APRIL, 1960 NEW SERIES NO. 4VOL. vIll, NO.6

William Harper Pease-l00 Years Latersoon became clear why so little was knownabout him. References to him were fewand far between. Biographical encyclo-pedias didn't mention him. In 1899, theHawaiian Gazette Publishing Company is-sUed a handsome illustrated booklet, a sortof a Chamber of Commerce brochure, de-voted to the men who had built Honoluluduring the century just closing. That wouldcover Pease's time so the booklet wasthumbed through carefully. But Pease wasnot there.

The Pacific Commercial Advertiser,then a weekly published in Honolulu, under

(Continued on p~e 4)

In this and in other recent issues of theHawaiian Shell News, you will find refer-ence to Cypraea ~ranulata Pe-ase. In Tin-ker's "Pacific Sea Shells" you will find"Pease" given as the author in a numberof shell names. Even in Kira's beautifulbook in colors of Japanese shells, the name"Pease" occurs a number of times. Ed-mondson in his "Reef and Shore Fauna ofHawaii" uses it frequently. In the BishopMuseum's Bulletin No. 153. "A manual ofthe recent and fossil, marine pelecypod

mollusks of the Hawaiian Islands," byDall,Bartsch and Rehder, they use that namemany times. Every shell collector hasseen the name. But what do you knowabout him? The sum and substance of theinformation seemed to be that he lived inHonolulu during the last century and namedsome shells. .

It seemed like a subject for some sparetime investigating so some months ago,-"Pease" information was placed on theagenda. But it wasn't that easy, and it

the benefit of Henry J. Kaiser's advertis-ing.

*****Modesty forbids, and space limitations

will not allow, the printing here in its en-tirity of the enthusiastic welcome given thenew HSN in the February issue of the NewYork Shell Club Notes. However pne sen-tence will be quoted, and attention is calledto the correct use of the word "associates"in the. following: "We congratulate ourassociates from United States Number Fif-ty for their energy, devotion, hard work,skillful planning and final success in pro-ducing this marvelous piece of work."Then for dessert, Brother Jacobson givesthe price and address of the HSN, and tellshis readers that if they hurry they can getin on the ground floor. We couldn't ask foranything nicer if we paid for it.

*****As was prophesied in our last issue,

the supply of Pacific Science for Octoberis exhausted. It contained Alan J. Kohn'sarticle on "The Hawaiian Species of .Q.Q=~" and several of our Society's mem-bers waited too long.

*****Are the "barter" days coming back?

In several instances lately persons "DownUnder" have expressed a desire to jointhe Hawaiian Malacological Society, andwanted to know if they could send shellsto be sold for their account here to raisethe necessary funds in the U. S. Currencyrestrictions is the cause. Some of ourforeign members maintain accounts in U.S. banks. Sometimes we get InternationalMoney Orders. We don't know an answerthat will work in every case.

Cypraea Alieni Ostergaardi?Having read Dr. C. M. Burgess' article

on the status of Cypraea ~, and itsaccompanying letter by Mr. Jens M. Oster-gaard in the February Issue of the HawaiianShell News, I noticed two important pointsthat were apparently overlooked. The firstpoint of issue is that in order for a sub-species to be valid, it must, among otherthings,. be a geographically defined aggre-gate of the population. In the case of ~oster~aardi and £. ~ this does notoccur, not even in the broadest sense ofthe term. Both of these species are fromHawaii, both live at the same depth, andboth ha,ve been collected in the same local-ity.

The American Malacological Uilion'sannual report for 1959, has been received.It's all ancient history now, but somehowwe are always able to spend a pleasanthour going over it. Glancing over the ab-stracts of the reports delivered always re-veals a few we wish we could have he1lrd.One in particular was Dr. Paul Saunders(Pacific Division) who reported on thefeeding habits and venom of several spe-cies of cones. He also showed films of~ striatus and ~ ~ operatingin their own particular deadly manner.That work was practically started in Ho-nolulu some five or six years ago by Dr.Alan Kohn. Hope after all official publi-cations have been made, the HSN canbring our readers up to date on that sub-ject. Undoubtedly some progress has beenmade.. but we are of the opinion that theend is not yet. Incidentally the A. M. U.reported 638 members. We consider its$2 membership one of the best invest-ments, a shell collector can make. Atpresent there are only seven members inHonolulu. Margaret C. Teskey seems tobe the perp-etual secretary. You can reachher at Route 2, Box 318,Marinette, Wisc.,(A long ways from salt water), if this sug-gestion falls on fertile ground. Also, inthe notes of the business session of thePacific Division, appears this statement:"A suggestion was relayed from the Presi-dent of the A. M. U. that the Pacific Divi-sion might at some future date schedule ameeting in Hawaii." We must be getting

The second point of issue is that it isnot considered a good practice by presentday authorities to base a species or a sub-species purely on color. The main argu-ment for the separation of £. osterltaardiand C. alIeni is the coloration of the shells.At fTrstgi-an-ce it is apparent that the colordiffers considerably. .s;.., osterltaardi iswhite to cream with brown spots, whereasC. alIeni is tan with white spots, and oc-eelatiOiiS. It was suggested by Dr. Burgessthat this tan color and occelations were puton last, and were thus the first to comeoff. This I believe is the case.

For these reasons: That C. alIeni isnot a geographically defined aggregate of£, osterltaardi, and that.color alone is nota sound basis for establishing a subspecies,it seems logical to conclude that CypraeaalIeni Ostergaard could not possibly be aSUbSPecies of Cypraea ostergarrdi Dall.-Reginald Gage.

OFF KEEHIC. M. Burgess, M.D.

