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Shell-madebelts
Recently T. A. Garrard (1963, Journ. Mall Soc. Australia 7:45, pl. 7, fig. 5-6) described Neosimnia tinctura n. sp. from
Moreton Bay. The dentate outer lip excludes it from Neosimnia or Pellasimnia (which genus replaces Neosimnia in the
Indo-Pacific) and from the subfamily Volvinae altogether; it really belongs to the other subfamily, Ovulinae, of the family
Ovulidae (which name must replace Amphiperatidae since the author of Amphiperas, (Gronow), has been declared invalid by
opinion 261 of the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature).
The general characters of tinctura agree with Primovuia striatula Sowerby and its Eastern subspecies renovata Iredale, which
have been figured in my monograph of Amphiperatinae in 1932 (Proc. Malac. Soc. London 20:58, figs. 17 and 16 respectively),
and differ quite from Pellasimnia formicaria Sowerby and P. subreflexa Adams & Reeve with which Gerrard compared his "new
species." Primovula striatula striatula lives in the Arabian Sea, its subspecies renovata spreads from Malaysia through
Queensland to Sydney, and a third subspecies, verconis Cotton & Godfrey, has been found in South Australia and Albany (see
Schilder 1941, Archiv. Mollusk. 73:107).
The renovata from Mackay and Yeppoon as well as those from Port Jackson are purplish pink with a whitish dorsal zone, a paler
pink outer lip, and orange extremities, the tinctura from Moreton Bay, however, are fawn with the base almost fulvous, but
otherwise identical in general features (as dorsal striation and keel, dentition of the outer lip, funiculum, fossula, orange
extremities, etc.) except in size and shape: Chart by Maria Schilder
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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