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Cowrie
Cowrie Ruth Greenberg, Tidepool Gallery, 22762 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California 90265 (June, 1971, Dealer of the Month) sent the accompanying photo of what seems to be the world's record Cypraea sulcidentata Gray. The shell measures 77mm x 55mm x 42mm. (Measured by Ed Hailey, Santa Barbara Malacological Society member). The shell is part of Tidepool Gallery's permanent collection.
The shell was collected by a diver in 60 feet in a large coral head in Moanalua Bay in March, 1967.
With interest I have read the column 'Predatism', by Bob Purtymun and I would like to comment on it.
I was very surprised to learn that hermit crabs sometimes kill their victims before they move into the empty shells. Really, this is new to me, I always thought that the hermit just look for empty shells.
But that is not the reason I write this. I just want to clarify something and tell my experiences about shelling by octopusses. These mollusks are really my friends, because they gave me so many nice shells and I have promised myself never to do any harm to these number-one shellers. I agree that I found a lot of broken shells in front of their holes, but also perfect clean, sometimes rare shells.
Among the ones I got from octopus are Cassis flammea, Strombus gallus, S. raninus, a big Voluta musica, Conus aurantius, Cypraecassis testiculus, lots of complete bivalves and many more, all perfectly cleaned and without any damage whatsoever. In some cases I even find the operculum.
Cowrie This rare and beautiful shell was recently discovered and described in Japan. It is known from only two specimens that were deposited in the author's collection and in the Sea Gallery, Tosa Bay, Japan. In January, 1971, I had the opportunity to identify and buy a small unknown Cypraea species, dredged from very deep water off Hachijo Island about 150 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. This shell was the third known specimen of C. midwayensis. The shell is small, being only 21mm long. It superficially resembles a miniature C. teramachii Kuroda.
The original description of this shell appeared in Venus, Vol. 26, page 1. Plate 1. The late Dr. Prof. Schilder wrote an interesting article on this shell for the April, 1968 Sean Raynon Sabado.
Ed. Note: The following is taken from Sean Raynon Sabado for April, 1968, in which the late Dr. Prof. Schilder wrote, "The radula of Nesiocypraea midwayensis differs from all known sea shells by the inverted trapezoid outline of the median tooth (a character observed elsewhere in Ovulidae only) which has a single minute process on the inner surface of the concave posterior margin; the inner marginal tooth shows a needle-like process on the posterior margin (see the figure below)."
The Guam Shell Club holds periodic outings. Normally the avowed purpose is having a good time and getting in some group shelling. Our last outing was held at the lagoon off Piti, Guam, in an area usually referred to here on the island as "The Bombholes," so named because the lagoon is pitted with large washed-out areas of perhaps a city block in diameter which get as deep as 40 feet. Most of the holes are much smaller than this but there are many of them.
The purpose of the outing held on 16 May was to gather Crown-of-Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) and destroy as many as possible. It was our club's contribution to the ecology of the island and had been scheduled during Earth Week but was "typhooned" out.
One hundred and fifty-one starfish were collected and destroyed. High total for the day went to Mr. Rip Puls who brought in 58 of the reef-eaters. Divers also collected shells. An even dozen Cypraea tigris from antler coral patches, five C. isabella, a number of C. erosa and C. lynx, several C. caputserpentis and C. helvola were collected. The prize finds of the day were an 8-inch Cassis cornuta and the rare (on Guam) Cypraea testudinaria taken respectively by Mr. Dick Stickroth and Club President, Jack Cunningham.
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