I realize that much has appeared in theHawaiian Shell News regarding dredgingoperations in general recently, but I feelthat a brief account of what was obtainedin one afternoon in particular might be ofinterest.

Dredging for shells can be one of themost satifying or one of the most frus-trating and irritating of all methods ofshell collecting. What keeps one comingback for more after bitter disappointmentand various types of mechanical trouble isthe thrill of anticipation when the run isover and the dredge is being hoisted fromthe bottom of the sea. What keeps thisanticipation keen is the occasional rewardof a rare she 11 that simply cannot becollected any other way. To obtain sucha shell in this way is a real joy, but toquote Ditlev Thaanum, "Most of the timeyou don't!"

There are many ways of dredging andmany different types of dredges. Eachhas its advocate and each is used underspecial circumstances. When this witlevariation in methods is considered it canrightly be deducted that there is no ideal way.In fact, there is a wide difference of opinionas to what type of dredge to use when thecharacter of the bottom is stable. I certainlydo not know the ideal type of dredge, al-though I have tried a good many. This paperwas written simply to record some of theshells that can be taken if one has patienceand the luck. Both are extremely important,probably most important.

What then are some of the shells thatwe can expect to find in this way? Perhapsthis can best be answered by giving, in de-tail, the exact number and species dredgedin one afternoon aboard the Miss Honolulu--a converted PT boat, rented and fitted outfor dredging by Mariel King and the BishopMuseum and used on the now famous PeleExpedition.

Now is as good a time as any to paytribute to this gracious lady, who in 1959embarked on the very worth while projectof determining what shells are present invarious depths and under various conditionsaround the Hawaiian Islands. This was avery timely project indeed, and one longoverdue. I for one am sure and dredgingshave borne out the premise that many newspecies would be discovered by a carefullyworked out project. The recent dredgingoperation was done on a grand scale withoutregard for expense. The equipment was thebest and no detail was spared to make theoperation a success. Such equipment isout of the reach of most of us. We arefortunate and proud to have a Mariel King,whose keen interest in malacology andgenerosity made this study possible.

Now to get back to dredging: One windy,sunny, Thursday afternoon, April 23,1959,to be exact, Mariel King, the Miss Honolulu

(Continued on page 3)

Page 3 HAWAnAN SHELL NEWS ApIil, 1960

if either of the above ladies have one theycan spare.

*****Tatsuro Noma, 4487 Takioji-cho, Shi-

nagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan, is interested incontacting a few good collectors, who areinterested in shells and malacology. Ifinterested you might write him and see ifyou have anything in common.

SHELL LOO (Cont. from page 2)and her crew composed of the boat owner,

Mr. Landraf, his crewmen, Mr. DitlevThaanum, Mr. Cliff Weaver, and myseU

(who was adequately fortified with Bona-

mine) set out from Kewalo Basin to the off-

shore waters opposite Keehi Lagoon. Six

drags where made in depth ranges of 95

to 150 feet over mostly sand and coral

bottom. The following species and their-

numbers were obtained:

SPECIES Number Dredged

Paul Bronneberg, Monteursweg, Cura-cao, Netherlands Antilles, writes that hewould like to get shells from the Hawaiianarea, especially cones, and would like tocontact someone who is interested in shellsfrom the West Indies. All his shells havedata, he says and he neither buys or sellsshells. This may interest some of you.

*****Mrs. Fred Speers, Box 878, Sinton,

Texas, writes that Capt. Dale Mellinger,recently transferred from Honolulu, spenta few days in Sinton, and did some shellingalong the Gulf coast, before reporting tohis new station at Fort Hood. She says:"I did hate to lose such a good 'shell ex-changer' from Hawaii, so, if you know ofanyone there, interested in Texas shells -live - data complete - I'll be happy to hearfrom them, as there are many Hawaiianshells I do not have."

*****Victor J. Wagoner, 323 West Avenue,

Valentia, San Clemente, Calif., writes thathe has had the shell bug for the last twoyears and has bee n interested in thecones, murex, volutes and strombus fami-lies. He says: "I am not a dealer, but Ido buy now and then, but I never sell."Would be pleased to contact interestedpersons.

16

Archit~~tnni~'l perspectiva 6

Architectonica sp. 14

~ pulchellus Fragment

Conus hammatus (all juveniles) 50

~ Quercinus (all juveniles) 30

~ euf{rammatus (all juveniles) 25

~ pulicarius (all juveniles) 100

Polinices pyriformis 7

Pnlini~~~ sp. 2

Natica macrochinensis 3

~sp. 4-c-eritliium sp. 2

Cerithium sp. 3

~~rithium sp. 2

Cerithium sp. 7

~ exasperata 200Mitra newcombi 12

4

3

3

1

2

17

2

7

15

(all juveniles) 10

(all juveniles) 10

2

1

50

200

75

1

5

5

(Huge) 1

75

15

(all juveniles) 40

30

30

20

6

6

8

4

You can see from this, it was a highlysuccessful trip. Still many more speciescan be expected under different conditionsand depth. It was a memorable day frommany aspects. It was highly successfulfrom a shell collecting viewpoint; and, inaddition, we were honored by the presenceof Ditlev Thaanum. who certainly knowsmore about the art of collecting shells underall circumstances than anyone else living ordead. It is he who proded me to write thisreport.

*****DirkJ. Bosman, P. O. Box 1728, Bloem-

fontein, O.F.S., So. Africa, saw one ofKurt Grosch's copies of the HSN., andwrites "If any of your club members areinterested in South African shells, you canput my name and address in your monthly."Says he has a large selection of SouthAfrican shells for exchange and is "verykeen on getting contacts in your area, as Ihave no shells from the Hawaiian Islandsvet."

