Author: richkent88

HARRY HARRIS PARK FIELD TRIP

Another field trip… yeah!

This time we will be going to Harry Harris Park in Tavernier (just south of Key Largo). The date will be Sunday, October 23rd and the low tide is a 0.7 at 9:50 AM. Now this is mainly a wading/snorkeling type of venue as except for the rocky breakwater there is not really a beach per se….but the goodies you can nd in the coral rubble and sandy eel grass beds makes it worthwhile. I will have a sign-up sheet at the September and October meetings and will have more details then such as how to get to the park and such. Also, I will need your feedback on one item: Lunch.

Does everyone want to go to a local restaurant (most are very casual in their dress code) or bring a picnic lunch? And who knows…..we just might have some trophies for various shell categories! In the meantime feel free to contact me, Richard Sedlak at 954-296- 5633 / sedlaki1@comcast.net.

I also want to give credit again to Gina (J.J.) Dotson for supplying the photos on our club trip to Peanut Island. They were most appreciated! More info about our great trip to Peanut Island next issue.

I am happy to mention that those of us who went to the “Lunch and a Movie” outing last month enjoyed a wonderful showing of “Our National Parks” at the IMAX and then a superb lunch at the Tarpon Bend restaurant. A great way to beat the summer heat! Join us next time!

SHELL OF THE MONTH – SEPTEMBER 2016

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Megathura crenulata Sowerby, 1825 by Scuba diving at 35’ on side of large rock pinnacle, Monterey, California

Keyhole limpets are a primitive type of gastropod that live fastened on rocks. They have a slimy grey skin that covers the shell and have a central hole which is used to expel waste away from the gills and mouth. Limpets feed off of algae with a radula that scrapes the algae into their mouths. By using the muscular foot, the limpets are able to form such a tight bond to their home rocks that it makes it very dif cult to pry them off, offering protection against predators and collectors. The at shell protects it from crashing waves and coastal currents.

Megathura crenulata Sowerby, 1825, known at the Giant Keyhole Limpet, is found on the west coast of California in temperate waters. In the past, keyhole limpet shells were used as currency and decoration by Native Americans. This shell, about 4.5″ in size, was donated by Richard Kent.

SHELL OF THE MONTH – JULY 2016

DSC_6235SConus monile Hwass 1792
Trawled, Mergui Archipelago
Myanmar (Burma)

The Necklace Cone is a very attractive shell. It has the classic “ice cream cone” shape. It has a nice gloss and an interesting variable pattern. Typical specimens are white with a rows of brown necklaces. Certain populations especially those from the south of Burma are suffused with salmon.
Adult specimens range are typically 2-2.5″ in size, though they do grow larger. As typical with cones the spire suffers from erosion, especially in the biggest specimens. This specimen is 2.5″.
Conus monile is an Indian Ocean specie restricted to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. Most specimens come from either the southern tip of India or the west coast of Burma and Thailand. Although a shallow water specie, mosts pecimens come from the fishing boats. Its habitat is reported as “on sand with clay and shell rubble.”

SHELL OF THE MONTH – MAY 2016

 

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Homalocantha pele (Pilsbry, 1918) Taken by diver on ledges at 80 feet North coast, Oahu, Hawaii

Homalocantha pele (Pilsbry, 1918) will never win a beauty contest, that’s for sure! It is however a very popular shell to collect to do it’s extreme variety in size, shape and color. Typical specimens are an off white in color and rather bland, but there are those that exhibit, lavender, purple, yellow, and most desirable bright orange or red. The shape of the fronds are much wider and more developed in the better specimens. Sometimes there is even a double row of fronds.

Homalocantha pele (Pilsbry, 1918) is a reef dweller, well camou aged in life. It is a member of the Muricidae family and a fairly small genus called Homalocantha. It has a very close relative in Homalocantha anatomica (Perry, 1811) and for years they were considered one and the same. H. anatomica is found in the Philippines and H. pele is indigenous to Hawaii. Side by side they are recognizably different and even amateur collectors will have no trouble distinguishing the two.

