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The matter of working with the mollusca takes a great deal of teamwork to get the job done. This teamwork can, perhaps, be
divided into three categories: one, the field worker who collects the material, whether through diving, dredging, shore
collecting or other methods; two, the plodder who works in the literature, digging out the answers to synonymy and priority
and identification; and three, the trained scientist who is able, through his background and education, to make use of the
help of the other two kinds of workers and combine their work into a meaningful whole.
No matter what your own favorite category may be, the literature is the necessary recorded story of the family. The fact that
it may be somewhat tangled at the moment only adds to the challenge and interest for the worker in that category; the
literature is the tool by which the Cypraea, for example, may be known. Because of this I'd like to mention a few examples
that have been especially helpful to me and to others working with this group.
The early records of Cypraeidae extend back beyond the 17th century, but I shall use Nicolai Gaultieri's Index Testarum
Conchyliorum of 1742 as my starting point. He called the cowries Porcellana, and employed a polynomial system for his species
designations which amounted to practically a whole sentence for each name. I would guess that Gualtieri was our first Lumper
-- he figured an outlandish number of varieties for each species, but for the most part his figures are recognizable today,
and he featured some forty species on four plates.
The next major work signaled the end of an epoch not only for Cypraea, but for conchology in general. In 1757, d'Argenville
produced an important work with more accurately drawn woodcut engravings, adding in many instances also the drawings of the
anatomy of the animal, as well as including some fossil species. Unfortunately for us, d'Argenville limited his coverage of
Cypraea to only one plate of illustrations.
So the time was not wasted, after all. Another look at the Johnston dredging next morning yielded Cypraea erosa, moneta,
nucleus, depressa, vitellus, schilderorum , caputserpentis, and a fresh fragment of Cypraea sulcidentata and two more Cypraea
tessellata. I was surprised by the few shells of any species that were in those dredgings. A bag full were brought back to
the Bishop Museum. It is interesting that the Cypraea schilderorum were so short and fat that the width nearly equaled the
length. A great opportunity for the "Splitters"!
Shelling being what it was, when an opportunity came to return to Honolulu on January 13, it was as eagerly grabbed as was
the chance to go to Johnston Island in the first place. The reason for this quick return is still another story! I may return
for a few days in about a month, but I surely will leave my heavy aqualung equipment at home. After all, we have not yet
visited the outer reef, but a snorkel, mask and flippers will suffice. A shell collector never knows when he is licked!
When Dr. Tucker Abbott identified the specimen of Atys for me, he stated in his letter: "This is Atys naucum colour form
ferruginosa A. Adams believe it or not."
From personal experience in Fiji, it appears that the colour form ferruginosa is a separate species, for reasons detailed
below.
Apart from the larger size of the typical A. naucum in Fiji, A. naucum s. str. has latitudinal striae from top to bottom,
whereas A. ferruginosa has about 14 striae on top and 14 striae on the bottom, with the central area completely smooth. A.
naucum is fully white, and A. ferruginosa is a translucent greyish-white, with about 9 reddish-brown, wavy longitudinal lines
on the body-whorl. Most important of all, they live in the same localities, on sand in shallow water. No hybrids were
recorded, which would be expected if they were to belong to the same species. The absence of intergrades between the two
forms leaves no doubt about the valid specific separation of Atys ferruginosa.
Editor: Pilsbry* said this: "Bulla ferruginosa Gmelin (Syst. Nat. 13, p. 3432) is a young Cypraea so that A. Adams' form
requires a new name. It may be called Atys naucum strigata. The habitat is unknown." The preceding quote would indicate that
some further nomenclatural work is required before we know what name to apply to the fig. 1 shell.
* Proc. Acad. Sci. Phila., 1917, p. 217.
Leaving Jolo City, I arrived at Zamboanga City in S.W. Mindanao where I did not expect the shell collecting to be quite as
good as Jolo. Joe Abanales, the manager of Rocan Shell Shop, met me at the airport and was a wonderful host during my stay.
He arranged all of my diving trips in the area and provided me with transportation and hotel reservations in town as well.
I spent my first day or so visiting all the shell collectors and dealers in Zamboanga and getting a tour of the area, as it
has quite a historical back ground from the days of the Spanish and Moro settlers during the 1500-1800 centuries. I stayed et
the Bayot Hotel located on the beach overlooking the Santa Cruz Islands where I planned to go shelling. Mrs. King and her
boat M.V. Pele anchored in front of the hotel and they came in for dinner. I met them all including Dr. Richert, Dr. Wilson
and my good friend Fernando Dayrit. They had been dredging their way down from Cebu Is. Fernando said they had made some
exciting finds with the dredge in about 30-40 fms. including many of the Japanese Latiaxis that were not believed to come
from the P. I. at all! From Zamboanga they plan to leave within the week for the Jolo and Siasi area.
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