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Conus aulicus
Evidently maculifera is much rarer in the Indian Ocean than in the Pacific, whereas the analogous difference in frequency of
depressa is less striking.
*Editor's footnote:
During the Philippine-Western Australian Expedition of 1960 Tom Richert and Clifton Weaver collected a dead specimen of
Cypraea maculifera in the Indian Ocean on Long Island, Exmouth Gulf, West Australia. See Sean Raynon Sabado, Vol. 8, No. 12,
Oct., 1960, pg. 3.
Photos - Schutz --- Not to Scale
[Fig. 3]
[Fig. 4]
[Fig. 5]
Figs. 3 - 5: Holotype of
Schilderia langfordi moretonensis
Schilder, 1964, trawled off
Cape Moreton, Queensland;
length 65 mm.
Contrary to several other families in marine mollusca, no bipolar distribution concerning Japan and Queensland has been
discovered in cowries hitherto, Erosaria tomlini Schilder excepted. Photos - Schutz --- Not to Scale
[Fig. 1] [Fig. 2]
Figs. 1 & 2: Live-collected
Erronea hungerfordi coucomi
Schilder, 1964, trawled off
Cape Moreton, Queensland;
length 43 mm.
Photos - Trostel
[Fig. 6] [Fig. 7]
Figs. 6 & 7: New Japanese race of
Erronea subviridis Reeve, 1835,
trawled off the coast of Kii, Japan;
length 30mm.
Last year I received several specimens trawled dead and living from off Cape Moreton, Queensland. These are evidently closely
allied to the Japanese Erronea hungerfordi Sowerby, and as a result they can be given the subspecies name coucomi Schilder
(1964, Arch. Mollusk., 93:211;1965, ibid. 94:55). No connecting link seems to exist in the wide area between Japan and
Queensland. I have seen 5 shells in coll. Schilder (holotype: small, callous), C. Coucom, and A. Schelechoff (figured), but I
have been told that some more specimens of coucomi exist in Australian collections.
This surprising fact has been surpassed by a still more thrilling discovery. The same trawlers found in deep waters off Cape
Moreton at least four live shells of unusual size (about 60 mm) with the margins and base tinted with rich orange; they agree
with the Japanese Schilderia langfordi Kuroda in most characters, so that I described them as Sch. langfordi moretonensis
Schilder (1965, Arch. Mollusk., 94: 57). The four type are in coll. A. Schelechoff (holotype figured), T, Nielsen, A. Bannah,
and Mrs. M. Lee.
Both species are deep water cowries in Japan as well as in Queensland where they have been collected in 60 to 100 fathoms;
they seem to be restricted to small areas in each region.
Recently a further connection between the faunas of Japan and Queensland has been discovered, but now an Australian species
has been found in Japan! Erronea subviridis Reeve spreads from West Australia (subsp. dorsalis Schilder-Schilder) to
Queensland, Sydney, and New Caledonia, but never has been collected farther north, till last April. I received, from Mr. and
Mrs. M. Minzak (Montgomery, Ala.) two specimens for examination, which have been trawled by fishermen off Kii coast, Japan,
in November 1963: they differ from the Australian subviridis by the dorsum which is minutely punctuate as in dorsalis, but
lacks the central blotch, so that I intend to name and describe the geographically separated race in another paper.
There is something in the May issue on which I would like to comment. It is about "mass slaughter of shells"… The fact that
some 500 Cypraea coxeni were offered in various lots, is mentioned as "further proof of indiscriminate shell collecting,"
implying that there is danger that soon no "Cox" cowries will be left. Well, is it really proof of "mass slaughter"? Wouldn't
it, perhaps, be proof that, after all, Cypraea coxeni just isn't as rare or uncommon as has been thought? The C. coxeni
referred to are from Rabaul; so I presume that they are C. coxeni hesperina. I must admit that I do not know how rare or how
common they are. But I do know a fair bit about C. coxeni coxeni, which are endemic to the Solomon Islands. Until recently
they were only known from New Georgia Island (Roviana and Marovovo lagoons) the broad type with swollen margins. But two
years ago they were also discovered on south east Malaita, and last year we found them also here at Ata'a (north-east
Malaita). They are an elusive shell, as they seem to occur in places where hardly any other type of shell is found. It
appears that they prefer to be completely on their own, in very quiet water. We only found a few odd C. punctata and C.
microdon granum in their company. (See my report "Shelling on Malaita" in Feb. issue, '66 of H.S.N.). But where C. coxeni
occurs, there it is quite common in almost unlimited supply. Incidentally, the Malaita C. coxeni is rather slender, without
swollen margins. I think that there are many small bays, etc., in the Solomon Islands, where the "Cox" cowries are still
undiscovered. And most of those areas are quite isolated and right off the beaten track for tourists and eager shell
collectors.
There is also another aspect to the matter of "mass slaughter of shells". The local people here have practically nothing and
are as eager to get some money as anybody else. And as they have discovered that there IS money in shells, they go out to
collect what they can get. Unfortunately for them, by collecting too many shells of a certain species, they cause the price
to drop drastically. But once the price is at the lowest possible level, they loose interest, and the species is saved
automatically.
In my opinion there is no need to sound the alarm when a few hundred of Cypraea coxeni are offered for sale. Even several
thousands would not threaten this species with extinction.
In conclusion, I would like to add that I believe that collecting in nature should ALWAYS be done in moderation.
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