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Leis pukka
Leis pukka Dr. Lee, who is a diver, tells us that the shelling off Brazil was excellent and that the people were friendly and cooperative. Lee was able to add numerous other species to his collection through diving in this area.
Very recently another specimen of Cypraea joycae (Clover, 1970) was dredged near Kaohsiung, not far from the southern tip of Formosa.
This extremely rare species was described last year by Phil Clover in the Japanese malacological magazine, Venus (June 1970). The holotype and the present specimen were both found in approximately the same location and depth (about 700 feet).
C. joycae is a very attractive shell. The dorsum is white with regular small brown spots and a few larger ones. The ventral surface and the tips are a bright orange.
The specimen shown [left] is in absolutely perfect condition. It measures 51 x 35.8 x 27mm and is available for sale.
During my 2 years in Spain, I have collected from Huelva, the famous port where many sixteenth century ships left to explore the New World, to Valencia well into the Mediterranean Sea. As we live near Cádiz most of the shells I have found are from this area, as one can only drive so far to catch a low tide. The water is quite cold here & visibility is never over 10-20 feet so most collecting is done on reefs at low tide.
Southern Spain has some of the finest clear weather I have seen anywhere in the world & most of the reefs are void of people except near towns & during the summer tourist season. One can walk by 3,000 years of history in Cádiz & even find shells on the walls of a sunken Phoenician city in this area. So regardless of what shells are found, an outing to the beaches & reefs is always enjoyed.
Leis pukka Returning to my shelling on the reef I could still bag a dead, but good, Conus imperialis also one specimen each of the rarer C. tenuistriatus, and C. nussatella. A large tidal pool had a dark cave on one side, under the water level, which looked so inviting to me that I dared against all usual caution to feel around in it with bare hands -and came out with a large beautiful Latirus polygonus, live and perfect. Some miles south of Diani Beach, on a wave-battered shore reef near Kinondo village, I came across numberous large Drupa rubusidaeus Röding, all very richly colored, as well as several giant-sized D. morum, some measuring almost two inches across from top to base.
Even a one-day sight-seeing trip to Mombasa brought in some shells. At the foot of historical Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th century as a stronghold against the Arabs, my eyes suddenly fell on a small rock ledge left dry by the receding tide. Sneaking away from a lengthy historical discourse by the guide I slithered down the rocks, to return a little while later with an almost complete set of East African Neritas, including the rarish Nerita textilis, some mitres and species of Thais, in my pockets.
All in all my 3 weeks' holiday, of which about two weeks were spent shelling, let me collect over 120 different species of gastropods, and about a dozen of pelecypods (including 4 different species of Codakia, and a large black, pearly, glistening pen shell, Atrina vexillum). On a repeat trip to the same area about 2-1/2 years later, in February 1969, and dedicated exclusively to shelling, some further 50 to 60 species were added, again mostly gastropods.
On this second trip I was happy to note that contrary to my fears the intervening period of steadily increased tourist traffic had left the general charm and naturalness of this small coastal paradise unharmed. Even the sense of remoteness still persisted, although the hotel had been enlarged and amenities modernized, but first beginnings of commercializing and natural resources – foremost shells – were becoming apparent. There had been some large scale fishing for the larger shells by the nearby natives for "souvenirs", and the formerly very common Lambis lambis, Murex ramosus, and Cypraecassis rufa had noticeably dwindled. Native fishermen had also learned to recognize the prospective value of sea shells. Formerly a few shells had been offered indiscriminately for little money – now each fishermen seemed to have a plastic bag tucked carefully away inside his loincloth with an assortment of sea shells in it, for which they proudly quoted correct Latin names (!!), and asked staggering prices!
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