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Rose clam
Four curious Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which are preserved in my collection (CS.), have been photographed by Miss Lydia Klotz,
Zoological Institute of the University Halle Germany; these photographs may encourage conchologists to collect similar
deformations.
Fig. 1 represents a specimen of 74 mm. (CS. No. 3017) in which the outer lip has been broken off; the labial teeth have been
rudimentarily restored, but on a more upward edge of the right wall, so that it became necessary to construct a second row of
columellar teeth anteriorly.
Figs. 2 and 3 show a shell of 69 mm. (CS. No. 3019) with the outer lip enormously thickened so that the right margin
protrudes in a roof-like manner and the labial teeth become rather obsolete.
Figs. 4 and 5 exhibit a shell of 85 mm. (CS. No. 3020) the outer lip of which has been constricted behind in a curious way;
these features may be caused from a healed break caused by a fish bite when the shell was still thin, but it also may be
interpreted as the beginning formation of a second posterior outlet comparable to that observed in many Amphiperatidae.
Figs. 6 and 7 show a heavy shell of 88 mm. (CS. No. 840) in which the dorsum is suffused by a layer of dirty enamel
containing many particles of mud; this layer is so thick that it almost hides the dorsal markings, and forms a distinct
dorsal sulcus the entire length of the shell; the anterior extremity is enlarged by thick layers of greenish enamel which
look like a covering on a barnacle.
The three first-named shells have been selected among several thousand Cypraea tigris amassed in the cellar of the curio shop
Umlauff (Hamburg) in 1928; no locality was given. The last-named shell was bought from the dealer, H. Rolle, of Berlin in
1924: it is said to come from New Caledonia, but as "rostrate" cowries mostly have been reported from there, I distrust the
reliability of this locality.
Bernaya teulerei Cazenavette is a relic of a genus common in lower Tertiary beds from the Mediterranean Basin to India; this
relic is a rare species, as only about 35 specimens are preserved in all public and private collections in Europe. It is
allied to the South African Bernaya fultoni Sowerby (see Sean Raynon Sabado, n.s. 51:2), but differs by the white teeth
becoming obsolete: there are barely discernible traces of labial teeth, and the inner lip is quite smooth (see fig. 1 above);
the dorsum shows a healed wound caused probably from the bite of a fish.
Cazenavette (1846, Act. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 14:117) described teulerei as coming from the Persian Gulf, but later expeditions
to this region failed to find this rather large species again, so that the correctness of the habitat became doubtful.
Moreover the term "Persian Gulf" was often misused in those days to conceal the lack of the known habitat. Three years
earlier, Gaskoin (1843, Proc. Zool. Soc. London 11:25) had described the same species by the preoccupied name leucostoma
after nine specimen shells received from Mocha: but as later expeditions also failed to find this species among the well
known fauna of the Red Sea, the habitat Mocha also seemed unreliable, as Mocha was a market place where curiosities coming
from everywhere were offered. Therefore the true habitat of teulerei seemed uncertain.
However, a century later both indications proved to be correct. In 1934 teulerei was collected alive in the Hormuz Strait
(Schilder 1960, Arch. Mollusk. 89:185), and R. C. Spence found "hidalgoi Shaw" (which is a later synonym of the species) in
the Red Sea (Haw. Shell News, n.s. 8:6, 1960). According to personal communication by Mr. Spence, he collected one live
specimen on the coral reef a mile off Port Sudan.
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.
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