Broward Shell Club

COMMITTEE CONTACTS

Here is a list of those who are in charge for the various committees within club so you know who to contact with questions and to volunteer

Auction – Linda Zylman

COA 2015 – Nancy Galdo / Linda Sunderland

Correspondence – Carolyn Harvey

Educational – Richard Sedlak

Fieldtrips – The Board

Holiday Party – Linda Ebeling

Hospitality – Linda Ebeling

Library – Alice Lustig

Membership – Heather Strawbridge

Newsletter (Busycon) – Richard Sedlak / Tracy Dale

Photographer – Violet Mas

President – Linda Sunderland

Programs – Tom Ball

Raffle Table – Cindy Murphy

Recording Secretary – Linda Laurin

Scholarships – Linda Sunderland / The Board

Shell Show – Alice Pace Treasurer – Tom Ball

Vice President – Sonny Ogden

Web Site – Richard Kent

Josy Wiener passed away on April 18, 2013. For those of you who knew Josy well, you know she usually said what she was thinking. In these days of subterfuge and shilly-shallying this was actually refreshing. If you wanted something sugarcoated, find someone else to sugarcoat it, please.

Josy was born in Berlin, Germany. During the frantic exodus from Germany in 1939, Josy and her family were allowed to emigrate to Chile, where an uncle had previously settled. While not at first understanding a word of Spanish, she quickly learned to make her way in an unfamiliar

environment. It was in 1949 that she was able to move to the United States. There were a couple of years traveling and moving from Indiana to California and finally to Miami. In the 1950’s, Josy joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Although she never saw active duty, she was proud to serve her adoptive Country. She went to work at Neiman-Marcus and by working during the day and going to school at night, got her cosmetology license and became a beautician. She worked for Neiman Marcus in various places including Havana. She opened her own shop, Bejo in Miami Shores and made it a success. She met her husband Ben in 1954 and they were married in 1961. In addition to her own shop, Josy helped Ben run his hardware store in Miami.

In 1964 on a trip to Sanibel, they became interested in shell collecting. Josy and Ben held many positions in the Miami Shell Club, as well as assisting in the Broward Shell Club. Josy and Ben were the recipients of the Neptunea Award, the first year it was given by the Conchologists of America. She and Ben were often COA reps for the Miami Shell Club and Josy held many different positions in that club .Josy, with Ben, traveled to many countries, making friends wherever they went. Through shell collecting contacts, she also traded shells with others in various parts of the world. They also supported the Shriners in Miami.

In archived photos, Josy and Ben are known for matching shell outfits. Josy will best be known for her tireless efforts to sell raffle tickets. The Miami Shell Club, the Broward Shell Club and the Conchologists of America were recipients of her efforts. Her cry of “Shake ‘em Up!!!” will long be remembered. Occasionally in life, you will come in contact with an individual unlike anyone else, and Josy was one of those unique individuals. She had a life that would have defeated almost anyone else, but managed to persevere and even thrive. She corresponded regularly with people from many countries. If she found an article she thought you would be interested in, it would show up in your mailbox with a short note, plus notes of encouragement in times of stress, times of joy and just notes. Her friends were often in her thoughts. Josy leaves one sister, Lilo Layton, in Miami and many nieces and nephews.

SHELL OF THE MONTH – JUNE 2013

Conus mercator Linnaeus, 1758

Cypraea zonaria Gmelin, 1791

Persicula persicula Lamarck, 1822

This month our shells come from Senegal, located on the “Bulge of Africa” – the westernmost point of the continent. Senegal is midway between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach the bulge in 1444. In 1677 the French took control of Gorée Island, in the harbor of what is now Dakar, and used it as a base in the slave trade. Senegal then became a French possession and remained so until it gained independence.

Senegal is home to many desirable shells, but unfortunately for us, due to the ties with France, very few specimens come our way. Unlike in the Indo-Pacific Oceans where species have extended ranges, in the Atlantic virtually no species of shells are found across the ocean. The coast off Senegal and neighboring countries have their own distinct shells and most are endemic to the area.

Conus Mercator is named after the great cartologist Geradus Mercator who was the creator of the first atlas. It is very variable in pattern and that makes it fascinating to collect. Most specimens on the market come from the offshore Cape Verde Islands but ours in from the mainland. Conus Mercator typically has spire and body erosion; this is a very clean specimen. It small for a conus and this specimen is just barely 30mm.