Our specimen, donated by Richard Kent, is typical in size and color. Collectors looking to acquire the most exotic colored pele need to be prepared to pay outrageous prices as a bright red and white specimen can bring up ten times the price as an ordinary one in auction.

 

APRIL 2016 PROGRAM

OxnoeantillarumshellcollageAnneDSCN60412webThe Subject of our April Program will be: “Shelled Opisthobranchs” presented by Anne DuPont.
Anne’s Presentation will cover some of the Opisthobranch snails that still possess a shell:
bubble snails, sea hares, solar-powered slugs, side-gill slugs and the umbrella slug.
The program includes her underwater photos of these sea slugs, along with photos of the internal shells.
Also included will be underwater photos of a few “Non-shelled Opisthobranchs – Nudibranchs”
The Program covers Opisthobranchs from Florida waters and the Caribbean.

Anne DuPont is an Underwater Photographer specializing in opisthobranchs.
She is one of the co-authors of “Caribbean Sea Slugs, A field guide to the opisthobranch mollusks from the tropical northwestern Atlantic.”
Her photos have been published in numerous books, magazines, and educational DVDs.

She is a volunteer with the Florida Natural History Museum and a Museum Associate in Malacology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

She has been diving in the Lake Worth Lagoon for over 20 years, and is very knowledgeable on underwater life found there. She is on the Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative Speakers Bureau speaking on the Marine Life Found in the Lagoon”

SHELL OF THE MONTH – APRIL 2016

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Macrocypraea cervinetta (Kiener, 1843), the Litttle Deer Cowrie, is a very close cousin to our own Macrocypraea cervus (Linne 1771), the Deer Cowrie. Both are among the largest growing of all cowries, however both are extremely variable in size, especially cervinetta as both dwarf populations and giant populations do exist. Size ranges from 130mm down to 35mm. Our specimens are approximately 72 and 40mm.

Both cervus and cervinetta are light in weight, and have an overall fawn color with a greyer base. They are heavily spotted with white. Often there is a gap in the coloring to expose dorsal banding and sometimes a mantle line. The teeth are stained dark. The pattern is very constant. The main difference is in shape where cervinetta is elongated and flattened and cervus is globular.

Cervus and cevinetta lives on opposite sides of our continent. Cervus in the Caribbean specie and cervinetta the Pacific. Although cervinetta has an extended range from Mexico south to Peru, virtually all specimens come from the coast of Panama. Cervinetta lives in shallow water, is nocturnal and if often found exposed in the moonlight.

Both specimens are donated from the collection of Richard Kent

BROWARD SHELL CLUB AUCTION – LISTING OF LOTS UP FOR AUCTION

BROWARD SHELL CLUB AUCTION

Tuesday, March 8, 2016
At the Pompano Beach Emma Lou Olson Civic Center

Auction Preview 6:15 p.m. Bidding Begins Promptly at 6:45 p.m.

NOTE: Items marked with an asterisk (*) can be viewed on the club’s website

  1. Busycon perversum sinistrum w/data, Our Club shell! A BIG beauty! Goodland, FL, Opening bid $40.00
  2. Tonna lischkeana w/basic data, Taiwan
  3. Conus litteratus w/basic data, great color & pattern! 105.5 mm, Indo-Pacific
  4. Conus aulicus w/data, Philippines
  5. Conus episcopatus w/data, Philippines
  6. Conus striatus w/data, Philippines
  7. Conus fergusoni w/data, w/operculum, & w/periostracum, Ecuador
  8. Tutufa bufo w/data & operculum, Philippines
  9. Tutufa bubo w/data Philippines
  10. Struthiolaria papulosa w/data New Zealand

