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Shell component
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.
The erroneous and often forged locality data one so frequently encounters on shell labels, has prompted me to write this
short note. Traveling shell-collectors are aware of the existence of the Suva shell market in Fiji, and are probably aware
that this market is occasionally the source of shells foreign to Fiji and also of plain simple forgeries. One will encounter
cowries of various species, which have been mechanically ground down, buffed and polished, until the dark purple layer of
Cypraea eglantina Duclos, or the chocolate brown bands of C. mauritiana Linnaeus are exposed. These specimens are sold to
souvenir hungry tourists as genuine deep-water species from between $3 to $5. Such forgeries, however, are too simple to be
taken seriously, nor can they be the cause of an inadvertent description as new species. A more serious problem, however, is
the appearance of Volute shells at the market-stalls which, according to the vendors, have been collected on the Suva reef in
deep water. Although species of Volutidae do occur in New Caledonia, this is about the family's most eastern limit of
distribution (with the exception of New Zealand). Amateur collectors apparently are ignorant of this fact, since local shell
collections contain Voluta hunteri Iredale, V. zebra Leach and other Australian volutids, all of which have been purchased at
the Suva shell-market with the assurance of having been collected on the Suva reef.
This regrettable circumstance is the outcome of a visit by an Australian shell collector to Fiji, who brought with him a
number of Volutes for exchange with local collectors. There was no demand for these shells in local shelling circles and the
lot was disposed of through sale to the vendors in the Suva shell-market. The same shells were sold for triple the price to
unsuspecting collectors with a verbal "Suva reef" label. Even the East North American species Busycon contrarium Conrad, has
been offered for sale at the Suva shell-market for $5 - $10, although it is worth only about 25 cents in its country of
origin. These chank-shells are of religious importance and are being used in local Hindu temples, and must have been imported
at one time or other for this specific purpose. Shells originating in the Suva shell-market should never be accepted as
genuine records for faunal lists. Indeed they should not be purchased by locality-conscious collectors in the first place.
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