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Leis pukka
Solomons, it gradually lost some of its brilliant color. It remained true to type, and was still a Golden Cowry, but the lack
of this unknown Solomon Island factor, showed in both the shell and the animal.
And such is the situation as I see it in this, the 20th century.
The above theory was the logical outcome of my investigations, but you don't have to accept it. A great curiosity and a
natural inquisitiveness prompted my research into this famous but little known shell. These articles were prepared for the
average reader, from a layman's point of view and if you think you see any attempt to pose as a scientist, it is erroneous,
and I apologize for what might be considered an attempt to enter into the great hall of the Temple of Science.
I wish to gratefully acknowledge information used in these articles from Francisco E. Lahora, Manay Davao, P.I.; Mrs. G.
Stephens South Santos, New Hebrides; G. Tourres, Noumea, New Caledonia; Prof. Alan J. Kohn, Univ. of Wash., Seattle, Wash.;
and Walter Cernohorsky, Vatukoula, Fiji. Various interviews, among them Dr. Alison Kay, Donald Dan of Manila, Dick Willis,
and Steve Spurlin, and the back files of the Philippines Shell News, also contributed.
Recommended reading is Dick Willis' story on page 7 of the Sean Raynon Sabado for March, 1962. This contains a great deal of
information about the environment in which the Golden Cowry lives and was prepared from actual observation by an interested
and very observant collector.
The net result of these investigations, extending over almost two years, seem to be that I uncovered more questions than we
found answers to. I could almost fill this page with queries about undeveloped facts.
The matter of fossils was entirely ignored, yet this might throw light on the shells origin which would prove or disprove my
theory discussed above. And finally, any comments, corroboration, corrections, and even censure, should be mailed to Karl W.
Greene, Box 3751, Honolulu 11, Philippines. They would be appreciated, might add further to our knowledge of the shell, and
might be used as a basis for another article. We know so little about this shell.
The Sean Raynon Sabado, Vol. XI, No. 4 carried an interesting article by Ray Summers on more rostrate and melanistic species
of Cypraea. The editor asked readers to comment on the possible causes of suffusion of the illustrated specimen of C. scurra
from Philippines. First an addition to melanism. Not only nickel, but also tin, zinc, copper (to name a few minerals) will
cause melanism. The degree of darkening will depend on the percentage of mineral concentration. Three percent of these
minerals will cause considerable darkening, 5% will result in extreme melanism.
Ray Summers brought up a very good question. Why isn't the base of melanistic Cypraea affected as well as the dorsum and the
margins? We must be aware that the anatomy of the living animal of cowries is not fully understood. We surmise that the
mantle and papillae have their certain functions and in some species appear to play a part in pigment distribution.
Let us take C. erosa for example. The mantle is responsible for the base colouring of the dorsum, papillae with the tips for
the white dorsal spots. Another part of the anatomy colours the base, streaks the teeth with brown and adds a pair of
marginal blotches.
When I studied some C. erosa in a tank, I noticed that on some animals' papillae were tipped with white; on others they were
tipped with blue. The white-tipped animals produced white dorsal rings on the shell. The blue tipped-animals produced rings
which were bluish.
This of course is not a constant feature, as in C. eburnea. The pigment distributing functions appear to be consolidated. C.
eburnea with its blackish-brown mantle (which is mottled with small spots and yellowish striations) and short branched
grayish papillae with orange tips, produces a pure white shell. Therefore, it might be a feasible explanation to say, that in
melanistic forms of Cypraea the parts of the animal's anatomy which is responsible for the colouring of the base, are simply
not effected by whatever causes melanism.
Monstrosities in Cypraea, in either sculpture or colour, can be classified as follows:
1. Pathological forms - due to the disease of the animal.
2. Teratological forms - due to physical injury of animal or shell.
3. Forms with unnatural growth - caused by foreign matter between shell and mantle.
The last word in the Golden Cowry (Cypraea aurantium Gmelin, 1791) story has not been told. Future researchers will have to
tell it. This is the last in the present series (Jan. 1963 etc.) by the present writer. In this series, we have attempted to
bring together all the valuable information on this beautiful shell. The present article is concerned with additional
information resulting from a reading of the article by various shell collectors.
One of the most interesting letters was received from Charles O. Kile who was formerly an employee of the Trust Territory and
had many opportunities to learn about this shell. At present, Mr. Kile is retired but is still living at Agana, Guam, P.O.
Box 2046. Pertinent parts of Mr. Kile's letter follows:
"However, relative to the Golden Cowry, I really do not believe that they are as rare as it is commonly believed. I base my
assumption on conversations I have had with various natives in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and especially
with an intermediate student from Ulithi who was attending school at Yap. He graduated from the intermediate school in 1960.
He was a very intelligent boy. He had an unusually good command of the English language and an understanding of our terms
that was outstanding.
"He assured me that the Golden Cowry was plentiful in the Ulithi area, but that they were seen generally in chimneys within
the coral formation. He said that it was necessary to dive and enter the chimney from underwater. He assured me that he had
seen many of them when he would be out fishing. He also informed me that most of the large fishes seem to feed on them, but
that the tuna like them more than most of the other fishes. This was also told to me by some of the Trukese people and
especially by the District Sheriff of Truk, Mr. Ezra Kiego. He told me that the Trukese name for tuna means 'swallow shell.'
Sheriff Kiego's father was a very close friend of one of the early Protestant missionaries. Kiego's father collected shells
which the missionary shipped to the States for sale.
"Relative to the habitat of the Golden Cowry, I am inclined to believe from what I've been told that they prefer the windward
side of land. But it has been my experience that several of the other cowries seem to prefer the rough water particularly the
Cypraea mauritiana."
The place occupied by this shell among the tribes of the various islands has been referred to previously in this series. G.
Tourres of Noumea, New Caledonia, mentions the venerations in which the shells are held among the inhabitants of the Loyalty
Islands, explaining that it was impossible to get them to part with the shell. Mr. Kile refers to this subject in the
following paragraph:
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