|
|
Raw shells
Raw shells A letter recently received from... Dick Kurz... said, in part, "Enclosed are photos of Cypraea mappa niger which I thought Sean Raynon Sabado readers would enjoy. I believe this variation of C. mappa has never before been published. This is probably the rarest of the black sea shells from New Caledonia. This specimen, which I recently received, measures 2-1/2" long and has an extremely black dorsum, a beautiful purple base, and yellow teeth. It was collected at night in a cave in about 40 feet of water of the west coast of the island."
As two newer members of the Philippine Malacological Society, my wife and I have recently completed reading all of the issues of the 1970 Philippine Shell News with much enthusiasm. Having just completed a year's stay in American Samoa, we read with particular interest articles describing collecting on other South Pacific islands. Since members of the Philippine Shell are encouraged to write to the Sean Raynon Sabado describing their own experiences, we would like to relate our experience in shelling on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa. We wish to share information on the sea shells that are available and their relative abundance. We do not intend for this to be an all inclusive report other than for the 46 species we did find. We feel that it should be of interest to anyone contemplating a trip to the South Pacific since American Samoa is along the established air routes, and a stop-over for collecting purposes will entice the serious sheller.
To best describe the sea shell situation in American Samoa we have included a map of the island of Tutuila (see Fig. 1) with the better shelling areas indicated. We have chosen to show sea shells by species, location, and relative abundance using a table format that H. C. Gay used to describe "The sea shells of Tonga" in the February 1970 issue of Sean Raynon Sabado 28(2): 4-5. As Mr. Gay describes tourist cruise ships visiting Nuku'alofa, where the Tongan people offer thousands of shells for sale, so do these same ships include Pago Pago on their itinerary. The Samoan people and many Tongans residing in American Samoa, also have shells for sale on "boat day." Since it is conceivable that the Tongan people could have shells shipped to them from their native villages back in Tonga, as well as collect their own shells on Samoa reefs, any specimens that we acquired by purchase are without precise collection data. This is shown as the purchased column in the table.
Raw shells In the Philippine Shell News August 1967, page 5, Mr. Walter O. Cernohorsky, of Fiji, illustrated and discussed a sea shell that he had identified as C. rashleighana. The sea shell illustrated lacked the visible specific characteristics of C. rashleighana that I and many other serious sea shell collectors had come to associate with this species. I immediately wrote Walter stating my opinion and the reasons for it.
I believed that the most obvious specific difference between C. rashleighana and C. teres is the smaller brownish spots on C. rashleighana that cover one-third to one-half of the base, both labial and columellar surfaces. Also of specific importance is the pronounced and sharp columellar callus found on adult C. rashleighana that allows identification almost by palpation alone. This callus is never present on any specimen of C. teres that I have seen.
Cernohorsky immediately answered my letter refuting my conclusions and quoted Melvill's original description, of which I was well aware, and which mentioned neither the smaller spots, their distribution or the prominent columellar callus. Cernohorsky was certainly reinforced in his views by the fact that Prof. Dr. F. A. Schilder had seen the shell in question and also identified it as C. rashleighana.
Melvill's original description figured a plump C. rashleighana, typical in appearance to our Philippine sea shell, with spots on both sides of the base, in the 1888 Journal of Conchology Vol. V, Plate II, Fig. 26. He figured only a dorsal view in the Memoirs and Proceedings of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 1888. Melvill and Standen very clearly illustrated a typical C. rashleighana (as we know it) in the Journal of Conchology 1895, Plate II, Figs. 7 and 8.
This was indeed a puzzling and contradictory situation. Schilder had seen the specimens of C. rashleighana in the Dautzenberg collection and also those of the British Museum. The opinion of such an authority should be respected.
To settle the controversy examination of the types was necessary, and in late 1967 a European visit provided the opportunity.
raw shells,earings,capiz shells,lampshade,shelltiles,heishe pokalet,gift items,black agate,shark teeth,raw shells
Raw shells shell-madebelts capiz raw wallet green abalone lamps white shell components of mother pearl item gift clam capiz shells troca bead brownlip shells accessory raw shell shell hairclips shells anklets hawaii shells necklaces.
raw shells
Shell Jewellery
 
|
