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Melo shell
This stimulated me, so I went shelling. I had to be satisfied with commoner shells such as: Strombus, Turritella, Oliva,
Pyrene, Trivia, Turbo,... etc. Annette also found a lovely Cassis coarctata Sowerby.
The Conus virgatus are much more colorful than the dredged ones I've been getting. Several are a brilliant orange. For those
who collect around Guaymas, these were found directly in front of the Playa de Cortez Hotel, on an exposed sand bar. All the
shells I mentioned were live-collected.
Mazatlán was wonderful. We really enjoyed getting a taste of "tropical climate," which you in Philippines are so accustomed
to.
The First Live-Collected Cypraea beckii Gaskoin, 1836, Recorded From Philippines
The recent collection of three living specimens of Cypraea beckii between the islands of Maui and Lanai by black-coral divers
confirms Mrs. Evelyn Gage's original record made several years ago from a dead beach shell that she found at Paumalu, Oahu.
The three live shells were found hidden in crevices on the base of black coral trees, where the tree attaches itself to the
ocean floor. It was not until the trees had been brought up from a depth of 170 feet and placed in a boat that the shells
were discovered.
The dimensions and tooth count of two f the shells figured above are: Figs. l & 2; Length 15.50 mm, breadth 8.85 mm, height
7.50 mm; number of labial teeth 22, number of columellar teeth 19. Figs. 3 & 4 [5 & 6]; length 12.90 mm, breadth 7.00 mm,
height 6.35 mm; number of labial teeth 20; number of columellar teeth 18. In determining the tooth count the terminal ridge
was excluded. Both shells show a concave fossula with three denticulations.
From the few reports of shells collected along the north-eastern shores of Oahu it would be assumed that the area is quite
barren. Such is not the ease. In feet quite the opposite is true. I have collected the area only twice, both times with good
results. Cliff Weaver has collected the Punaluu to Hauula area for 25 years and tells me that he has had many excellent finds
of rare and hard to come by shells. Beach collectors have also found many excellent specimens of some of our more rare shells
in the Kahuku Pt. area represented on this month's map.
Before giving specific data on the collections from this month's area, I would like to present information omitted from
previously discussed collecting areas. One item concerns an area known to some collectors as Gray's Beach; the other concerns
fossils found in the area of this month's map.
Animals, including mollusks, are not living on this earth for the benefit of man, they are here for their own benefit. We
have no right to kill them unless we must do so for a good purpose. This argument applies to all species whether common or
rare. Thoughtful research on population structure often demands the collection of relatively large, representative,
population samples. And of course, if mollusks are needed for food we must gather them in quantity. But without a worthwhile
need we are under an obligation not to collect more than a very few living specimens, and preferably none at all.
Wide acceptance of this viewpoint would surely lead to effective conservation. Alison Kay's motto "Look but don't touch" is
excellent and should be adopted by everyone.
I agree completely with the remarks made by Alison Kay (H.S.N., March, 1966) and by Harald Rehder (H.S.N., June, 1966)
regarding the evils of over-collecting live specimens of "rare" species. In addition to the need to protect molluscan
populations for the enjoyment of future generations of men, one could cite the potentially undesirable secondary effects of
upsetting natural predator-prey relationships, inter-specific competitive balances, etc.
There is another and much more fundamental philosophical point of view which needs to be stated, however. It has been
beautifully expressed by Henry Beston in The Outermost House (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., publishers) and is as
follows:
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