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Shell heishie
After a while I noticed that the rest of the group were hanging around one of the underwater coral islands. Going over to
investigate I found they were loosening round coral heads from the bottom with only their gloved hands. I thought, "man, what
strength!" But this coral was different from any I had seen before. It was composed of a maze of small twig-like branches.
The coral head itself was about the size of a large head of cabbage and was covered with a fine web of plant life. I tested
one of the heads to see if it would come loose from the bottom. It fell apart! "Oh," I thought, "so that's how they are doing
it! This coral is brittle!" I went in search of the next coral-head to pulverize. After awhile I realized I was doing
something wrong. All around me were piles of debris. The water was getting dirtier with the sediment I had kicked up from the
bottom, but no Cypraea! Could this be chalked up to another one of those bad days?
Back on the boat I sat gloomily waiting for the rest of the gang to come up. The first to appear was Joe. He had had no
better luck than I. Next in the boat was Speedy, claiming he had a Cypraea gaskoini. This was no time to be funny! Then
Frankie and Jack swam up to the boat, their faces beaming. Jack had a Cypraea chinensis and Frankie, a Murex torrefactus.
This place was beginning to look good after all!
On the next dive I was determined to do better. This time I followed Frankie in order to better observe his technique. I
noticed that he did not break the coral immediately but gently swam up with it until he was about 15 feet off the bottom.
Then he crushed the whole coral head with a clapping motion of his hands. This accomplished, he swam rapidly for the bottom.
Once he was beneath the falling debris he was able to catch the shells as they slowly descended past him, the object being to
get the shells before they were lost in the sand and broken coral on the bottom.
Once I had mastered this technique my luck changed. I began to find Cypraea helvola, fimbriata, granulata, teres and
isabella, but none of the rarer goodies. Then as my air was beginning to pull hard I saw what looked like a pair of red
"raspberries" fall past my face. Instinctively I reached out for them but missed. I followed them to the bottom and there
among the scattered debris was the pair of Cypraea gaskoini that I had been looking for all these years. Well satisfied, I
pulled my reserve and headed for the surface.
This was the day I found my first live Cypraea gaskoini. The place?... I almost forgot. That's Frankie's secret!
In the February issue of the Sean Raynon Sabado you question about the olive green color of some Cypraeidae. This condition
has interested me for some time as I have run into it in trying to gather a series of Cypraea maculifera. I have two with the
entire dorsum involved, one with most of the dorsum involved, and two with bright green spots on the dorsum. On none of these
is the ventral surface affected and there is no aberrant shape. From their appearance I have always felt that they were the
result of healed or healing injuries. I have frozen several of the specimens intact as I plan to ask Dr. Kay about them.
Perhaps she can answer the question some time in the future.
I also have two much misshapen C. maculifera with a very strong tendency to be rostrate. One is 56.2 mm. long with a beak of
about 10 mm. at one end. The other is 80 mm long and shows excessive growth all around the margin.
All are live-collected specimens. I would estimate that about one percent of this species which I have observed show some
aberrant condition.
I hope this information is of interest to you. If I can do anything else to help clarify this question, please let me know.
Please continue the practise of picturing and discussing a miscellaneous Philippines species in each issue of the Sean Raynon
Sabado. I have heard many very favorable comments on this feature and hope that you may develop it even further.
Although Mighels rightfully bemoaned the fact that his collection could never be replaced after the disastrous fire of 1854,
it has been possible to select neo-holotypes (a specimen selected as the type subsequent to the original description in cases
where the primary types are definitely known to be destroyed) or lectotypes (specimens which are, subsequent to the
publication of the original description, selected and designated through publication to serve as "the type") for many of
Mighels' species. Mighels had fortunately sent types of some of his species to the Boston Society of Natural History, C. B.
Adams, and J. G. Anthony, and all of those are now in the Museum C. walkeri bregeriana has been established as a species by
Crosse in 1868 (Diagnoses molluscorum, Jour. de Conch., Vol. 16:277, Paris). It had been treated as a full species by
Roberts, 1870, Weinkauff, 1881, Rossiter, 1882, Paetel, 1887, Smith, 1888, Campbell, 1889, Kenyon, 1902, and Schilder, 1924.
bregeriana was regarded as a variety or subspecies of walkeri by Sowerby, 1870, Roberts, 1885, Hidalgo, 1906/7 and Schilder
in all publications after 1924.
The holotype of C. w. bregeriana came from New Caledonia, and a variation of bregeriana from this Island was described as
rossiteri by Dautzenberg in 1906. All the known specimens came from New Caledonia, with the exception of three, which were
collected at Joanet Island, Louisiade Archipelago, East of New Guinea (E. A. Smith, "Note sur le C. bregeriana, Crosse,"
Jour.de Conch. Vol. 36:313, Paris 1888).
C. w. bregeriana agrees fairly well in size, width, number of labial and columellar teeth with other races of walkeri.
However, it can be easily separated from these on account of the small and numerous (60-100) distinct white spots on base and
margins. It appears that C. w. bregeriana is what Schilder terms a "semi-species," which is a species in statu nascendi,
similar to C. onyx adusta, C. subviridis dorsalis, C. lutea humphreysii, etc. C. w. bregeriana can easily be separated from
all the known species and subspecies of Cypraea, much easier in fact than many of the allied but separate species of Cypraea
like luchuana-pallidula-interrupta-summersi or arabica-eglantina-grayana-histrio, etc. Sketch [after] F.A. Schilder
Sketch: Radula of Cypraea w. bregeriana
Description of C. bregeriana (the shell): Pyriform in shape, fairly light in weight with the right side calloused. The
greyish to fawn dorsum is speckled with numerous, small, olive-green spots and is crossed by a fairly wide, brown transverse
band. This band may be saturate or pale, continuous or interrupted. In the latter case the edges of the transverse dorsal
band are arranged in the form of rectangles. The dorsal line is usually absent. However, 3 specimens examined showed a
distinct dorsal line connecting both extremities (Ill. shell figs.1 and 2). The anterior extremity is flanked by 2
purplish-brown spots, and the dark brown spiral blotch in the umbilicus is pronounced. A lilac rim encircles the dorsum near
the margins, and this rim is either continuous or interrupted, distinct or pale lilac. The marginal spots, which are dark
brown in colour, number about 5 - 13 on the labial side and 6-10 on the columellar side. (These marginal spots are absent on
Fiji specimens). The aperture is somewhat dilated anteriorly, labial teeth cross over half the base and columellar ones one
quarter to one half the base. The first columellar tooth (especially in Fiji specimens) is extremely nodulose, and teeth
interstices are extremely dull and tinged with purple. The colour of the base varies from rich brown to ferrugineous, and the
whole base is spotted with small, pure white spots, which extend up to the margins. These spots number 60 - 100 and vary in
diameter from 1/4mm to 1/2mm, and are most conspicuous and visible even in badly beach-washed shells.
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