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Shells
The statement was made that C. aurantium is not found on New Caledonia. This seems to summarize the situation although Dr.
Alison Kay on a recent trip to London found in the British Museum a record of one and only one having been recorded from New
Caledonia. For first hand information, we wrote to G. Tourres of Noumea and asked him several questions about the Golden
Cowry. Mr. Tourres is a well-known collector in the South Pacific, has his own boat, does a lot of collecting himself, and
has a wide acquaintance among the collectors. Here's his answer:
"I have never heard of any Golden Cowries being collected in New Caledonia but I know for sure that quite a few were
collected on Mare and Lifou Islands (Loyalty Group) only 45 to 50 miles away from the northeastern Caledonian coast. But no
native will part with one as they attach certain superstitious qualities to the shell. A friend of mine, a keen shell
collector and second to the Governor, tried 'everything' to get one but failed. If he couldn't secure one, I don't know who
could. The only shell I ever saw in Noumea was in the Museum and that one mysteriously disappeared about six months ago.
"I am sorry I cannot give you any information on their feeding habits. All I know is they hide in dark crevices and caves
along the barrier reefs, and I always thoroughly explore such places."
Although Mr. Tourres says the natives of the Loyalty Islands refuse to part with their Golden Cowries, the records of the
"Golden Cowry Register" show that the California Academy of Science has one in which the locality is given as Loyalty Islands
(see Sean Raynon Sabado Vol. IX, No. 9, July, 1961).
One guess as to why the Golden Cowry is not found in New Caledonia is the temperature of the water. Most of this island lies
south of the 20th parallel of south latitude and Mr. Golden Cowry has shown that he is adverse to thriving that far from the
equator.
The shell has never been reported from the New Hebrides although this group lies almost directly on a line connecting the
Fiji Islands with the Solomons, both of which are noted as producers of this attractive shell. Mrs. G. Stephens of South
Santos in the New Hebrides group is a member of the Philippines Malacological Society, so we wrote to her. In due time she
replied that she had made diligent inquiry among her shell collecting friends and they were all agreed that the Golden Cowry
was not found there. She did say, however, that there was a record of a diver having collected three live shells at 60 feet
on the Island of Lopevi in the East Hebrides, but she added "they don't breed here. " Mrs. Stephens accounted for the
presence of these three lonesome specimens by saying "the eggs must have drifted here on the ocean currents." She also added
that the flesh of the animal was a " reddish-pink."
The Island of Lopevi mentioned by Mrs. Stephens is a small island of volcanic origin four miles long with slightly over 100
inhabitants and is located ten miles southeast of Ambrym, one of the larger islands of the group. Ambrym in turn is 65 miles
southeast of Espirito Santo, probably the most familiar name in the whole group. Please note that the directions given above
are to the southeast. This brings the Island of Lopevi just that much closer to Fiji, which lies directly to the east, and to
the Loyalty Islands even closer than Fiji on the south. Having put that idea in your heads, we'll proceed to knock it out.
Mrs. Stephens said the color of the animal was a reddish-pink. We do not know how the sizable island of Ambrym is situated
with respect to the New Hebrides trench (see below), and the presumable current of Indian Ocean waters that sweep through
there from the west, but it might be possible for it to be so located that there was created on the southeastern or leeward
side a region of quieter water into which a vagrant backwash of a current from the Solomons might flow, if unimpeded, bearing
Golden Cowry eggs. Lopevi, ten miles off the lee shore of Ambrym, is ideally located for such a contingency. See National
Geographic Map #61, issued with the April, 1962 copy of the magazine.
After an hour of surface decompression, our meter was at a safe reading. Over the side we went, each hoping to find something
better than the others. We were working on a sand and mud bottom with a few scattered rocks. On the bottom, we found a
fragile type of purple coral that crumbled when picked up. Also, a greenish-white type of coral was found that resembled
oatmeal when it was broken up. In this rubble and under the rocks, we found all of the shells collected. On the last dive,
some of this rubble was brought to the surface in bags to be sorted through at our leisure. It is just as interesting to go
through this rubble as it is to dive for the shells. The second dive was not as long as the first because everyone was
working harder. Also, each diver was not sure his shells would be in his glass jar in the boat if he came up last. We are an
honest group but we are collectors. After everyone was back in the boat, a count of the shells taken was made. A total of 28
Cypraea gaskoini, 3 C. chinensis, 2 C. rashleighana, 1 Cymatium clandestina, 7 Vitularia, 3 Cymatium echo, 4 Conus pertusus
and a wide variety of Mitra and other Conus species were in our collecting jars.
So ended this, a truly record day!
John H. Roberts, Jr. offers the following Helpful Hint:
I often find myself deluged with questions regarding methods I employ in cleaning shells. My latest method, and most
successful, is the use of Pineoleum[tm], a household disinfectant. I use Pineoleum[tm] full strength and soak my shells (all
types) for several days before removing for cleaning. There is no etching or discoloration of the shell soaked in this
solution. For Cypraea, this is the finest yet. In most cleaning preparations, there is corrosive acid action. However, with
the oil base in Pineoleum[tm], a thin film of oil covers the shell, preventing any etching or discoloration. When the
interior of the shell is cleaned out, just wipe the external surface with a dry cloth and the Cypraea is just as it was when
found. There is no need for livening up a shell's coloring by use of silicon grease. This, I am told, is employed by some of
our Honolulu collectors.
L. chiragra, etc., or the violet spots of Cypraea chinensis will fade through boiling. Especially if the shells were not
washed and rinsed before, so that the boiling water does not contains salt, mucus or decomposed animal matter. So better
avoid boiling these shells. Some bivalves, especially such which come from muddy bottom, may change their colours through
boiling. Some Aplysiidae, who have a delicate, internal shell, shrivel and contract through boiling and this usually results
in a crushed shell. But cone shells, Mitra, Oliva, Terebra and most Cypraea can be boiled without harm to the colour.]
It is a pity that collectors nowadays strive only to possess the largest shells of each species and thus neglect the small
ones. Formerly, collectors would boast that they possessed both the largest end the smallest shells of a species. You will
see, for instance, that a dwarf Cypraea tigris of about 40 mm compared to one of about 150 mm is a surprising contrast worthy
to be exhibited in any collection.
The reason for my complaint is that by this preference for giants, scientific research is handicapped in defining the mean
size of a species from a certain region or from all parts of the world where the species occurs. As most local collectors
keep the rare, large shells for their own collections, the abundant medium sized and the rare, small shells are not
preserved. Then the local collectors pretend that the scientist is wrong when he indicates smaller figures for the average
size.
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