11. Three species of Siphonalia, 6 shells total

S. trochulus w/data, Japan
S. cassidariaeformis w/data, Japan
S. cassidariaeformis forma funerea w/data, Japan

12. Babylonia spirata 3 specimens w/data, India
13. Babylonia japonica 2 specimens w/data, 1 w/periostracum & operc, Japan
14. Bolma tayloriana w/data & operculum, South Africa, Opening bid $15.00
15. Cypraea cervus w/data, Florida Keys
16. Set of 12 shell design lace valances, new in packages, Opening bid $10.00
17. Set of 8 shell design paper napkins in shell design gift bag, Opening bid $8.00 18. Box of shell design notecards & address book
19. Shell Puzzle, new in box, Opening bid $5.00
20. Men’s IST Pro-Line Dive Skin Size XXL, never worn, Opening bid $5.00
21. Glass Vase filled with shells valued at over $150.00, Opening bid $30.00
22. Glass Vase filled with shells valued at over $150.00, Opening bid $30.00
23. Turbinella angulatum w/data, w/operculum & periostracum, Bimini, Bahamas 24. Cassis simigranosum w/data, South Australia
25. Xenogalea inornata w/data, Japan
26. Galeodea echinophora w/data, Italy
27. Casmaria erinaceus 2 forms, smooth & wrinkled, w/basic data, Philippines 28. Phalium granulatum 2 specimens, w/data, Pompano Beach, FL
29. Galeodea rugosa w/data, Western Europe
30. Harpa major forma conoidalis w/data, Australia

31. Harpa major w/data, Zanzibar, East Africa
32. Harpa crenata 3 specimen growth series, w/data, West Mexico 33. Harpa amouretta 2 specimens w/data, Philippines
34. Harpa cabriti w/data, Mozambique, Africa
35. Harpa articularis w/data, Philippines

  1. 2 Books: Checklist of Living Cypraeida by Lorenz & Hubert, and

    Shell Catalogue 1984, Published by Gov’t of Papua and New Guinea

  2. Book: Systematics of the Families Mitridae & Volutomitridae by Cernohorsky
  3. Book: The Mitridae of Fiji by Cernohorsky
  4. Pecten fumatus 2 specimens w/data, Western Australia
  5. Pecten maximus w/data, France
  6. Pecten novazelandiae w/data, New Zealand
  7. Pecten jacobaeus w/data, Spain
  8. Mirapecten rastellum 2 specimens, w/data
  9. Argopecten ventricosus w/data, West Mexico
  10. Amusium pleuronestes w/basic data, South Pacific
  11. Amphidromis furcillatus 2 specimens w/data, Sumatra
  12. 3 Species of “Shelly Operculated Land Snails” (2 of each species) Annularia

    candeana, Tudora aurantia, & Opisthosiphon bahamiense, all w/data, Cuba,

    Bonaire & Bahamas

  13. Ten Species of Bivalves collected at Crandon Beach on Key Biscayne, FL
  14. 3 Species of Shells from the Dominican Republic Strombus pugilis, Astraea

    phoebium & Chicoreus pomum, all with data

  15. 3 Species of World Wide Cerithium: Pseudovertagus aluco w/data, Philippines

    Cerithium vulgatum w/data, West Africa, & Rhinoclavis fasciata w/data,

    Australia

  16. Astraea caelatum 6 specimen growth series w/data, Bahamas
  17. Book: Fabulous Florida Fossil Shells by Gary Schmelz, new, autographed copy!
  18. Books: Johnsonia – Monographs of Western Atlantic Mollusks

    Volume I and Volume II; Volume II is autographed by William Clench

  19. Book: Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific by Alan Hinton
  20. Book: The Art of Shellcraft by Paula Critchly
  21. Book: Caribbean Seashells by Warmke and Abbott
  22. Book: Conchs, Tibias and Harps by Jerry Walls
  23. 24 Issues of American Conchologist
  24. 6 pairs of women’s shell design socks, in decorative storage box! Too cute!
  25. Gift bag of Coral & Shell design soap, glass soap dish and notecards.
  26. Snorkel, Brand New!
  27. Shell Design wheeled tote bag
  28. Ceramic fish decorative item, adorable!

