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Capis
Getting the live Lima scabra was quite an experience, too. They were back in holes in a rock wall and under small loose
rocks. We held on to the larger rocks, with our feet on a little ledge that dropped off to 20 feet or more. Neither Mary nor
I are good enough swimmers to venture in water over our heads but we sort of forgot about that as we saw the red and white
tentacles waving about. We'd reach for the shell which would snap shut and retreat in the rocks. Some were attached by a
byssus and some were free swimming. We were both pretty leery of reaching in after it so if it got more than a couple of
inches back, we thought of moray eels and what have you, left that one and looked for one easier to get.
It was very warm and we think we'll plan future trips for cooler weather. Still, if we hadn't gone this summer, we might not
have gotten the Cyphoma and Lima.
P. S. Our Fort Myers Shell Club was organized in November 1962 and has 36 members. Mary Hartman mentioned above is secretary
and I am president. We have a very congenial group and are enjoying the club very much.
Garrard states that all melanistic specimens from Queensland have a distorted base. I have melanistic specimens which were
collected by Mr. and Mrs. A. R. Bowman in the Keppel Bay area that do not have a distorted base. Garrard states that rostrate
Cypraea staphylaea descripta Iredale are never affected by melanism; a rostrate specimen of this race was recently sent to me
by Molly Bowman which was collected at North Keppel Island. and its color is not normal. The dorsum is a pale creamy color
which is slightly darker in the center, and the base is a rich deep brown which could be considered as melanistic. Molly. who
has collected for many years in this area, states that this is typical of the rostrate specimens of this race. To the best of
my knowledge, this is the only cowry affected in this way. However, I have not seen a rostrate Cypraea limacina facifer
Iredale; it is logical that it may vary in the same way as the two are closely related.
The foregoing is not intended to be critical. It is merely intended to add to the information on this subject. The most
distorted specimen that I have seen from the Yeppoon area is a large Cypraea arabica 75.4 mm in length. It was collected by
Tom Nielsen at Keppel Island and sent to me. It is a very deep blackish-brown color on the dorsum, but the lateral spots show
very clearly as the lateral area is not very melanistic.
Some of the rostrate melanistic specimens of Cypraea felina velesia Iredale from the Capricorn Islands have a diseased
appearance, and flakes of nacre are broken off which makes the shell unattractive, but those which are not flaked are
attractive. Arthur Nash and Roy Perry sent me some flaked rostrate melanistic specimens with the animal in them which I sent
to Dr. Schilder for study Schilder is quite interested in the study of aberrant specimens.
Additional localities for rostrate melanistic or specimens which are either one or the other are as follows: Rostrate Cypraea
moneta barthelemyi Bernardi have been collected in Torres Strait; I have seen a lovely rostrate Cypraea annulus annulus Linn.
which was collected by George and Ethel Young at Okinawa; Phillip Clover recently collected a pair of rostrate melanistic
Cypraea gracilis japonica Schilder in Sagami Bay, Japan and sent me one, but they are not as completely melanistic as some of
the cowries from Queensland and New Caledonia; I have several Cypraea pantherina Solander that were collected at Massawa,
Eritrea, in the Red Sea that have a uniform layer of reddish brown on the dorsum. The specimens I have which were collected
by Howard Beaver at Jidda on the opposite side of the Red Sea do not show this melanistic tendency.
I have never seen a Cypraea hesitata hesitata Iredale like the one in the picture above Garrard's article in the H.S.N. What
a prize to one who is fond of aberrations and freaks!
Cernohorsky's theory that the residue of the mineral nickel being discharged in the Bay du Monoure by a mining company might
possibly cause melanism is logical. I am certain that rusty iron can cause a form of melanistic color. However, the rust
never causes rostration to the best of my knowledge. This may be the weak point in the theory and again it may not be as
nickel could possibly produce a different reaction.
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