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Shell pendants
Area 1 is noted mainly for Cypraea tigris. However, I have collected two Conus retifer both dead, one in fair and one in
excellent condition. The area is basically a submerged coral reef with intermittent sand channels through which water, washed
up on the reef by the ocean swells, flows back to sea. On top of the coral, usually in ten to fifteen feet of water, will be
found Cypraea tigris. In the deeper coral areas along the slopes of the reef will be found the cones and other species listed
for this area:
Conus ebraeus 15 feet.
Conus flavidus 15 to 20 feet.
Conus abbreviatus 15 to 20 feet.
Cypraea leviathan 10 feet.
Cypraea mauritiana 20 to 25 feet.
Latirus nodus In sand, most depths.
Turbo intercostalis On rocks, 20 feet.
Trochus intextus On coral heads, 20 feet.
Peristernia chlorostoma Coral, all depths.
Area 2 is what divers call the drop-off. The shallow, or inshore, side of the drop off is usually a fairly flat coral plain
with intermittent live coral heads and scattered dead coral rubble. Down the rather steep slopes of the drop-off will be
found live coral heads of medium size. Also there are places in this area where the drop off is a sheer cliff with occasional
under water caves and tubes complete with stacks in the back through which a diver can shoot rapidly with the incoming surge
of an ocean swell. At the base of the cliff or slope will be found a sandy bottom with broken coral washed down from the
slope or huge chunks broken off from the cliff. This sandy bottom slopes out gradually to a second drop-off in 120 feet of
water after which the bottom slopes rather abruptly into deep water.
Some relief from the depressing atmosphere came when, taking advantage of the delay, Stephen came across a cowrie walking up
the jetty pile. He brought it to me for identification at the rest house where we were drowning our sorrows. It was Cypraea
lamarcki. I had never found one before, but I knew that they were present on the West Coast. A few months earlier I had given
Alan Kohn and Joe Rosewater the map references where they had been reported off Penang. They had had no luck, and it was my
intention to make a trip there to see if I could find one. Now, here they were. Without waiting to put on swim trunks I was
down into the water, shirt, trousers, and all. I found some round the bottom of the piles, eight lamarcki and a lovely C.
onyx. The crew's entreaties for us to get under way prevented a more thorough search, so this was put off until our return.
An hour and a half later, in slightly better spirits we anchored in "Strombus Bay." We had previously given this name to a
lovely little cove in which there were thousand of Strombus luhuanus, a species without the black edge to the aperture. We
knew that there were also Chitton [?],Vassum, some achatinus cones and a few other items which we planned to take for several
collections and which we hoped to distribute to the Museums of Malaya. A little shelling in the evening revealed nothing new.
Apparently, it was going to be a five day camping holiday instead of a shelling expedition.
Low tide the next day was at about 10 o'clock and down it went, down, down, until it seemed that somebody had pulled the plug
out of the bottom of the ocean and laid out before us were acres and acres of wonderful coral making close investigation
easy. A much larger snorkeling territory was brought within our reach than would have been the case during high tide.
Aqualunging was still more or less out of the question as visibility below 15 feet was difficult. But there before us were
hours of work . . . Soon the specimens began to come to light, Conus achatinus, textile, Cypraea arabica, and other specimens
were found in habitats we had neglected before. Staghorn coral was found to be the hiding place of many shells so this lovely
coral took quite a beating, I am afraid. Being an old coral man from way back it always hurts me to spoil such lovely
formations.
After our first morning at the coral area, I had learned a lot more about shell habitats although the specimens I had brought
up were not particularly exciting. Meeting Jack on the way up the beach after the morning's labors, I knew from his remarks
that he had come up with something good. His remark, "You are going to split when you see what I have in my bag," was a sure
indication that he had found a good specimen. It was a beautiful large Conus striatus which Jack had never collected before.
He had already uncovered several Conus achatinus and textile, and a fine Cypraea caurica in this area. Night shelling on the
rocks was fun, too, as it was incredible to see so many different species feeding alongside each other, and the Chitton [?]
were all out from their crevices making it very easy to collect these strange creatures. Night snorkeling was not too good
because the water was still some what cloudy.
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