|
|
Hammer
The prime areas that had been selected in previous searchings at various North Shore and Waianae Coast locations gradually
became unuseable as the strong winter swells descended on the island. The search, therefore, was directed to newly opened
areas along the South Shore. Some areas off of Waikiki had produced fragments of Strombus hawaiensis previously and,
naturally, they were visited first. The only thing produced on these dives was several Harpa conoidalis occupied by the
hermit crab Dardanus gemmatus. One of these shells was very nearly perfect and so was not such a bad find at all! Photos -
Cross -- Not To Scale
Ventral view of Strombus hawaiensis showing foot, probosis
and eye-stalk structure. The latter differs from conventional
mollusks in that the antennae leave at nearly right angles.
The author's recent purchase of a Boston Whaler lent new impetus to the hunt! Now dives could be made specifically for the
Strombus, limited only by time available and sea conditions. A group of areas off of Haleiwa was selected, mainly because of
the repeated findings of fragments and beach shells on adjacent shorelines. on the first dive a beautiful, fresh fragment
(see fig. 2) was discovered on a ledge at 85 feet. Enthusiasm was dampened somewhat by the complete absence of the remainder
of the shell, for this implied that a possible wash in from other areas had occurred. Another possibility was that a hungry
ray could have munched this piece to extract the last morsel of tender meat while swimming an unknown distance. Two
additional stations completed in the immediate area failed to produce any further evidence.
A new North Shore location was selected and produced almost instant and very encouraging results! With the first few breaths
the large fragment (see fig. 1) was found lying upside-down on a sandy shelf. As can be seen, this is a very nearly complete
shell, with only the spire missing. This part was observed lying about in at least a dozen small pieces. The photo does not
reveal how unbelievably thin and fragile this shell is. It is a juvenile specimen that had just secreted the wing-like
extension of the aperture. This big piece surely had not been carried, either by current or a browsing ray, any significant
distance. We were in the Philippine Stromb's back yard! The bottom was different here; unlike the other locations the sand
was deep and silty. From scarcely 15 feet beneath the surface a series of terraces about 20 feet wide stepped rapidly into
great depths. The shell fragment was found on the second terrace level, a depth of about thirty feet. Repeated dives in the
area failed to produce any further results. Perhaps night diving in this prime area would be productive.
hammer,shell necklaces,yellow punaw,conus omaria,landsnail,lambis troncata,whole saler,shell madebelts,shell inlay shell tiles,hammer
Hammer strombus sinautus black lip hair capiz shell troka shell jewelry puka necklaces decoration heishe shell shell fasciolaria cyprea vitilus fasciolaria mitra - mitra cowrie jewelry shell shells accessory capiz components part conus.
hammer
Shell
Bracelets
|
