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Triton
The area of fossil shells easiest to reach is that at Waipio Peninsula. To find this area consult your Standard Oil Company
service station road map of Oahu. Fill your car with fine Chevron gasoline and drive Ewa on Farrington Highway (State Highway
90) through Pearl City toward Waipahu. About half a mile before entering Waipahu, highway 742 joins 90. Look for the State
Highway sign 742 on the right of Farrington but pointing left. Make this left turn onto Waipio Peninsula. Three-tenths of a
mile after turning left the road passes over an overpass. About 100 feet past the overpass you will see a cane-haul road.
Make a sharp left turn, almost 180 degrees, down the road to the bottom of the slope. There you will see what is now a dirt
road. This was once the railroad right-of-way. Turn left on this and proceed (in fine weather only) until under the overpass.
Then stop and look around. Ostrea retusa will be found on both sides of the cut and along the cut in both directions from the
overpass. Note in case you haven't guessed, I work for Standard Oil Company!
Sort through the shells carefully. They are mostly soft and easily broken. Complete sets of shells (both valves) can be found
with a little searching. Shells other than the Ostrea retusa that may be found along the road are not necessarily fossil
shells since the coral fill to make the road was hauled to the area.
Once you have all the Ostrea retusa you want for your collection, get back on Highway 90 (Farrington Highway) and proceed
through Waipahu. Nine and one half miles from Depot Street (in Waipahu) Farrington Highway joins the coast and runs parallel
toward Waianae. About a quarter of a mile toward Waianae after you can see the tracks of the railroad on your left, there is
a small dirt road that crosses the tracks out to the low bluffs overlooking the sea. These are the Nanakuli Sea Cliffs. As
you face the sea, Kahi Point is to your left, Waianae to your right. On the seaward side of the tracks a rough dirt and rock
road parallels the railroad in either direction for a short ways. This is strictly a fair weather road. Proceed carefully and
don't try it during wet weather.
[Two photos of fossil areas omitted]
There are several places in this area where it is safe to climb down the sea cliffs to the rocky sea shore. Then you will be
able to clamber over the rocks and broken coral that has tumbled down from the cliffs and locate fossil shells. There are
fossils all along the sea cliff but my favorite place is almost to Kahi Point. I have found Conus tulipa, Lambis species,
Strombus mutabilis, and many others in two days (one hour each day) of fossil collecting.
I have seen many children playing along the shore line beneath the sea cliffs and it is safe for children provided they have
supervision and receive help in getting down the rather steep trails. However, stay away from the area when big surf is
running and during Kona storms.
I personally cannot realize how these Spondylus happen to be there. They all seem to be old specimens and there is not a
single young one in the vicinity and only a few dead specimens.
Close to that spot, but near the reefs in shallow water, I have picked up quite a few shells, viz: Oliva, Cassis cornuta;
Lambis truncata, arthritica, crocata and elongata; Harpa ventricosa and costata; Mitra cardinalis and mitra; Terebra maculata
(15 cms long), crenulata, dimidiata, etc., but on the other hand have noted the complete absence of Cypraea.
On page one of the February, 1964, issue of Philippine Shell News, Dr. Pat Burgess reported the dredging from 200 fathoms of
a "very old and faded" specimen of Cypraea labrolineata Gaskoin. This shell was dredged aboard Mariel King's motor vessel
"Pele" (pronounced PAY-lay) on a mud and sand bottom off Waikiki, Oahu. Owing to the poor condition of the shell there
remained doubt in some minds as to its true identity.
This doubt was dispelled once and for all by Bert Chamberlin's exciting discovery of a live labrolineata (figs. 1-4 [left])
which he collected on October 16, 1965, while SCUBA diving off the Natatorium at Diamond Head. He was able to keep the animal
alive for several days in his aquarium before it finally expired.
During a recent conversation with Bert, I obtained a clue which may explain the reason why Philippine collectors have not
been able to zero-in on this species. Bert had been swimming at a depth of 40 feet, turning over small brick-sized chunks of
dead coral that were scattered over the flat, hard ocean floor. Here and there appeared patches of coarse sand. He had
pocketed a number of Cypraea helvola found underneath these coral chunks and was in the process of returning one such chunk
to its original position, when out rolled the little labrolineata. But it did NOT roll out from the bottom of the chunk.
Instead, it fell out of algae growing on top of the coral. What collector searches the algae ON TOP of dead coral? None, as
far as I know.
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