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Earing
Earing The presence in Reunión and Mauritius of C. contaminata is not so surprising as that of C. mariae and C. beckii, since C. contaminata's range is known to include the Indian Ocean from Ceylon to Zanzibar and East Africa.
When questioned about this reported extension of the known range of the three sea shells, Dr. C. M. Burgess, author of The Living sea shells commented: "I believe that the collection of these sea shells in such numbers and under the given circumstances is positive evidence that they exist there in the living state."
Among the many Caribbean shells which I collected at Curaçao is the striking species Strombus gallus Linné, the Rooster Conch. During an eight month stay over there, I only collected seven live specimens at depths varying from four to fifteen feet. Five of them were found between turtle grass, one in sand and one was crawling over old tree leaves, which were covering the bottom over quite an extensive area.
The shell has an average length of five inches, is solid and has blunt spines at the shoulder of the last whorl. Whorls nine to ten, that increase regularly in size. The outer lip is extended at the top into a narrow wing which is longer than the spire. The spiral sculpture consists of a number of ridges on the body whorl, which start as small lirae on the whorls of the spire. These conches occur in different colors, but the aperture is always white.
It is my good fortune to have all these varieties in my collection; a wonderful view to see brown, yellow, purple and red specimens on display. I have always thought that this conch was rather rare and the fact of finding seven shells in an eight month period will underline that. However, numerous dead shells or broken ones, of which the soft parts were eaten by octopus, make me suspect that this shell is more common in deeper water.
Earing In 1967, when visiting Vava'u Island in the Tongan Group a specimen of Cypraea rashleighana Melvill, 1888, was collected and became the subject of a photograph and description in the August 1967 issue of Sean Raynon Sabado as a new geographical record. Two years later, a further article appeared in the August 1969 issue in which the author discussed the visible characteristics of C. rashleighana generally associated with this cowry and drew attention to the apparent absence of these characteristics in the photograph. Of significance also, attention was drawn to the contradictions in Melvill's original description of the holotype which omitted any reference to the small basal spots which appeared in the figure or to any columellar callus. Into these contradictions the Tongan shell immediately falls and by comparison of four specimens with Melvill's "type" (loaned by courtesy of Mr. Peter Dance and the National Museum of Wales) I am able to contribute a little more information. Obvious differences exist and these I shall describe but the field collector relies heavily on the expert for identification in such circumstances and, since the Tongan shell has been examined by three (including the late Prof. Schilder) all of whom identify it as a form of C. rashleighana this would seem to be conclusive, if debatable.
Fig. 1 illustrates dorsally Melvill's type specimen (the larger of the two) and the same Tongan C. rashleighana published in August, 1967. The holotype has an indistinct and very faded dorsal pattern and, magnified, a pitted base. Whilst its age would account for some deterioration, it is my opinion that the shell was beach collected. The absence of locality data might, possibly, add weight to this contention. Dorsally viewed, Melvill's shell and the Tongan specimen are alike in appearance, pattern and characteristics. In other aspects differences begin to emerge. The holotype has a columellar margin obvious to sight and touch which suggests a callus but, in my view, a thickening deposit of enamel, normally associated with such a feature, is obscure and may well not have been obvious to Melvill. Certainly it could explain the absence of comment. The Tongan C. rashleighana has no palpable columellar margin nor anything but an insignificant trace of callus, although this it has.
Fig. 2 views the two shells ventrally and it is here that a major difference, unfortunately too critical for the camera and photographic reproduction, lies. Melvill's shell has numerous brown basal spots which, in spite of deterioration, are distinctly present on both sides of the base in direct contrast to the Tongan C. rashleighana which has nothing comparable. It (the Tongan specimen) has, nevertheless, brown marks which are an extension of the dorsal pattern but these are quite different from the pinprick spots of the type.
Besides their similarity in appearance to Melvill's C. rashleighana, the Tongan specimens resemble in certain aspects the Tongan C. teres Gmelin 1791 although closer examination reveals marked differences. In general terms, C. teres is very much larger but I have one specimen of comparable size which is illustrated in Fig. 3 (the more slender shell of the two). The C. rashleighana figured is not fully mature but the dorsal patterns are seen to be remarkably similar. The shapes are, however, characteristically different, the C. teres being subcylindrical and the C. rashleighana subpyriform. Fig. 4 illustrates a lateral comparison in which the humped dorsum of the C. rashleighana stands out. The ventral view in Fig. 5 of the same immature C. rashleighana illustrates, in the original colour negative, a distinct and characteristic difference in colour of the interior dorsum wall of the two shells but (in view of the immaturity) a comparison of the apertures is not for consideration. The interior of C. teres is invariably purplish in comparison to the faintly tinted white interior wall of the C. rashleighana. The separation of these two species at sight presents no problem at all.
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