Cypraea (zonaria) zonaria is indigenous to West Africa. It is quite variable in size, shape and color. Unlike Conus Mercator that exhibits great variety from the same location, zonarias tend to vary according to location.

The marginella family is exceptionally well represented on the Atlantic of Africa with an extensive list of specie in many different families. Perisicula periscula is quite attractive with its evenly spotted pattern.

Recent sales on ebay would put the combined value of these three shells at between $40 and $50. They were donated by Richard Kent.

SHELL OF THE MONTH – MAY 2013

Cypraea (Erosaria) boivinii (Kiener, 1843) Beautiful hand selected set of 6 from the Philippines. Bottom right is the typical most common color form. Specimens with full length colored mantle lines are very scarce. The French naturalist Amedée Boivin, 1797- 1881, who collected Conidae and published at least one paper on Conus in 1864, is honored in the gastropod names Erosaria boivinii (Kiener, 1843), Anachis boivini (Kiener, 1841) and Conus boivini L. C. Kiener, 1845. A few other molluscs are also named after this person. (Andrew Vik, Tampa, Florida, kindly provided this information). Our thanks to Linda Ebeling and Richard Kent (as always) for their donations to the Raffle Table at the April meeting. Richard also supplied this month’s feature shell….as always, and they are always superb shells.

SHELL OF THE MONTH – APRIL 2013

Stellaria solaris Linne, 1764 Netted in sand and mud bottom off Phu Quoc, Vietnam Size: about 3 1/2″ including spines. (90mm)

Although they are a member of the carrier shells, Stellaria solaris does not collect and attach to its shell. Commercial trawling has made thiese shells more available however perfect specimens are near impossible to obtain. According to author and Viet Nam shell expert Nguyen Thach most all specimens are damaged in collecting. Too bad. Stellaria solaris is usually collected from offshore waters in either South-East Asia or the Philippines.

Our thanks to Linda Ebeling and Richard Kent for their generous donations to the Raffle Table at the February meeting. All items are always welcome!

SHELL OF THE MONTH – FEBRUARY 2013

Oliva irisans Lamarck, 1811

Olives are one of the most fascinating families of shells to collect. Although any olive is immediately recognizable, these glossy shells come in an infinite variety of color patterns, shape and size. Here in Florida, olives are one of the easier shells for the beginner to collect as they often live in shallow water, burrowed in the sand. They are scavengers and predators. They are communal and will share a meal with others. Empty shells are common in beach drift.

Olives present challenges. Scientists disagree on the nomenclature and the name that appears in the dealers list and shell books is often different than the currently accepted scientific name. These five specimens can often be found identified as Oliva lignaria Marrat, 1868. Recently it was decided that lignaria is a synonym for a different shell named Oliva ornata Marrat 1867. Oliva ornata may not even be a species, itself a variety of Oliva irisans Lamarck 1811 which is now the currently accepted name. Hold on, these may also be identified instead as Oliva concinna, Marrat, 1870. No concinna is a form based on structure of irisans – Oliva irisans forma concinna Marrat 1870. Very confusing! To become an expert on olive identification one must learn all about filament channels, columellar callosity, and fasciole. It gets technical! The color varieties too all have been named, such as Oliva irisans forma oldi Zeigler 1969 which is the heavily mottled shell.

These shells were donated from the collection of Richard Kent. They came from Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It took much time and searching to assemble a couple of color sets. Interestingly, the common plain pattern shells are now hard to obtain as only the scarcer color patterns are collected by divers as these bring the highest prices. ps: still searching for the very rare albino variation.

