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Exporter of fashion shell
Mr. Anthony Kalnins, 244 Corinthian Road, Riverton, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, writes:
"In the July number you wrote that Mr. Max Cramer of Geraldton, W.A., had the first live-collected Cypraea marginata. But
that is not correct. My friend Mrs. McDaniels of Broome has a very nice marginata in her collection, taken alive several
years ago by a cray-fisherman near Dongara, W.A. This shell is very large and has nice blackish-brown spots, sparingly, all
over the top of the shell."
From A. R. Bowman, Adelaide Park Road, Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia, comes this letter:
"My friend, Ray Summers, is anxious to tell all Cypraea lovers that he now believes C. saulae jensostergaardi, does not
exist in Queensland waters.
"A few beautiful C. saulae nugata were found on the mainland shores of Yeppoon, Central Queensland, about 1952-53. I also
found a smaller, quite differently colored one, on one of the Keppel Islands. This one, and a mainland one, I sent to Ray
Summers. He was pleased with the nugata from Yeppoon and very interested in the pale Keppel Island form, which he said
exactly fitted the description of jensostergaardi. Professor Ostergaard had seen the holotype of jensostergaardi, and he also
agreed.
"Later, in 1960, I had the luck to fish up a rare saulae variety on a piece of dead coral I brought up on a fish hook off
Flat Rock (see Keppel Bay Tidings No. 1). This specimen seemed to Ray Summers to be between nugata and jensostergaardi. At
this time lie wondered if the deep-water and Keppel Island forms were jensostergaardi and the mainland forms nugata
Unfortunately, I did not know when I wrote my article, that Ray had had further opportunity to study this problem and thus
change his opinion.
"He was able to study a large number of Queensland specimens, all from one area, and found them so variable in size, color
and shape, that he decided there could be but one race involved, not jensostergaardi.
"So friends, it is C. saulae nugata for the Q'ld. shell and a beautiful little shell it is!"
The species was first described as Cypraea producta Gaskoin, 1836 - Proc. Zool. Soc., London, p. 200, without locality. The
holotype was figured by Sowerby, Reeve and Kiener, and was further illustrated by Sowerby (1870), Weinkauff and Tryon. In
1848, Gaskoin remarked, that further specimens have been brought to England by Capt. Sir Edward Belcher from H.M.S. Samarang,
and distributed into the cabinets of Miss Saul, Cuming, Gaskoin and others. The indication of Indonesia as locality had been
accepted on labels. The H.M.S. Samarang's voyage and collecting in the Moluccas was probably responsible for the choice of
locality.
Iredale proposed the new genus Dolichupis (Mem. Qld. Mus. 10:83, 1930) for all Trivia with produced extremities, and
designated C. producta Gaskoin, as type species. Iredale's genus Dolichupis is used here in a subgeneric sense. The same
author established Trivellona excelsa (Rec. Aust. Mus., 18:221, pl. 24, figs. 13 & 14, 1931), for a shell dredged in 50 - 70
fathoms off Montague Island, SE-Australia. Examination of Iredale's holotype in the Australian Museum (a dead, anteriorly
somewhat worn specimen), proved T. excelsa to be identical with Pusula (Dolichupis) producta (Gaskoin, 1836), and at best
meriting subspecific status on a geographic basis only. As Iredale's T. excelsa had been mis-identified or presumed different
originally, the genus name Trivellona has no standing.
The next two days were spent reveling in the lowness of the tides, and the areas uncovered went further and further out to
sea. Our bag increased as the previous days went by. Every now and then a shout would go up from one of us as something new
came up. On the last day, Jack and Alan took off in a small sampan on which we had tied a crazy looking transom to attach the
"Seagull" engine to. Off they went to conquer new territory.
Stephen and I stayed in "Strombus Bay" and as the tide went out further and further so did we. In one great field of staghorn
coral I found some beautiful Turbo petholatus, and so many astraea with lovely rose colored apertures and operculums [sic]
that they looked like raspberries. We collected them in great numbers. Also, in this area we found many Cypraea arabica, of
which one adult only measured 1-1/4 inches in length. In our enthusiasm, we had not noticed the increased shallowness of the
water. It was impossible to walk so we had to crawl over coral, literally breaking our way through to clear water. Our knees
and elbows bore evidence of its sharpness. On the way back, I uncovered to my joy a fine large Conus omaria, and a lovely
Conus terebra. It was a tired and happy Johnnie Johnson who finally staggered up the beach with aching limbs.
As evening came on, Jack and Stephen, although tired, had to go in for one last look while I started to prepare a supper,
which we were doomed not to have. At about six o'clock a mighty storm came up similar to one we had on our last trip. Nature
seemed reluctant to let us get away with her treasures lightly, so for the next five hours we huddled under our somewhat
inadequate cover while the rain came down with unabated ferocity. As the evening without supper passed into night, the
strenuous shelling efforts aided us to sleep. Next morning we broke camp and boarded the boat for the trip back to the
mainland.
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