WHY SHELLS HIDE

"j;fifii flaveolaMitra sp.~ flaveolata~~~~Mitra emersoniM!ki sp.Mtt:!J!~Vexillium thaanumiTerebra maculata

*****Mter joining the H.M.S., Mrs. G. W.

Osterbye, 57 West Passaic St., Maywood,N. J. adds, "And would you please sendme the addresses of places where I couldbuy Hawaiian Shells." This is a frequentrequest. Maybe somebody around here isoverlooking a bet.

*****Harry McInvaill, Jr., 21st Avenue South,

City Delivery 4, Myrtle Beach, S. C.,writes: "Will you please send us informa-tion on the Hawaiian Malacological Society?We are trying to interest others in thisarea in an organized study of sea life.But we need help!" All we've done is senda sample copy of the HSN. So the field isopen.

*****Here's two good Florida names for

you exchangers. Mrs. B. J. Foster, 1704Golfview Drive, Clearwater, Florida andMrs. James Denny, c/o Helen's Jewel Box,Sanibel, Florida, have live collected spec-imen shells for exchange for those fromthis area. What do you need from Florida?The Children's Museum of Honolulu lacksa Conus juliae Clench, and we can setthem up in business with Hawaiian cones,

Terebra achatesTerebra sp.Terebr;1: chloratATerebra ~Terebra lautaTerebrlt PIIcatellaTerebra strigilataTerebra propinquaTerebra pertususTerebra muscari~

Terebra spaldingiTerebra sp. (small)Terebra sp. (small)Terebra thaanumiTerebra nodularis

"For years the Swains Reefs, morethan 100 miles out from Rockhampton,have been the unattainable goal of localshell collectors, but recently a full scaleexpedition was made there by Tom Neil-son... .Tom reported acres of good sandideal for dredging, but the results weredisappointing. The divers reported thatthey saw in numbers, gray snapper, anotorious shell eater, feeding over the sandflats and actually nosing into the surface.These and other members of the snapperfamily caught on the trip, were found to befull of shells, and Tom ascribed the dearthof shells dredged to the ideal feeding con-ditions for these fish. . . . It seemed signifi-cant that there were no fully adult speci-mens among those obtained Anotherinteresting feature about this trip was thatthe ~ marmoreus collected showed aremarkable resemblance to the variant,C. marmoreus band anus which is not foundin Australian waters."

42010

111

2ment

13311

) 3041121222

23211

231022

152

Another good title for this little itemmight be, "Examine the Stomachs of allFish Caught". In the last issue of theAustralian Newsletter, Tony Marsh, nostranger to our readers, contributes thefollowing item, which adds, perhaps itshould be confirms, some malacologicalfacts:

WILL TAM HARPER PEASE(Continued from page 1)

date of July 1st, 1871 contained the follow-ing in its obituary column:

"Died in this city, June 29th, Mr. Wil-lia~ H. Pease, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y.,' in the 47th year of his age. Mr. Peasecame to the Islands in Sept., 1849, and hasresided here ever since. He was marriedand leaves a widow with one child. Hewas by profession a land surveyor, inwhich business he was extensively em-ployed on - the different islands of the

group. He was an enthusiastic naturalistand conchologist and had discovered manynew varieties of shells. He was a corres-ponding member of scientific associationsof Savants in Paris and other parts of thecivilized world. He was an industriouscollector of books and curiosities. Heheld the position of assessor of the city ofHonolulu for several years, as well as thatof Commissioner of Water Rights andRights of Way."

The Friend, which, by its own mast-head, was a "monthly journal devoted toTemperance, Seamen, Marine and GeneralIntelligence," published and edited by Sam-uel C. Damon, printed the identical obituarynotice in its issue dated July 3, 1871.

The Hawaiian Gazette, a weekly, andthe official paper of the Hawaiian Govern-ment, (The state of the King's health wasalways the first item in its "local news"column) under date of July 5th, 1871 pub-lished the Pease obituary notice withoutthe changing of a word, except that in thiscase the notice was signed "P. C. A." Sofar the investigations have not revealedthe identity of P. C. A., but it seems evi-dent, since all three papers published theidentical notice, that P. C. A. supplied theinformation, such as it is.

Frequently an obituary notice will trig-ger a news write-up, giving more details,but such was not the case in this instance,although all three papers were scrutinizedbefore and after this date for any furtherinformation.

The Pacific Commercial Advertiser,however, in the same issue as the obituary,in its editorial column, under the heading,"A Suggestion" had the following to say:"It is known that the late Mr. W. Peasewas the owner of a large and valuablecollection of rare books, and also a cabi-net of curiosities. Now it would be a mat-ter for regret, that the valuable bookscomposing this library should either bescattered or allowed to be taken out of thecountry, and we therefore suggest that thewhole, including the cabinet, be purchasedby the Government, and the purchase moneybe invested for the benefit of the bereavedfamily."

Although the succeeding issues of thispaper were carefully gone over for acouple of months after Mr. Pease's death,the matter was not referred to again in itscolumns.

At this point, it seems desirable todivide this article into separate discussionsof various phases of Mr. Pease's life andhis activities. Information has been ob-tained from the Archives of the State ofHawaii, the Probate files of the SupremeCourt of the Hawaiian Kingdom, files ofvarious concholof{ical journals in the Bi-

shop Museum Library, and last, but by nomeans least, Pease's letters to AndrewGarrett, a very close and dear friend alsoa naturalist. This accumulated data con-cerns his library, his shell collection, hispersonal life, his correspondence with wellknown shell collectors and conchologicaljournals and his close association withAndrew Garrett, who seems to have care-fully cherished every letter he ever gotfrom ~ease, to which fact must be as-cribed a major portion of the informationherein used.