THE 2013 R.T. ABBOTT VISITING CURATORSHIP

The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is pleased to invite applications for the 2013 R. T. Abbott Visiting Curatorship. The Curatorship, established originally in accordance with the wishes of the late Dr. R. Tucker Abbott, Founding Director of the Shell Museum, is awarded annually to enable malacologists to visit the museum for a period of one week. Abbott Fellows are expected, by performing collection-based research, to assist with the curation of portions of the Museum’s collection and to provide one talk for the general public. The Museum collection consists of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial specimens. A large percentage of our holdings have been catalogued through a computerized database management system; part of the catalogue is already available for searches online at: http://www.shellmuseum.org/collection.cfm. The R. T. Abbott Visiting Curatorship is accompanied by a stipend of $1,500. Interested malacologists are invited to send a copy of their curriculum vitae, a letter detailing their areas of taxonomic expertise and research objectives, and to provide a tentative subject Dr. José H. Leal, Director The Bailey-Matthews Shell P.O. Box 1580 Sanibel, FL 33957 jleal@shellmuseum.org for their materials talk. Send to:

Dr. José H. Leal, Director, The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, P.O. Box 1580 Sanibel, FL 33957

Applications for the 2013 Visiting Curatorship should be sent electronically to the above e-mail address no later than May 31, 2013, or postmarked by that date if sent by regular mail. The award will be announced by late June 2013. Questions about the Visiting Curatorship should be sent to the e-mail address above, or by phone at: (239) 395-2233; Fax (239) 395-6706

The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum, the Nautilus Editor, 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, FL 33957 USA

OFFICERS FOR 2013-2014

At the April meeting the Nominating Committee presented their slate of officers for the upcoming fiscal year.The slate presented was unanimously elected and is as such:

President – Linda Sunderland

Vice President – Sonny Ogden

Treasurer – Tom Ball Corres

Secretary – Carolyn Harvey

Recording Secretary – Linda Laurin

CORAL COVE PARK FIELD TRIP

A number of our new members are very much interested in doing some good-old- fashioned shelling and we have just the
place for it. Coral Cove Park is just to the south of Blowing Rocks Preserve where we have had trips before but is MUCH easier to get to. Plus there are picnic tables, rest room facilities and such which are lacking at Blowing Rocks. I am planning the date of Sunday, May 19th for this trip. Plan on bringing your own picnic lunch and plenty of water and sunscreen. There is good snorkeling but NO LIVE SHELL COLLECTING – dead shells only. Drive time from Pompano is about 1hour, 20 minutes. We will meet at 9:30 but if you get there early or late, no problem….go ahead and hit the beach. Coming from the south using I-95: go north on I-95, take Jupiter exit 87A (Indiantown Road), continue east on Indiantown Road to US 1. Turn north (left) on US 1 to Jupiter inlet. Immediately after crossing the bridge turn right on S. Beach Road (CR707). Drive 2 miles and look for sign on right. Richard Sedlak 954-296- 5633 / sedlaki1@comcast.net. There will be a sign-up sheet at the May meeting ENTRANCE: 1600 Beach Road, Tequesta, Florida 33469 HOURS: Sunrise – Sunset ACREAGE: 14.64 acres AMENITIES beach frontage, guarded (600 feet) o play structure (ages 5-12 years) saltwater fishing and surfing not permitted in guarded swimming areas • fishing (saltwater) • intracoastal waterway frontage (600 feet) • parking • picnic areas with grills • restroom facilities • showers, outdoor

WORLDS MOST BEAUTIFUL SCALLOP

At the Broward Shell Show this year, banquet and program attendees had the opportunity to select the world’s most beautiful scallop species. They were shown 150 of the world’s largest and most beautiful species from which to choose. And choose they did, and here are the results!

Participants (over 50 altogether) cast votes for 32 species from among the 150+ species shown. Tenth place was a three way tie between mirifica/thaanumi, farreri, and antillarum. Ninth place was the wonderous and rare cranmerorum from Somalia. Eighth place was the beautiful delicate dianae from Okinawa. Seventh place went to the brightly colored langfordi, a Hawaiian endemic. Sixth place was Florida native pellucens, long known as imbricata, and this may still prove to be its correct name. Fifth place went to the elegant swifti of northern Japan and Siberia. Fourth place winner was magnifica, the giant red scallop endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Third place winner was the uniquely refined and brightly colored speciosus of Japan.

Second place winner was glaber, the Mediterranean scallop which displays endless hues of color and endless patterns. It received only one less vote than the winner.

What, might you ask, could top the beauty and variation found in glaber? Well, among Florida collectors there has always been a favorite scallop, and this vote showed that Floridians fervently believe that this scallop is also the most beautiful scallop in the world. This scallop has it all! Great size, great colors, and great variation in its patterns. That scallop is, of course, fragosus, the Florida lion’s paw, and it truly is a marvel of nature!