black. Area around eyes also black, fading to light gray a few mm from the stalks. Tentacles: Light orange-red, tapered from base to tip. Proboscis: Light orange-red, with rounded end. Siphon: Transparent gray-white bordered with small white filaments about 2 to 5mm long. Body: Light creamy-white.
Foot: Overall color is dirty white on crawling area. Top of foot has a distinctive blotch at the anterior and posterior portions. Anterior portion has a white band or margin approximately 0.5 to 1mm in thickness, running across the width of the foot. When viewed from the top, these resemble two white appendages. Posterior portion has a very distinctive black stripe approximately 0.75 to 1.5mm thick running from the edge of the posterior portion of the foot up the body of the animal. This stripe is made up of small black blotches at the edges of the stripe.
SCUBA divers took all the headlines in August with Mike Scaggs finding a Cypraea cernica marielae and a 5-2/5" C. tigris schilderiana. Brother Ron Scaggs came up with a nice Strombus hawaiensis (dead).
Lonnie Jordan found a Cypraea rashleighana and Al Calabrese hit the jackpot with a Murex elongatus, Conus circumactus, C. spiceri, C. retifer and a 5-1/4" C. marmoreus bandanus as well as a dead but nice Cypraea ostergaardi, off the Waianae coast in depths from 50 to 120 feet.
Wes Thorsson got his share of excellent shells from Moanalua Bay with a Cypraea rashleighana, C. chinensis and a Conus retifer. Andy Shimazu found a perfect Charonia tritonis in 60' depths off Sunset, measuring only 8 inches.
Ellis Cross found a pair of Conus spiceri and a 4" Cymatium pyrum (dead) at "Cross's Supermarket", Barbers Point, and Stu Lillico found an excellent Cypraea vitellus on Ala Moana Reef in just inches of water.
coral,gift items,raw material,shell bracelets,fashion,inlaid,seashell,mother of pearl,puka necklaces,coral
Coral pawa troka black lip pauas capiz shell shell hawaiian capis raw shells puka land snail clams m.o.p seashell nassa nautilus shell jewelry necklace shell necklace shell craft green abalone painted sigay seashells jewelry jewelry shell.
coral
Shell Jewellery
 
|