Pease's Library. The following quo-tations from Pease's letters to Garrett allrefer to the building up of the Pease libra-ry and are sentences culled from some-times very extensive letters relating totheir common hobby. Garrett at this timewas in Hilo, Hawaii.Sept. 29th, 1857--"1 have sent orders fora large number of books, and am receivingall the periodicals necessary to keep mymind off what is happening at home."Similar remarks in other letters leave nodoubt of the fact that he is referring to theconditions on the mainland. The civil warwas brewing, and he has shown consider-able concern. He is not referring to his"home" in Hawaii.March 25, 1858--"1 have about $1500 worthof books received in the past six months.I know this will tempt you." Pease wasconstantly urging Garrett to join him inHonolulu.Sept. 7, 1858--"1 have just opened a boxof books and shells from Damon." Con-text indicates the box came from the WestIndies, but Pease didn't think much of theshells. At the last of the letter he adds,that he is sending a number of Silliman'sJournals, and he admonishes Garrett totake good care of them and bring them toHonolulu with him, when he comes.Sept. 17, 1858-- "Damon has just sent metwo volumes of Journal de Conchyliologiefrom Paris."Dec. 20, 1858--"The mail a1;rivedyesterdayand I received a few books, includingConrad's description of our shells."

Garrett has now gone to Tahiti wherePease writes him in the same vein.Sept. 2, 1860--"1 have received anotherbox of books since you left. A few mono-graphs but mostly old works. By the timeyou return my library will be complete."October 2, 1860-- "I have received amagni-ficent lot of books, including most all 1sent for in the order which you saw. Mylibrary is now complete, and it is certainlya great pleasure to have within your reach,the works of every author you may wishto consult."

Although he says it is complete, onJuly 24, 1861 Pease writing to Garrett,still in Tahiti, in an extensive letter aboutother matters, says "I have received twoboxes of books."

Again in writing about shells and seeds,Pease adds on June 10, 1862, "I have in-cr~ased my library very much. Very lit-tle is wanting to complete it. 1 have theworks of Kiener."

This is the last reference to the librarybeing increased in size, nor has any in-ventory ever been located. Indirect proofof some of the books he owned, may befound in American Journal of Conchology,Vol., 4, Part n, p. 102-133 in an article onsvnonvms. In discussinir one name which

he (Pease) discarded, he says "thedescrip-tion in Syst. Nat. in nine words is quite in-definite." He must have had it to refer to.Then the question arises did he have theSystema Natura of Gmelin, 13 edition, orSystema Natura of Linnaeus, 10th edition.Or did he have both ?

In this same article, in discussing~ cucumerina Martin, he says: "TheEnc. Meth. Brug. 1792, should be referredto for description of this species. I havefound it necessary to retain 60 specimensto illustrate it." Did he have Bruguiere'smonumental work? Read that line aboveabout what a great pleasure it is to havewithin reach the works of every author youwish to consult.

The next chronological reference dugupwas in the inventory of Pease's estatefiled by James W. Austin, administrator.There is listed "1000 books and pamphlets$1400.00." No supporting papers for thisfigure were filed, nor is there any evidenceas to who supplied the inventory figure of$1400.00. Seemingly Administrator Austinwas satisfied with this figure, for in hisfinal accounting there are two entriespertaining thereto:Feb. 12, 1872,Rec'dfromHawaiianGovern-ment on acct. sale of books, $700.00April 19th, 1872, Rec'd from HawaiianGov't. bal. on sale of books $700.00.

These are the only references in theProbate File to the Pease Library.

After the Pease library became theproperty of the Hawaiian Government, itdisappeared from view as far as the effortsof this researcher have been concerned.About fifty years elapsed, when, in about1920 or 1922, the Bishop Museum acquiredsome of the books that were still available.Details of this transaction haven't been un-earthed as yet. There are probably 40,perhaps a few more, of the original Peasecollection now in the Bishop Museum. Theyare easily identified however because allare marked W.H. P. in gold letters.

Whatever happened to the bulk of Pease'sbooks, is, and probably will remain, anunsolved mystery. The late Dr. CharlesMontague Cooke, who died in 1948, was withthe Bishop Museum in one capacity or an-other from 1902 until his death. Heprobablyknew as much about this situation as anyother disinterrested person. He is onrecord as saying "Pease's shell library wasbought by the Hawaiian Government, andmany of the books were lost or 'borrowed'by private parties. It was a great loss tothe Islands that his shell collection wasever allowed to be sent away, but i~viewof what occurred to Pease's books, it wasa good thing the Hawaiian Government re-fused to buy his shells."

In the front of each book from the Peaselibrary, now in the Bishop Museum, on theinside of the hard board cover, there ispasted one or the other of two printedslips. One slip reads "Hawaiian Govern-ment Library." The other, "HonoluluLibrary and Reading Room Association."There is no indication of the basis usedfor marking one book one way and anotherdifferently.

Pease was evidently very proud of hislibrary. Some had been rebound by himwhile all the monthly or quarterly publica-tions were bound uniformily with stiff hardboard front and back covers glued to a

(Continued on page 5)

WILLIAM HARPER PEASE(Continued from page 4)

leather back over the spine, with the lettersW. H. P. in gold a short distance from thebottom. All were also marked in gold onthe spine in plain readable letters, thevolume number, when it was in a series,and the title of the volume.

Identified books from the Pease librarynow in the Bishop Museum include thefollowing:7 volumes, starting in 1850 of the Journal

de Conchyliologie, Paris.1 volume, An illustrated and Descriptive

Catalogue of Recent Bivalve Shells, byHenry and Arthur Adams, London 1856.