*64. Liguus fasciatus f. dohertyi Topotype! w/data, Florida Keys

  1. Liguus virgineus 3 specimens w/data, unusual color form
  2. Liguus fasciatus f. barbouri 5 specimens/5 locations, w/data, Florida Everglades
  3. Liguus fasciatus 20 different color forms, w/data Florida
  4. Murex axicornis 3 specimens w/data, Philippines

*69. Chicoreus beauii 2 specimens w/data, Florida

70. Poirieria nuttingi 2 specimens w/data, Florida *71. Pteropurpura bequaerti w/data, Florida

  1. Liomesus c.f. dalei w/data, Norway
  2. Neptunea antique w/data, Scotland
  3. Colus c.f. gracilis w/data, England

*75. Argonauta argo w/data, Dania Beach, Florida

  1. 7 species of Florida/Caribbean Trivia
  2. Solemya australis w/data, Australia
  3. 10 World-wide species of Acmaea
  4. Polished Shells, 7 different species
  5. Conus vexillum w/data, Philippines
  6. Conus granarium 2 specimens w/data, Columbia
  7. Conus inscriptus w/data, India

83 Conus samiae w/data, Philippines

  1. Conus purpurascens 2 specimens, w/data, Costa Rica
  2. Conus centurio w/data, Columbia

86 Conus magus w/data Philippines

  1. Conus figulinus 2 specimens w/data, Solomon Islands
  2. 2 Mexican Olives: Oliva incrassata 3 specimens w/data, West Mexico &

    Oliva polpasta 2 specimens w/data, West Mexico

  3. Oliva miniacea w/data, Philippines
  4. Oliva annulata 4 color forms w/data, Philippines
  5. Oliva carneola 3 color forms, 7 specimens w/data, Philippines
  6. 10 World-wide species of limpets! All w/data

93 Serpolorbis c.f. sipho 2 specimens w/data 94. Cymatium hepaticum 2 specimens w/data

*95. Timbellus phyllopterus w/data, Guadeloupe, French West Indies, Opening bid $100.00

  1. Agaronia propatula 2 specimens w/data, Costa Rica
  2. Neptunea heros w/data, Alaska
  3. Buccinum zelotes w/data, Japan
  4. Buccinum undatum, 2 specimens w/data, Rhode Island
  5. 4 species/3 genera/7 specimens of allied Buccinids, all w/data
  6. Framed Shell Art
  7. Shell Print Tote Bag, new in bag
  8. Matted photograph of Flamingos
  9. Print of Magnolia flower watercolor painting
  10. Original painting of Emoda sagriana, a purple & green landsnail, by Joseph

    Regan, Beautiful! Opening bid $50.00

  11. Cypraecassis testiculus w/data, Guadeloupe French West Indies
  12. Pugilina morio w/operculum & periostracum, w/data, Guadeloupe,

    French West Indies

  13. Fasciolaria tulipa w/data, Guadeloupe, French West Indies, unusual orange

    color and inflated form, Nice Shell!

  14. Umbraculum umbraculum w/basic data, Columbia, Beautiful Specimen!
  15. Murex akritos w/data, Queensland, Australia

111. Boreotrophon beringi w/data, Japan 112. Jaton decussatus w/data, Senegal 113. Latiaxis diadema w/data, Philippines 114. Latiaxis bernardi w/data, Africa 115. Favartia pelepili w/data, Philippines 116. Latiaxis benoiti w/data, Spain

117. Columbarium natalense w/data, South Africa
118. Bag of assorted shells for shell arts & crafts
119. Collection of 7 small species of preserved sea-life…crabs, shrimp & urchin
120. Sea Urchin from Reunion Island Podophora atratus unique & beautiful specimen 121. Women’s Guy Harvey Billfish T-shirt size XL, new & never worn

  1. Book: The American Museum of Natural History Guide to Shells

    by Emerson & Jacobson

  2. Book: Seashells of the World with Values by A. Gordon Melvin
  3. Book: Seashells of Western Europe by Bouchet, Danrigal, & Huyghens
  4. Shell Design Fireplace Matches
  5. Strombus galeatus 3 specimen growth series, with data, West Mexico
  6. Strombus costatus 2 specimens w/ data, Bimini, Bahamas and Marathon, Florida
  7. Strombus gigas 4 specimen growth series, w/data, San Blas Islands, Panama
  8. Polinices lewisi 3 specimens w/data, Oregon
  9. Triplofusus giganteus w/data, Large & Beautiful specimen of Florida’s State

