|
|
Pokalets
Pokalets From Fiji we flew to New Zealand and her coldwater beaches where time only permitted me to beach collect pectens and whelks. I was given Voluto, a growth series of Haliotis and also of Papulosa. People everywhere were so generous with shells that I ended up buying two extra bags, hand-carrying one all over New Zealand and Australia and mailing home four big boxes. Such wonderful people!
Photo - uncredited
Perhaps not the
Cypraea marginata
Virginia lost her heart to, but
similar specimens of this rare
and beautiful cowry are available
from Australian dealers at prices
ranging from $50.00 to $200.00,
depending on size, quality, and
condition of specimen.
Before leaving Honolulu I had corresponded with shell dealer Lance Moore of Sydney. On my arrival he invited me to a meeting of the Conchology Section of the Royal Zoological Society of Sydney at the Sydney Museum where he gave a great talk on world cones illustrated with several big cases of fine and famous cones. I saw particularly fine specimen of Conus prometheus, C. dalli, C. betulinus and C. circumactus to name a few of the well-known cones. People in Sydney are keen and ecstatic over Conus bullatus – aren't we all?
I took along with me only endemic Philippine shells for trading. Among them were some five-inch Philippine Cypraea tigris, also C. granulata, C. sulcidentata, C. gaskoini, extra-nice C. tessellata and some Murex pele. These were very well received and I brought back with me a Cypraea tigris, granulata, sulcidentata, gaskoini, tessellata, teulèrei, a four and one-half inch C. hesitata howelli, a rare C. mus tuberculata, a very rare C. onyx nymphae from the Seychelles, C. eglantina niger from Noumea, New Caledonia and C. verconis from southwest Australia. Also Murex, Conus, Lambis, Strombus, Latiaxis and Rapa. Some of the above I traded for (I didn't bring home any of my Philippine shells) and some I bought.
Lance Moore and his shell family of Marine Specimens Pty., Ltd. were delightful and like everyone I met Downunder, were tremendously hospitable and generous. Marine Specimens is a meeting place for shell lovers and there I met people from France, Canada, New Caledonia and lots of Australians. There I saw a gorgeous Cypraea [( ]Zoila[ )] marginata which unfortunately I had to leave behind but I am still hoping! I also met and was graciously entertained by Noel and Vera Gomersall of Sydney who have a fantastic world wide collection especially strong on Murex, volutes and pectens.
So at the end of September back to Honolulu with my goodies from this wonderful world of Downunder but good, too, to return to the home of the tessellata (Cypraea that is) and pele (Murex and otherwise.)
Pokalets A letter was recently received from Mr. Fred Ziemendorf, 6154 Kalanianaole Highway. Honolulu, Philippines 96821, which stated, in part, "Since my return (to Philippines) I have made several dives with various members of the M. S. (Philippine Shell) and therein lies the reason for this letter. The methods used by the divers I was with consisted of demolishing coral heads as large as 4 to 6 feet in diameter with the aid of pry-bars and pick-axes in the hopes of finding shells. Considering the length of time required to grow these heads, they are for all practical purposes, irreplaceable. On one of the dives there were as many as eight heads destroyed. ... Another (diver) was talking about the proposed deepening and dredging of the Philippines Kai bay area which would kill off the coral so he might just as well get in there and get them while he can. Of course we were diving in 50 to 60 feet of water at the time so I doubt if they will deepen it there. It has been my belief that one of the aims of the Society has been conservation, but if this is an example of how it is practiced I want no part of it (the Philippine Shell)."
As Editor of Sean Raynon Sabado, I receive a number of letters similar to Mr. Ziemendorf's during the year. Most of them have even less reason to condemn our Society than Mr. Ziemendorf does. I agree that shell collecting divers should not wantonly tear up coral heads. But not necessarily because they are "irreplaceable". Experienced diver-collectors know there simply are so few shells in the large coral heads when compared with the number that might be found under smaller, loose, coral rubble type material. The question also comes up, what good is a coral head in 50 to 60 feet of water? Still other questions arise. If more species of marine life can exist in the rubble from a coral head than could exist in the original coral head, why not tear it up? Another thought, coral grows much faster than most people realize, at least some varieties do, and a coral head might easily be "replaced" in a matter of ten years or so. Coral heads in 60 feet are likely to be remants of a past geological epoch since most corals do not grow at that depth. As for collecting in 50 to 60 feet in an area adjacent to a future dredging project and making the statement that they won't be deepening such an area is to not know the facts about dredging. Silt, fine and deadly, spreads for miles from the dredging site and envelopes all marine life in its smothering blanket. My final thought on the matter is to wonder if a mature person, capable of constructive thought, would condemn a Society of 1,200 members because of the action of three or four persons. It seems to me Mr. Ziemendorf might get to know the marine environment, and our Society, a little better before beginning condemnation proceedings.
Most collectors like perfect specimens showing the ideal features of the species. But several collectors are also interested in monstrosities, i.e. in shells which show abnormal characters in color or shape caused by disease of the animal or by accidental injuries of the shell healed by the animal during its later life. The most instructive collection of such pathological sea shells was gathered by the late Ph. Dautzenberg, Paris (The shells are now preserved in Brussels), but also Mr. K. Uetz in Vienna is keen to obtain monstrosities. In 1930, I tried to arrange systematically the causes of various deformations in sea shell shells (Zeitschr. Morph. Oekol. der Tiere, 19:144).
The most frequent monstrosities and their causes can be arranged in one of the five following groups:
Group A: Shape normal, but dorsal markings unusual, as the uppermost layer of enamel is absent because of disease of the mantle and with the color of juvenile stages visible.
Group B: Shell accidentally broken chiefly along the right margin, but later healed by additional deposits of callus during the animal's life.
Group C: Foreign bodies, from mud particles to barnacles, entered between the shell and the mantle that were coated by an accessory layer of enamel differing from the usual color.
Group D: The spire projects far more than in normal shells; this rare abnormality may be caused by internal parasites as has been shown in some land snails.
Group E: Rostration: extremities produced, outlets recurved, base concave especially in front, frequent tendency to melanism (markings confluent and blackish). But I doubt whether or not rostration should be called a monstrosity: its features are too regular, and the occurrence is too frequent in certain areas so that now I think it a natural mutation.
pokalets,m.o.p,puka shell jewelry and accessory,puka heishi,shell beads,shell anklets,inlay,shell necklace,philippines seashells,pokalets
Pokalets shell beads puka shell jewelry exporters raw shells wallets white shell shell tiles leis shellcrafts shells components shell jewelry s shells crafts leis decorative shell capis lamps gift items shells heishe shell-madebelts craft.
pokalets
Shell Jewellery
 
|