3 Volumes, The Genera of Recent Mollusca,by Henry and Arthur Adams, London1858.

3 volumes of plates to accompany the above,all uniformly bound

1 Volume, Dr. H. A. Philippi, in German,Berlin, 1845 . Two larger 5he1l5-Cypraea granttlate; two 5maUer 5heU5-Cypraea nucleu;,; all 0/ Hawaiian origin. Col.

1 Volume, A monograph on Bulmus, a I . / C M Bectlon 0 . . urge55.Genus of Land Shells, Reeve, London,1848

7 Volumes, Proceedings of the Zoological IS CYPRAEA CRANULATASociety of. London, from 1850 to 1857 REALLY ENDEMIC'

1 Volume Ammaux Mollusques, de Fer- .russac, Paris, 1860 In checking W. H. Pease's description

1 Volume, Verzeichniss der ?onchylien, of Cypraea granulata (Pro. ZOo Soc. Lond~nEduard Anton, Halle, :839, m ~~man. 1862, page 278) it was noticeable that this

2 Volumes, U. S. Explormg Expeditlon of supposedly endemic shell was included1838-42, Boston 1852, Inc. Atlas. with others in a heading that said "Des-

1 Volume Beck's Index of. Land She.lls. cription of Five Shells from the PacificThis had been rebound, Tltle onoutslde, Islands" and not the Sandwich Islands asseveral front pages missing, no date the Ha'waiian Islands were then known.nor place available. Also when Sandwich Island shells were

7 Volumes, Species GeneraletIconographie described he mentioned the fact prominent-des Coquilles Vivantes, Kiener, Paris ly. Then following the description he statesabout 1850. Set is not complete. that "having examined several live speci-

3 Volumes Conchologia Iconica, Reeve, mens from various islands of the Pacific,1843-49. Other volumes of this set he was satisfied that "it (granulata) isindicate they were acquired with Andrew quite distinct from .Q.YI1... nucleus and.Q.YP.".Garrett's library, although they may madagascarensis with which it has hereto-originally have belonged to Pease, as fore been confounded". Pease's statementthere are no duplicate volumes,. ~me can be interpreted two ways. It might beof the 20 volume set are mlssmg. that the Hawaiian specimen was comparedIn a locked file in the Bishop Mu~eum, with live specimens of ..Q.., nucleus from

there is a book used by Pease in his day other Pacific islands, or it might meanto day work. It is l~beled on the back that 2:ranulata from other islands of theConchological Memorandums (plural) and Pacific had been compared and found toon the inside is stamped "Government be different. Also the way he had workedLibrary, Honolulu" indicating that it was it it appeared that he recognized ~one of the books i~. Pea~e's library pur- ~~ and~. mada2:ascarensis as twochased by the Hawallan Kingdom. Itstarted different species, and that.Q.Y.l;!.. 2:ranulata.out as an ordinary hard card board cover which he had just described was in hisblank book, no lining or ruling, of about mind a third and separable species in this100 pages. Now it i~ about .half filled pustdlated group. These questions. did notwith the unused pages m th~ middle of the register very strongly at the time sobook. There are no dates m the book n~r thoroughly ingrained was the idea that Cyp.does Pease's name appear any where on it. granulata was endemic to Hawaii.Entries are made with pen or pencil, evi- A day or two later, in talking with Dr.dently whichever was handiest when a Burgess, and after he had written histhought struck him that he wanted to record. Shell Log story on Cypraea 2:ranulata, heMany references are to land shells whichseem to occupy the first part of the bookwith marine shells in the second half.Most of the references are technical andcomplete with authors name, generally inabbreviated form. Sample entry: On apage headed Cypraea in ink he wrote"Reeve credits asellus (Linn) to W. I.Can it be possible?" Another sample:"Want an ~ contracta (Rve) fromPanama, Very near my 'costata.'" Thelast few pages are all headed on the topline in heavier, larger writing in ink

said he had exchanged shells with a col-lector in Tahiti, and in the lot he hadsent to hi~ friend were samples of Ha-waii's .9Y..P... Itranulata. He was quite as-tonished, when his friend acknowledged theshipment and said he had collected ~granulata in Tahiti. The doctor said hehad written asking to see that TahitianItranulata, and when it was received, he,the doctor, would have it examined byexperts on Cypraeidae for a well consideredopinion. So there will be more on thissubject.

During the Shell Fair, the Californiacollectors, Edna Skinner and Ann Hardingpurchased, at the Fair booth selling shells,some live collected samples of this shell,and, not knowing that the species wasconsidered endemic, remark-ed that theyhad one from New Caledonia and wantedsome Hawaiian specimens. When they wereasked about their New Caledonia Itranulata,they said they had obtained it from GeorgeSkewis, who had bought it from GeorgeJacobs, who was disposing of the collectionof the late W. H. Weeks of Brooklyn.They have agreed to send the shell toHonolulu for comparison.

With these two doubts in mind, theBishop Museum was visited again, andthe impressions obtained from our previ-ous reading of Pease's original descriptionverified. (see above). Then, as we havedone in numerous other cases, we decidedto explain the situation to Prof. Ostergaard,and see what he had to say on the subject.His reply follows:

"It interests me, and it is news to me,that there could be raised a doubt at thistime as to whether Cypraea granulataPease is endemic to Hawaii. In all myyears of collecting and of studying worldCvpraea beginning about 1902, I have neverhad any evidence that this conspicuousspecies occurred outside of the HawaiianIslands. Yet in taxonomic studies onemay meet with unexpected surprises. Toquote the late Dr. C. M. Cooke of theB. P. Bishop Museum, 'we are neversure of anything,' and "in order to dotaxonomic work one must be a detective,"

(Continued on page 6)

"Wanted." Under this word is the nameof one genus to a page. Under "Wanted,"on the "Mitra" page, the first entry is"~ Astricta" in ink. Then, one entryto a line, with ditto marks under ~appear eight other species names, somein ink some in pencil. On the Cone wantedpage he writes: "..Q.,. pusillus (Rve) fromSeychelles or Ceylon." Evidently Pease'sway of writing memos to himself. --K. W.G.

