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Wallets shell
There is something in the May issue on which I would like to comment. It is about "mass slaughter of shells"… The fact that
some 500 Cypraea coxeni were offered in various lots, is mentioned as "further proof of indiscriminate shell collecting,"
implying that there is danger that soon no "Cox" cowries will be left. Well, is it really proof of "mass slaughter"? Wouldn't
it, perhaps, be proof that, after all, Cypraea coxeni just isn't as rare or uncommon as has been thought? The C. coxeni
referred to are from Rabaul; so I presume that they are C. coxeni hesperina. I must admit that I do not know how rare or how
common they are. But I do know a fair bit about C. coxeni coxeni, which are endemic to the Solomon Islands. Until recently
they were only known from New Georgia Island (Roviana and Marovovo lagoons) the broad type with swollen margins. But two
years ago they were also discovered on south east Malaita, and last year we found them also here at Ata'a (north-east
Malaita). They are an elusive shell, as they seem to occur in places where hardly any other type of shell is found. It
appears that they prefer to be completely on their own, in very quiet water. We only found a few odd C. punctata and C.
microdon granum in their company. (See my report "Shelling on Malaita" in Feb. issue, '66 of H.S.N.). But where C. coxeni
occurs, there it is quite common in almost unlimited supply. Incidentally, the Malaita C. coxeni is rather slender, without
swollen margins. I think that there are many small bays, etc., in the Solomon Islands, where the "Cox" cowries are still
undiscovered. And most of those areas are quite isolated and right off the beaten track for tourists and eager shell
collectors.
There is also another aspect to the matter of "mass slaughter of shells". The local people here have practically nothing and
are as eager to get some money as anybody else. And as they have discovered that there IS money in shells, they go out to
collect what they can get. Unfortunately for them, by collecting too many shells of a certain species, they cause the price
to drop drastically. But once the price is at the lowest possible level, they loose interest, and the species is saved
automatically.
In my opinion there is no need to sound the alarm when a few hundred of Cypraea coxeni are offered for sale. Even several
thousands would not threaten this species with extinction.
In conclusion, I would like to add that I believe that collecting in nature should ALWAYS be done in moderation.
The large cowrie Umbilia hesitata (Iredale) is rather frequent in deep waters around the Bass Strait, i.e., in northern
Tasmania and in Victoria, reaching the most southern area of New South Wales from Twofold Bay to Montagu Island. Farther
north in New South Wales the species becomes much rarer, and the specimens are distinctly smaller. So far as I know, only
five shells have been collected in the northern area, viz. at Ulladulla (coll. Schilder, ex coll. W. O. Cernohorsky), Nowra
(the smallest known shells of 54 and 56 mm: coll. Schilder, ex coll. W. Krause), Wollongong (Angas 1867), and Port Stephens
(Beddome 1898: coll. J. R. Le Brockton Tomlin).
Recently, Mr. S. R. Shadlow (Mermaid Beach, Qld.) has sent me, for examination, a live shell dredged from 96 fathoms off
Point Lookout (Stradbroke Island, which belongs to Queensland). The shell figured above (figs. 3-5) is full grown, 70 mm
long, white, with very pale fulvous dorsal spots mostly arranged along the purplish-grey dorsal line, and chestnut lateral
spots. The extremities are suffused dorsally with rich greyish brown.
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