    Shell! Marathon, Florida Keys

  10. Haliotis sorenseni w/data, Mexico
  11. Haliotis kamtschatkana assimilis w/data, Mexico
  12. Haliotis cracherodii w/data, Mexico
  13. Haliotis fulgens w/data, Mexico
  14. Tutufa bufo 2 specimens, w/data, Philippines
  15. Tutufa rubeta w/basic data, Indo-Pacific
  16. Busycon coarctatum w/data, East Mexico
  17. Buccinum c.f. undatum 2 specimens w/data, elongated spires! Denmark
  18. Buccinum zelotes w/data, Japan
  19. Neptunea heros w/data, Alaska
  20. Buccinum striatissimum w/data, Japan
  21. Buccinum undatum 3 specimens w/data, color variations, Maine

143 Neptunea antique w/data, Scotland

  1. 4 different boxes of shell soaps, plus shell design nail stickers, in shell design

    gift/storage box!

  2. Book: Sea Treasure, a Guide to Shell Collecting by K.Y. Johnstone
  3. Book: Collecting Seashells by K.Y. Johnstone
  4. Books: Seashells of the World by Golden, How to Clean Seashells by E. Bergeron
  5. Publications: Sea Frontiers & Sea Secrets & The Seaside Trail
  6. Publications: Shell Collector, issues 1 & 2
  7. 2 Species of Boring Clams: Parapholas californica 2 specimens w/data,

    California & Penitella penita w/data, California

  8. Conus betulinus 2 different color forms w/data, Philippines & Mauritius
  9. Stombus raninus w/data, Key Biscayne, collected by the late Corinne Edwards
  1. 4 species of Tonna: Tonna galea, Tonna lischkeana, Tonna pennata, & Tonna variegata, all w/data
  2. Oliva porphyria w/basic data, 100 mm!! Gulf of California
  3. 3 color forms of Oliva reticulata, 7 shells total, w/data
  4. Oliva irisans 2 color forms w/data, Philippines
  5. Oliva tricolor 2 color forms, all w/data, 5 shells total, Philippines
  6. Cypraea tigris 2 color forms w/data, Philippines
  7. Cypraea mauritiana w/data, Hawaii
  8. Cypraea cinerea 2 large specimens w/data, Florida
  9. Cypraea obveleta 2 dwarf, heavily calloused specimens w/data, Huahine,

    Polynesia

  10. Marginella glabella 2 specimens w/data, Africa
  11. Ellobium aurismidae 2 specimens w/basic data, SW Pacific
  12. Harpulina aurasiaca 2 specimens w/data, Indian Ocean
  13. Struthiolaria papulosa 2 specimens w/data, New Zealand
  14. Nucella freycineti elongata 2 specimens w/data, Japan
  15. Helicostyla concinna forma virens w/data, Philippines
  16. Epitoneum irregular w/data, Philippines, +/-40 mm!!!

    Previous World Size Record!

  17. Laevicardium elatum w/data, West Mexico
  18. Aequipecten opercularis w/basic data, Belgium
  19. Siratus beauii w/data, Dry Tortugas
  20. Chicoreus orchidifloris w/data, Philippines
  21. Murex kiiensis w/data, Philippines
  22. Columbarium eastwoodae w/basic data, South Africa
  23. Pterynotus miyokoae w/data, Philippines
  24. Latiaxus pilsbryi w/data Taiwan Strait
  25. Latiaxus mawae w/data Taiwan Strait
  26. Siratus beauii w/data, Dry Tortugas
  27. Homalocantha zamboi w/data, Philippines, large & impressive shell!
  28. Homalocantha secunda w/data, Australia
  29. Astraea helioptropum w/data, New Zealand, 100 mm!
  30. Shell decorated glass vase