(Continued in Next Issue)

ACTIVITIES ON GUAMWOULD SIMPLIFY THE CYPRAEA

We acquired an aquarium three weeksago tonight (March 7). We have five tex-tiles in it and they are the only ones thathave survived the three weeks. The tex-tiles were expected to do some killing inthe tank but so far no luck. The only onethat has eaten any of the other shells isNassa francolinus. He or she has devouredt"WO"--Cypraea ~ and one Cypraea 2Y=-lindrica. I have noticed on two differentoccasions a very peculiar feeding habit ofBalsis thaanumi. I have found two of"fuese"- small mollusks firmly attached to ablack sea slug which inhabits these waters.I am sure they were feeding on the slug,for when I go to lift them off, their longfeeding tube is pulled out of the slug.The slug however doesn't seem to mindor be worried about the Balsis on itsback. Has anyone reportedthiB feedinghabit?

It is doubtful if very many of the shellcollectors of the world, who specialize inthat beautiful little shell called the cowry,realize what a stupendous superstructurethe different conchologists have built upin their attempts to classify the varioustypes of this shell. Most shells are in-cluded in a "Family," but the cowry hasa superfamily and at least six subfamiliesbefore you get down to the genus and thespecific name. The Cypraeinae, the wordused in Dr. Kay's title to her article, issimply one of six subfamilies, and is theonly one discussed in the present study.This subfamily however does include mostof the cowries of the Hawaiian area. It isher contention that Cypraeinae .should beeliminated as a subfamily and all thegenera thereunder be included in the ge-neric name Cypraea. (That's what most ofus call them anyway.)

My wife found a Cypraea chinensis thenight we started the tank and they lasteduntil two days ago. The clowns in our tankare two Strombus tridentatus. Wheneverthey decide to move they do it in a hurrywith about a two or three inch leap overthe sand. If they are headed towards moresand, it's O. K. However once in a whilethey hit the glass and retract into theirshells very humiliated like. We have triedCypraea ~ They lasted about twodays. Cypraea cylindric a seems to lastabout one week.

Do you think the Club there could orwould set up a board for identifying shells?I feel that a lot of people would be willingto pay a fee for this service. which couldbe added to your Shell Club fund.

She insists that shell characteristicsalone (A few include examination of theradula) are not a good basis for classifica-tion. She has examined minutely, the ani-mals from 33 species, mostly from thePacific area, and finds they all fall intoone of only two classes. Her summaryexplains it very clearly. We quote:

"The species ofCvpraeawhichhavethusfar been examined, exhibit little anatomicaldifferentiation except for the structure ofthe radular teeth and in the pattern of thefemale genitalia. Two anatomical cate-gories have been defined on the basis ofthese differences, here referred to as themauriti:lna- and ~-types. These ana-tomical categories cross the generic, tri-bal and subfamily lines of the existing sys-tems of classification, which is evidencethat the present system is untenable. Itis proposed, therefore, that only the genusCypraea be retained for species of theCypraeinae."

If you do not have access to the Londonjournal referred to at the beginning of thisarticle, you will find this subject discussedby Dr. Kay, in an article prepared forpopular reading, in the HSN, Vol. VI., No.3, Page 24, January, 1958.

of the above species in being lighter, andin the basal ridges being less in numberand not extending to the margin, or be-coming nearly obsolete as they approachthe margin. The dorsal ridges are alsoless in number, and in some specimensaltogether wanting."

IS CYFRAEA GRANULA TA REALLYENDEMIC? (Continued from page 5)

no truer statements we r e ever made.Shells may be carried to and fro, withdata mixed, or scattered by beachcombershere and there. But when a conchologistof note, like Mr. Pease, states that livingspecimens of Cypraea granulata from vari-ous parts of the Pacific have been examinedby him, I agree with you that a closecheck is in order before any positivestatement is made.

"It would be important to see a so-called' granulata cowry' from Tahiti. I amsceptical. I have seen C. nucleus fromthe Society Islands, and ti the doctor inTahiti is not well acquainted with ~ranulatahe could mistake it for nucleus. Althoughobviously related the two species, I believe,can always be separated. I had been hesitantabout changing the old and well establishedname of Cypraea madagascarensis Gmelinregardless of the erroneous locality name,until evidence convinced me that Gmelin'sspecies from the Island of Madagascar wasa large race of:.Q... nucleus. and that Peasedescribed and figured his granulatafrom animmature shell, yet clearly recognizable byits broad dorso-ventrally compressed form.Even in its immature state it cannot beconfused with nucleus.

"I regret having not been able to giveyou anything definite herewith. I repeat,however that should I learn of the oc-currence of Cypraea granulata outside ofthe Hawaiian Islands, it would be mostsurprising tome. Aloha,J.M.Ostergaard."

Now that the subject is up for discussion,maybe some of you have been wonderingjust what Mr. Pease had to say. Since someof you might have trouble finding the originalreference, here it is:

Proceedings of the Zoological Society ofLondon, 1864, Page 278. Description ofNew Species of Marine Shells from thePacific Islands. By W. Harper Pease.

