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Vertagos
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.
The discovery of a number of Cypraea punctata, variation trizonata, both with and without brown teeth should help to settle
the problem of whether this is a separate species, as some have claimed. It would seem that the Polynesian representation
intergrades in Samoa with typical C. punctata.
Cypraea felina, variation melvilli, was also found increasing the range of this species to Samoa. The same is true of Cypraea
microdon, Cypraea minoridens and Cypraea eglantina. Cypraea argus was represented by one fresh empty specimen, and two old
eroded shells.
Cypraea tigris, usually so common on South Pacific Islands, was rare in Samoa. Mollusks are eaten with relish on Tutuila,
especially the larger top shells and cowries. The reefs are constantly searched by residents with food in mind. This may
account for the rarity of C. tigris.
I found a simple way to encourage the cowries to extend their mantles. A bottle of sea water was kept in the refrigerator and
cowries to be studied were placed in this water which was warmed to about 80 degrees - just so it no longer felt cold. In a
small amount of this stored water which probably lost some oxygen during refrigeration and warming [water accepts more gas,
not less, when it is chilled. See my explanation in NS#206 RCD] the shells put on a good show. The exact character of
mantle, siphon, tentacles and foot could be easily determined with a low power magnifying glass.
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