183 Ceramic Conch Shell serving dish/planter

  1. Margaret Furlong Heart Cockle ornament, in original box
  2. Cymbiola nobilis, polished
  3. Shell design decorative gift/storage box filled with assortment of shell notecards

    and notepads, Lovely! Opening bid $10.00

  4. Shell Design decorative gift/storage box filled with assortment of shell notecards

    and notepads, Gifts Galore! Opening bid $10.00

  5. Bag of coordinating shell & coral design paper plates, paper placemats, napkins

    & guest towels, Opening bid $20.00

  6. Bag of coordinating shell & coral design paper plates, paper placemats, napkins

    & guest towels, Opening bid $20.00

  7. Tridacna squamosa w/basic data. Everybody’s favorite fluted clam! Peach color.
  8. Chama lazarus w/basic data, Red Sea
  1. Lambis chiragra chiragra w/data, Indonesia
  2. 3 Lambis species: Lambis crocata crocata, Lambis lambis & Lambis millepeda,

    all with data

194 Lambis truncata sebae w/data, Philippines. A BIG boy!

  1. Amoria ellioti w/data, Western Australia
  2. Odontocymbiola magellanica w/data, Argentina
  3. Voluta beckii w/data, Brazil
  4. Melo broderipi w/data, Philippines
  5. Melo amphora w/data, Australia
  6. Livonia mammilla leucostoma w/data, Australia, 265 mm F+

Many Thanks to our Generous Donors to this Auction: Nancy Galdo
The Lauren Cope Estate
Bob and JuYing Janowsky

Randy Allamand
The Broward Shell Club
An anonymous friend of the Broward Shell Club Bob & Alice Pace
Tom Ball
Sue Hobbs & Phil Dietz
Richard Kent
Don and Kitsmueller /“Keys Shells”
Phyllis Diegel
Stephen Tan / MT Shells
Vincente “Vic” B. Dungog
Randy Bridges
Kinsey Maxwell
Gene Everson
Linda Zylman Holzinger & David Holzinger Jose & Marcus Coltro/“Femorale Shells”
The Galka Family
The Georgia Lustig Estate
Marge & Gerry Heynes
Sally Marshall
The Sam & Betty Collins Estate
Al & Carol Brunner
Bev Dolezal
Dr. Gary Schmelz
Patrick J. Murphy, Esq.
Ildze Ejups
Phyllis Diegel & Dick Duerr
The Corrine E. Edwards Estate
Lucy Clampitt
Carolyn VunKannon

SHELL OF THE MONTH – FEBRUARY 2016

HouartiCymbiolacca pulchra houarti, Poppe 1985

The Volutes are among the most beautiful of all shells. The reason they are not more popular here is that none have extensive distribution, a very few come from our hemisphere, with majority indigenous to Australia – and are those Aussie shells ever fantastic! Cymbiolacca is one of the finest with about seven species recognized. What makes the genus Cymbiolacca most exciting and collectible is that each species has several subspecies or forms. It seems every region of Queensland, Australia has its own variety.

All are glossy and have a relatively similar size, shape and pattern. All are white, with a pinkish or rose overlay, revealing small white areas, each with its own brown to black spot. Some varieties are smooth, some have shoulder tubercules with or without small sharp spines or not. Some shells are way more elongate than others. A few are heavier in mass. Some have two darker color bands. One thing they all have in common are rows of short vertical dashes on the apex end of each whorl. They makes for a fascinating study.

The snail itself it very attractive with a very large brightly colored foot.

Cymbiolacca Pulchra Sowerby, 1825 has several varieties including Cymbiolacca pulchra houarti, Poppe 1985 which is our shell of the month It is about 72mm, a descent size and a very pretty specimen. It was donated from the collection of Richard Kent and acquired from Australian sheller Doug Thorn, who goes by the business name of Peristicta, which is one of the species in this genus.

Note: Recent changes in accepted nomenclature now have the name as Cymbiola (cymbiolacca) houarti Bail & Limpus, 1998