Following the words Cypraea granulata.there appears eight and one half linesdescribing the shell in Latin. Then thefollowing in English:

"Shell rather light, ovate. or obeselyovate, somewhat g i b b 0 u s, extremitiesslightly produced; back granulose or nodu-lous; nodules irregular in size, those nearthe margin connected by ridges; the ridgesterminating at the margins, and seldomreaching the dorsal region, impressed by aslight dorsal groove, which is sometimesobsolete; sides slightly margined; base con-vex; ridges remote, especially those of thecolumella not extending to the margin, andthose on the columella not reaching the inneredge, with the exception of a few of theanterior ones; occasionally a few shortintermediate rid g e s; aperture narrow,slightly the wider anteriorly; cream coloror light reddish-brown; nodules whitish,sometimes encircled by reddish-brownrings; ridges of the same color; basewhite; basal ridges edged with reddish-brown, and extremities stained with thesame color.

"Length 32, breadth 20 mm."From an examination of living speci-

mens of the above species, from severalparts of the Pacific, we are satisfied it isquite distinct from the s;;.., nucleus or .Q..madagascarensis with which it has thereto-fore been confounded. It differs from both

Unfortunately the list is too long to beprinted here, but at least you can look outfor a new shell book in the near future.

C. T. (Tom) Montgomery, Station 8,Asan Point, Guam, used to live in Honolulubut is now on Guam. Here's how he keepsbusy with his hobby according to a recentletter. Excerpts follow:

There is published in the February,1960, edition of the Proceedings of theMalacological Society of London. (Vol. 33,Part 6, Pages 278-287) an article by Dr.Alison Kay, Zoological Dept., Universityof Hawaii, which at last brings to thescientific world a project very dear toher heart, and on which she has beenworking for several years. The articleis entitled "Generic Revision of the Cy-praeinae," but that last word will need abit of explaining to most of us.

O. H. Rippingale, 86A Mary St., Too-woomba, Queensland, Aust. will add to ourknowledge of Queensland, Australian conesand volutes soon, according to a letter re-ceived from him by Mrs. Mary EleanorKing.

He says: "Have just completed 650colored drawings of Queensland and GreatBarrier Reef shells. These with text willbe published in book form later this yearby Jacaranda Press, Brisbane. It con-tains 70 cones. Now am considering doingillustrations of world cones or volutes, sowant to build up my collection of thesefamilies. Here is a list of cones andvolutes I have. Those I have for exchangeare marked with an X. If you are interest-ed in an exchange, may I hear from yousoon. In return I would want only conesor volutes (preferably cones) not on mylist."

Lor a (1)L. bl

L. b

L. bl

L. cy ,- ,. --- ,

~

C P ' l d b E H B J B. nebulosa Pease, 1860: 143; Tryon,om t e y . . ryan, r. 1884228.(Concluded in this issue) Daphnella Hinds, 1844.

D. bella Pease, 1860; Tryon, 1994:266,Turris Roding, 1798 rella); Tryon, 1884: 299. 327 (= Mangelia Interrupta

T. castanella (?); Tinker, 1952:46, 1958: L. deadalea Garrett, 1873; Tryon, 1884: (Reeve).)164, "Little chestnut turret 294. D. interrupta Pease, 1860; Tryon, 1884:shell". L. elegans (Pease), 1860 (Clauthurella); 307.

T. cerithiformis (?); Tinker, 1952: 46, Tryon, 1884: 299. D. maculosa Pease, 1860; Tryon, 1884:1958: 164, "Horn shaped turret L. exilis (Pease), 1860 (Clauthurella); 307; Ed. 1933: 107, 1946:126shell". Tryon, 1884: 299. D. sandwichensis Pease, 1860; Tryon,

T. cingulifera (Lamarck) 1818 (Ple;uro- L. fuscimaculata (Pease), 1860 (Clathu- 1884: 307; Ed. 1933: 107 ,1933: 107,toma); Tryon, 1884: 166; Kaicher, rella); Tryon, 1884: 299. 1946:126; Mant, 1923: 1331956:1. L. sp. near granicostata Reeve, 1846; (End of Turridae)

T. circumsecta (Mighels) 1848 (Pleuro- Tryon, 1884: 287.toma); Tryon, 1884: 319. L. harpa (Pease), 1860 (Clathurella); BRYAN'S CHECKLIST OF HAWAIIAN

T. crassilabrum (Mighels) 1848 (Pleuro- Tryon, 1884: 299. CASTROPODS ends with this issue. Theretoma); Tryon, 1884: 319. L. nassoides (Gray) (Clathurella); Reeve still remain the subclass OPISTHOBRAN-

T. crocata (Reeve), 1845 (Drillia); Try- (Pleurotoma); Tryon, 1884: 296. CHIA, which includes Pyramidellidae andon, 1884: 204. L. paucicostata (Pease) 1860 (Clathu- other groups making up the order variously

T. gilchristii Sowerby (?), as reported rella); Tryon, 1884: 299. referred to as TECTffiRANCHIA or PLEU-by W. A. Bryan. L. producta (Pease), 1860 (Clathurella); ROCOELA. In addition to these there are

T. laeta (Hinds), 1843: 41 (Drillia); Try- Tryon, 1884: 208. the pteropods, the saccoglossa, the um-on, 1884: 186. L. pulchella (Pease), 1860 (Clathurella); brella shells and the nudibranchs. The

T. lirata (Pease), 1868; Tryon, 1884: Tryon, 1884: 299. nomenclature in these is in such a state of169. L. pumila (Mighels) 1848 (Pleurotoma); confusion, and so little is known about most

