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Puka shell
With deep water very close to the shore it is not surprising that strong ocean currents are also found near shore. Usually,
when the trades are blowing, currents flow the strongest toward Kaena Point. But the currents are tidal in character and,
therefore, flow in either direction. The strongest current will be found at the top of the drop-off in about ten fathoms (60
foot) when the water is moving toward Kaena Point. Estimated velocities of up to three knots have been reported in this area.
This is about three times faster than an average skin or scuba diver can swim. The watch word for this area is "be careful."
Along the north shore to the east of Kaena Point there are a great many rocks and coral boulders at or just below the surface
of the water. Whenever there is any wave activity diving along the shore is very difficult and sometimes hazardous. Several
shoal areas will be noted rising from depths of 40 to 60 feet. The tops of these are sometimes productive for Cypraea tigris.
Other species found along this section of the north shore include Conus ebraeus and pennaceus in shallow water near shore In
deeper water Cypraea leviathan, talpa, tessellata, and sulcidentata have been collected many times. The cowries collected
have all been found in coral heads according to the records.
At Kaena Point, on both the north and west shores, a number of shells have been reported. Several divers from the Pearl
Divers Club have reported collecting Cypraea tigris, sulcidentata, tessellata, isabella, and all of the more common cowries,
from this area. Among the cones, ebraeus, flavidus, lividus, miliaris, spiceri, and chaldaeus have all been reported.
The Kaena Point area is also a wonderful place for a diver to collect lobster as a fringe benefit to his shell collecting. In
addition the caves are quite heavily populated with several varieties of fish, including the moray eel and several lesser
known species of eel. Sharks are seen in this area only occasionally.
We went back to La Paz for a night in a hotel before transferring our gear to a truck for a seven hour trip to Pulmo another
likely place for our search as a live Cypraea isabellamexicana had been taken there intertidally in March. The water and
weather were warmer there, more what we would expect of April that far south, and we were loaned a fisherman's cottage to
camp in. There was much coral, both live and dead, but after turning thousands of rocks and coral we still had not one live
C. isabellamexicana. The coral rubble rewarded us with C. albuginosa; the gorgonians harbored some lovely Neosimnia; Conus
diadema were exposed on underwater reefs; and we found Conus deli and C. tiaratus buried in sand under rocks. Some C.
tiaratus were more exposed. We also found live Aspella and Epitonium of the genus Scalina which we suspect are new species
and a couple of Phyllocoma scalariformis. But not the elusive Cypraea isabellamexicana.
One of two Cypraea aurantium being kept alive in Herb Ward's aquarium. This specimen was collected by Tommy Cruz in 50-60
feet of water off Orote Peninsula, Island of Guam, Mariana Islands, May 27, 1965. Arrows indicate eyes at base of tentacles.
The above photograph of a living Cypraea aurantium Gmelin, 1791 is believed to be another "first" for the Philippine Shell
News. We are deeply indebted to Herb Ward for sending us these rare photographs and the story.
Six live-collected golden cowries have so far been taken from water surrounding Guam. Of the five most recent specimens
collected at Orote Peninsula, four were taken by a local Guamanian fisherman named Tommy Cruz and one by Tony Elbro. The
sixth shell was found by an Air Force man at a different locality.
Herb Ward writes: "Tommy got the last two golden cowries while out in my boat on May 26. They were perfect live specimens. We
were diving in the dark, about midnight, in 50-60 feet of water when Tommy spotted them under large rocks which formed caves.
One was on the underside of a rock and the other was some yards away on the floor of a cave. I happened to swim around the
wrong side of the rocks. Some luck! The shells are now in my collection.
"They have been kept in an aquarium and one of the two has been especially active. We took the other out and cleaned it as it
was not responding well to aquarium life. A navy man named Snowdon made the photographs." [I personally know Bill Snowdon,
who is credited here, AND Bill Martin. Both were involved in taking this photograph. -- Bob Dayle, a.k.a. 'makuabob']
Dr. E. Alison Kay wrote a description of the preserved animal of Cypraea aurantium in the Journal Of The Malacological
Society Of Australia, Number 7, December, 1963, p. 50. After seeing Snowdon's [& Martin's] photographs, Dr. Kay said she was
glad to see that her interpretation of the mantle structures, based on the preserved animal, were O.K.
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