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Cyprea pappa
Tearing up a coral-head such as seen in the left center of the picture stirs up a lot of silt and at times reduces visibility
to only a few inches. Collecting from such areas is usually for a SCUBA equipped diver.
To insure finding the shells in such a coral-head I follow a simple technique. First the area surrounding the coral-head is
checked for shells such as miters and Terebra. The smaller coral pieces are turned over and checked for shells. Most Murex
pele and both Cypraea cernica that I have collected were attached to the under side of small, isolated pieces of coral. After
checking for shells these are thrown clear of the area surrounding the larger coral head which I systematically start tearing
to pieces.
When I was not busy buying shells or out with Reg, I usually went out with the local fishermen or with the luggers on their
pearl diving ventures. Some of these trips leave me with very happy memories. Others were dismal failures and sometimes quite
miserable trips. One trip from Thursday Island off the South coast of New Guinea was a whole week of hardships. We were four
on a 27 foot boat, with only two bunks available, and I camped on deck, with only a blanket as a shelter against rain and
spray. Everything seemed to happen on that nasty trip. The boat leaked like a "Tahitian bait basket" and had to be pumped
every hour or so. Then, we hit a reef and nearly lost the boat. Two days of strenuous work got it afloat. Another evening,
the anchor broke loose and the boat went drifting among treacherous reefs in the middle of the night. Then the dingy broke
loose and was lost. Then…
Well, I was only a guest in that party, but I could not help telling the "captain" what I thought about his seamanship. He
didn't mind, though, and proved it by hitting another reef on the way back. When we crawled into harbor late one night I
swore under my breath that I would never set my foot on a boat again. Of course, two days later, I was off again on some wild
goose chase… How on earth can I get rid of that shell bug… !
Well, these thrilling adventures only lasted three very short months. When time came to go home, I planned my trip back
through the Barrier Reef on small boats, which is a real sight indeed. I did not get a chance to do much shelling, but I did
quite a lot of trading on the way down to Brisbane and Sydney and acquired some beautiful and rare shells, including Cypraea
hirasei, saulae nugata, melwardi, Voluta grossi , grayi, jamrachi aulica, & norrisi oblita, three unnamed species, dozens of
new Murex, Conus and Strombus for my collection, plus scores of miscellaneous species. When I landed in New Caledonia, I had
over twenty cartons of shells to my credit, and this fascinating trip was well worth while, if only for the fine people I met
on the way. I feel sure that nothing in this world can fetch more and better friends than our fascinating hobby.
The illustrated C. caurica elongata Perry, 1811, has the typical blackish-brown dorsum and blond base of melanistic
specimens; the shell is grossly rostrate, teeth having shifted into the aperture, which is rather dilated anteriorly. Photos
- Cernohorsky - mag. x1.5
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