T. micans (Meigen), 1848 (Pleurotoma); Pease, 1868 (Clathurella); Tryon, of these groups in Hawaii, that Mr. BryanTryon, 1884: 319 1884:298; Ed. 1933: 106, 1946:126 thinks that it would be better to postpone

T. monilifera (Pease), 1870;1860:398 (Daphnobela pumila). printing his meager records of them until(Cuming); Tryon, 1884: 358 (P. L. rugosa (Mighels) , 1845 (or 1848) is the 'greatest.' What vigor."gemmata Hinds.) (Pleurotoma); Pease, 1868 (Bor-

T. obnubila(Mighels) 1848 (Pleurotoma); sonia) Tryon, 1884: 287.Tryon, 1884: 319. Mitromorpha Carpenter, 1865

T. perlata (Lesson), 1843 (Pleurotoma); M. hawaiiensis Dall (ms.); Mant, 1923: WE DIDN'T WRITE THESETryon, 1884: 319. 122, (from Kewalo dredgings).

T. sinuosa(Mighels), 1848 (Pleurotoma); M. montana Dall (ms.)Tryo~, 1884: 319. M. parvus Pease California--"This is a very much

T. todilla (Mighels), 1848 (Pleurotoma); Cythara Schumacher, 1817 belated letter praising the 'New Dress'Tryon, 1884: 319. C. garrettii Pease, 1860:147; Pease, of the Hawaiian Shell News I can hardly

Drillia (compare Turridrupa Hedley,. 1922) 1868 "compare .Columbella la- find the adequate words to use in tellingD. acuminata (Mighels) 1848 (Pleuroto- chryma Gask."; Tryon, 1884: 345. you what abeautifulpublicationyounowhave

ma); Tryon, p884: 190; Ed. 1933: (= Columbella lachryma Gaskoin). and accompanied by such lovely photo-107, 1946:126. C. varia Pease, 1860; Tryon 1884: 381 graphic reproductions, makes it a' must'

D. bilicanta Reeve; (reported from (- Columbella peasei Martens) for every shell collector."Laysan by W. A. Bryan) Mangelia Risso, 1826 Philippines--"I have received the new

D. exilis Pease, 1887; Tryon, 1884: 206; M. brevis (Pease) (Cithara); Tryon, Hawaiian Shell News and must congratulateEd. 1933:107,1946:126. 1884: 329 (=Mangelia cithara youforthe'NewLook'ofthepaper. It is

D. lauta Pease, 1867; Tryon, 1884: 206; Gould) a very well done job. I specially appreciate(reported from Laysan by W. A. M. cithara Gould, 1849, 1862; Tryon, the supplement, and am particularly in-Bryan) 1884: 263. terested in the genus you decided to start

D. nodifera Pease, 1860; Tryon, 1884: M. coronata (Mighels) 1848 (Pleuroto- on--Terebra."212. ma); Tryon, 1884: 271 (Pease Ohio--"I think your new publication is

D. nodulosa Pease, 1862; Tryon, 1884: thinks this may M. Triticera wonderful, and well worth the increase in212. Reeve.) price."

D. pusilla Garrett ?; Tryon, 1884: 367 M. exilis (Pease), 1860 (Clathurella); Texas--"Bravo! on the' Hawaiian Shell(- D. exilis (Pease); Kuroda & Tryon, 1884: 299. News' new look. The publication was greatHabe, 1952:54, (C I a vu s exilis M. gracilis (Reeve) 1846 (Cythara); Try- to begin with, but now is even greater."(Pease). on, 1884: 267. Australia--"Congratulations on the new

Turridrupa papillosa (Garrett) 1873:218 M. interrupta (Reeve), 1846 (Cythara); form of the HSN. I like it very much, for(Drillia); Tryon, 1884: 207; Kuroda Tryon, 1884: 265. me, I say let's go commercial, and permit& Habe, 1952: 54, 95, (Turridrupa M. pusilla (Pease), 1860 (Cythara); Try- members to advertise in this medium."papillosa (Garrett).) on, 1884: 271. Australia-- "I wish to congratulate your

Daphnobela (?) M. strigata (Pease), 1862; Tryon, 1884: Society on the fine work you are doing, andD. manti Dall (ms.); Mant, 1923: 122 271. for the splendid 'Shell News.' "

(dredged from Kewalo basin) Philbertia (?) Mass--"The new 'Hawaiian Shell News'D. minutissima (Garrett), 1873: 218 P. crassicestata (Pease), 1860 (Bor- is the 'greatest.' What vigor."

(Drillia); Tryon, 1884: 207; Ed. sonia); Tryon, 1884: 227; Ed. 1933:1933:107,1946:126. 106,1940: 127. . * * * * *

P. laysanensis Dall (ms.); Mant, 1923: Mrs. W. H. Davies, Lady Elliot Island,uteata (Pease), 1860: 143 (Clathu- 122. (from Kewalo dredgings). P. O. Mail Bag, Bundaberg, Queensland,rella); Tryon, 1884: 299. P. luteola Dall (ms.); Mant, 1923: 122. Au~t., was in our exchange column onceluccinoides (P e a s e), 1860: 144 (from Kewalo dredgings). and says she has received a number of(Clathurella); Tryon, 1884: 299. P. lutea (Pease) 1860 ( (Borsonia); Try- letters, but no one has written offering to

~nnea (Pease), 1860: 143 (Clathu- on, 1884: 227; Ed. 1933:106, 1946: exchange cones, which is her first love.rella); Tryon, 1884: 299. 126. Some of you "not-guilty" ones, write her

,1;nnr;"" IPA"AAI 1R6(\. 143ICI~thu- P. mighelsi Iredale; Mant, 1923: 122 and see what she has to offer.