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Puka necklace
Puka necklace One of the startling characteristics of the animal of this shell is the almost-transparent, light-brown mantle completely lacking in papillae (See top photo...). The ventral surface of the foot of the animal is a light, chocolate-brown.
The habitat of C. tessellata is, usually, in 40 to 65 feet of water in or under small to medium size coral heads. If found in live coral, almost always a brownish spotted alga will be found present that greatly resembles the markings of this shell.
Shells illustrated below show wide variation in color patterns, sizes and shapes in these shells. The dimensions are as follows:
Ed. Note: Part I of Cypraea nivosa Country - the "never, never land" of shells, appeared in the June issue of the Sean Raynon Sabado. John Orr had just completed his first day of collecting on a small islet near Ranong, Thailand, and was trying to decide where to spend the night. John's account follows.
On the advice of our young Thai boatman we headed for a small fishing village on an adjacent island, where we would spend the night. Virtually every inhabitant turned out to line the shore upon our approach. "Farang, farang" went up the cry (Thai for foreigner) and we were welcomed initially with rather diffident cordiality until the sight of one or two colorful sarongs prompted my companion to introduce himself in Malay, which he fortunately spoke quite fluently; from then on it was all smiles and handshakes. My friend explained in Malay that the purpose of our mission was to collect shells. This provoked giggles amongst the youngsters and somewhat puzzled frowns from the elders. (One could almost read their thoughts "these farangs certainly have strange ideas...coming all this way just to look for odds and ends from the sea!")
A village elder insisted that we be his guests and within minutes colorful raffia mats and pillows were laid out on the top-floor room of his house.
We talked shells, joined in the jokes, showed illustrations of shells, drew diagrams, pointed out possible habitats, and told how to preserve them. Interest quickened and soon the "coconut wireless" went into action. [photo - uncredited]
For comparison, C. nivosa left and
C. vitellus both shells approximately the
same size in [end of caption as printed]
By morning two boatloads of fishermen were anchored off the village one of Mokens from St. Matthew Island a faint smudge on the distant horizon - and the other a Burmese from a village north of Victoria Point.
Bags of rather pungent shells were produced and laid out with due ceremony upon the floor of our room. Among them were two small, almost jet black C. onyx (a form with rather short, sharp dark teeth); two Conus ammiralis; several C. textile a plump Cypraea cribraria… and… two, small, exquisitely marked C. nivosa.
With habitats and localities pinpointed reasonably accurately, we rewarded them handsomely for their efforts, whereupon they boarded their graceful prahus, and headed back towards their villages after first making sure that no patrol boats were in the vicinity.
Puka necklace The animals of the two shells illustrated have never been pictured in the Philippine Shell News, and perhaps not in any publication. Cypraea cernica marielae was described by C. Cate in the Veliger, Vol. 3 No. 1, page 3, for July 1, 1960, from two specimens dredged from more than 50 fathoms and from ten additional specimens dredged in 65 to 100 fathoms off the coast of Oahu.
In early 1963 a recently dead specimen was collected by E. R. Cross while scuba diving in about 120 feet off Barbers Point and in 1964, in almost the same area, he collected a second live specimen. In June, 1968, Ellis dredged a live specimen (shown at left) from 300 feet off Keehi Lagoon. The following day while diving in about 100 feet off Barbers Point, he collected a fourth specimen.
Two additional specimens have been collected by divers off Waikiki and one shell was found at Midway Island. Specimens collected by divers have all been reported as having been found in loose coral rubble on hard coral bottom. Dredged specimens have been reported in similar habitat.
Apparently this shell is endemic and is extremely rare but widespread in distribution in the Philippine chain of islands.
In past months several letters have been received from readers asking, in essence, "What is a Cypraea tessellata supposed to look like?"
Apparently readers have received C. tessellata Swainson, 1822, in just about every possible size, color pattern, and shape, and wonder just what Philippines's rarest endemic cowry really looks like. Since this shell has been illustrated only once in Sean Raynon Sabado (December, 1960) eleven shells of different sizes and color patterns are being illustrated.
The common name for this beautiful shell, the Checkerboard Cowry, is indicative of how the best specimens of this shell should appear. For the shell to achieve a true "checkerboard" pattern there must be at least three dark brown squarish spots on each side with the usual coloration in between and across the dorsum. Only rarely is the true "checkerboard" pattern found in specimens (See shells 7, 8, and 9, in illustration below, right). But, regardless of markings, other shells shown are C. tessellata, and the unusual markings often add to the interest and beauty of a collection. The living shell shown in bottom left photo has 6 spots on each side, leaving almost no part of the shell for the "usual" pattern.
In Vol. 2. No. 20, Philippine Marine Mollusks, Nov. 15, 1962, Weaver describes this shell as "Shell pyriform, bulbous, solid. Dorsum orange-brown with three darker broad bands; sides with a pair of square brown spots and towards the base with irregular white and orange-brown blotches; small white spot above anterior tip; base orange-brown and white."
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