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Pendants
I had the opportunity recently to examine several cowries from the collection of Mrs. M. Coppell, Rarotonga. These shells
were collected during May and June, 1966, at Pukapuka Atoll (or Danger I.), Northern Cook group, by the resident school
teacher Mr. Itipouana Tautua. The Pukapuka Atoll is triangular in arrangement, and consists of 3 small Islands placed near
the corners of the triangular fringing reef; only the northernmost, Wale Island, is inhabited.
Among the material examined was a purple-colored specimen of Staphylaea nucleus (Linnaeus). This variant had a rose-purple
dorsum, dark purple ridges and light violet nodules; this color-arrangement ceases at the margins. The base is the usual
yellow-brown with basal ridges bordered with reddish-brown; the margins are rounded and the general shape of the shell
deviates as much or as little from normal S. nucleus as S. nucleus populations differ from different geographic regions. The
dimensions of the variant were L: 19.7 mm, W: 10.9 mm, LT: 23, CT: 19. The other specimens of S. nucleus from Pukapauka are
of normal color and the largest specimen measured L: 17.4 mm, W: 10.0 mm, LT: 25, CT: 17. According to Mrs. Coppell (in
litt.), three Pukapuka students collected the purple variant on previous occasions together with normal colored S. nucleus on
the reef facing the northern side of Wale Island.
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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