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Notorium
Vital statistics on the Conus bullatus are as follows: Maximum length 65 mm and width, 28 mm. It is perfect in color,
pattern, and doesn't have a chip or mark on it.
In addition to the Conus bullatus we collected one Cypraea leviathan each, one Conus textile, and two Conus imperialis, plus
a few of the more common shells that I needed to fill out my collection.
Mal Loring and Reg Grim are also members of the Philippine Malacological Society.
probably I. perna L., as well as occasional specimens of Morula granulata. Specimens of the opisthobranch Pupa sulcata Gmelin
and Longchaeus sulcatus A. Ads. were burrowing in the sandy mud. On the low hanging branches of trees near the shoreline
Littornina scabra L. was collected, and on the rocks above the tide line Nerita plicata was again common.
Along the shore near Rikitea Nerita polita L. was fairly common burrowing in sand near boulders above the water line. In the
shallow water on rocks covered with algal growth and corallines I gathered specimens of Modiolus auriculatus Krauss,
Isognomon ?perna L., Morula (Semiricinula) fiscella Gmelin and Strombus mutabilis Swainson, the latter very common. In the
sand an occasional Gafrarium transversarium Desh. was uncovered.
High above the tide line, under debris of all kind, two species of Ellobiids were common: Melampus flavus Gmelin and Melampus
castaneus Muhlfeldt.
On Sunday the 18th of October we left Rikitea, sent on our way with heart warming farewells. We set our course for Tahiti
hoping to visit several atolls enroute. on the first day out we caught a yellow-fin tuna, and three days later a fine
mahimahi, both welcome additions to the rather uninspiring menus we had been reduced to.
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.
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