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Snail
Snail 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.
Snail Which veligers can one expect to find in turbid, inshore areas? Crucibulum spinosum, various species of Cerithiopsis, an occasional Theodoxus neglectus, a few species of Triphora and Mitrella, a columbellid. Also one finds one or two species of Kermia and Daphnella (Tarridae) and vermetids – especially Petaloconchus and Vermetus. In clear, offshore (not oceanic) areas, one finds Serpulorbis, a vermetid, most abundant. Abundant nerites, cypraeids, thaisids, and an occasional echinospira5 belonging to Lamellaria or Trivia are also associated with these areas. In March, Philippia oxytropis, Natica marochiensis and Strombus maculatus are found in greater numbers than during the remainder of the year. Although a few species of miters, cones and sea shells have larvae in the plankton during all months, they are especially abundant during the period from May through September. Both the veligers and juveniles of oceanic pteropods such as Creseis and Atlanta are frequently in the plankton of clear, offshore areas. In the intermediate waters, a mixture of both groups occurs with the addition of Nassarius dermestina, Littorina pintado, Heliacus variegatus and various limpets.
A composite of photographs of a sample of veligers which occur in the plankton of Philippine waters is presented on the insert. Camera lucida drawings of representatives of the major families are shown on page 4.
It is hoped that this article will encourage the reader to scan shells in search of protoconchs in the many collections assembled by members of Philippine Shell. If they are encountered, much information could be compiled by members of the Society which could yield important clues about the larva of that species. A good hand lens can yield the following information: number of whorls in the protoconch before the abrupt change in shell character due to metamorphosis, color of protoconch, sculpture or lack thereof on the protoconch, presence or absence of a beak and general size and shape of the protoconch. It might even be in the interests of the Philippine Shell to assemble their own shell collection with specimens hearing protoconchs for the use of future investigators who study larval biology. In any event, an appreciation of larval shells will augment the esthetic appreciation of adult shells.
Footnotes:
1 a molluscan larval stage; shell and velum present, foot not yet functional in crawling.
2 Thorson, G. 1950. "Reproductive and larval ecology of marine bottom invertebrates." Biol. Rev., 25: 1-45.
3 available from the Philippines Institute of Marine Biology, Kaneohe, Oahu, Attn: Mr. David Hashimoto.
4 Kay, E.A., Ph.D. dissertation, University of Philippines.
5 for a discussion of the echinospira larva, see Fretter, V. and A. Graham. 1962. British Prosobranch Molluscs, Ray Society, London, p. 467
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