www.cowries.info

[benicypraea]

Hello all:

I think that many of us have good experiences looking for shells, cowries or anything else overseas, so this time I would like to know, and learn of every person, the best shelling experience... i.e. How did you collect that beautiful cypraea ...?
How was the feeling when you find so large and glossy cypraea...? etc.
I´m sure that personal experience are nice to read and a good point to learn about the kind of collectors we are...
Go to tell about our own experiences where we are looking for cowries and other shells...!
Personal experiences are greatly welcome...
Regards,
Beni
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I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[Peskadot]

Maybe not the best shelling experience, but a good one. From my dive log...

March 18, 2007

"It seems like months since I have been in the water, but it was only two weeks. Harry and I made two dives today. The first was on the north side. This was a rather productive dive for me. I wandered out along the wall, through the tunnel, then across the bottom of a cavern and back in to the exit. I surfaced after 1 hour and 20 minutes from a maximum depth of 95-feet, with a 10-minute deco stop. As usual, all shells collected were very fresh dead. The freshest was a Cypraea Lyncina ventriculus. It still had a chunk of meat in it. Also collected were a Conus episcopatus, a Conus obscurus, a Cypraea Cribrarula cribraria, a Cypraea Staphylaea nucleus, a Cypraea Purpuradusta fimbriata unifasciata, 4 Cypraea Lyncina carneola, a Cypraea Notadusta punctata, a Cypraea Pustularia cicercula, a tiny Cypraea Luria isabella and a Cypraea Erosaria poraria. There were a few other odds and ends as well.

The second dive, after lunch and a 2-hour surface interval, was on the west side. I was surfacing out and was only about 30 yards outside the reef when I looked down at the top of a large coral formation. There, lying upside down on a coral head and standing out like a sore thumb, was a beautiful Strombus taurus. Despite a few flaws, it is probably the nicest one I have found. It has a long spike and great coloring. Since I was already underwater, I stayed there and worked my way out on the bottom. I turned around at the cul-de-sac in 65 feet of water and wandered back in, going slowly and looking carefully. It paid off again. After 1 hour and 15 minutes, to a maximum depth of 65-feet, I came up with the taurus, a fairly intact Charonia tritonis, a Vexillum mirabile, a Cassidae ponderosa, a Conus lithoglyphus, 2 Strombus terebellum, 2 Cypraea Annepona mariae, a Cypraea Erosaria dillwyni, an orange Strombus microurceus, a Cypraea Staphylaea nucleus, a Oliva panniculata, 2 Oliva annulata and a Conus obscurus.

I know that sounds like a lot of shells and a wide variety. So for the heck of it, I had Harry take picture of them on the tailgate of the truck. For insurance, I took a couple more pictures of them after I rinsed them off and clean them up a little here at home.

I was concentrating on shelling so much, I didn’t see a single shark, turtle or school of fish. There could have been a whale shark 3 feet away from me and I wouldn’t have noticed. The only cool thing I watched today was a Strombus terebellum flipping around and then burying itself after I uncovered it with my garden shovel."

[felix]

Pescadot, you forgot to mention the Conus mcbridei you got! (low right corner in the photo)

Among my various memorable shelling experiences was finding my first Zoila. It was at the entrance to a cave called Crystal Palace at Rottnest Island, I think it was in 2001. Cribraria Kid led me there and while he was squeezing himself into the narrow entrance of the cave, I looked around, and on the wall just above was a lovely semi-melanistic venusta sorrentensis with a striking white dorsal line waiting to get plugged. Those who have sold Zoilas to me over the years are aware that I loooove dorsal lines... On that particular dive I saw about 15 other venustas - most of which I left behind, three rottnestensis (which I took) and another great experience I never want to miss (which I will keep for a lifetime).

However, THE most memorable dive was on that oil-rig in Kalimantan, when Jana and me found all those Ovulids. The rest is history.

[benicypraea]

Hello all:

Very nice mails, thanks to Felix and Pescadot. Well, I´d like to remember with everybody one nice personal experience with cowries made just a few months ago, in spring 09. I visited a nice area in the spanish coast of Mediterranean Sea with a wonderful crystalline water, with lots of rounded stones, and lots of Posidonia oceanica, I was with my friendly partner, a good cowry collector who I met 7 years ago, I was snorkeling for shells alone, because my friend felt a bit of tiredness, the temperature was rather moderate but weather was cloudy, and the visibility under the water was a bit regular, finally I was happy to find under a stone in very shallow water my first female lurida with egg-clusters, a real gem pale cream specimen, not too large, over 38-40 mm in length, but certainly lovely, of course this specimen survived with her eggs because I did not collect it!
I remember specially that time because is the first time I saw a real lurida alive in the Mediterranean Sea. And the bottom was nice and rather preserved to the pollution...
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[Bart]

In fact there are 2 experiences I often think of.

In 1993 I visited the Costa del Sol, South-Spain (a very touristic area).
There was a small beach near Malaga with only a few fishing-boats.
While having a brake (eating a sandwich), I saw something near my feet; it was a clump of wet sand. A closer inspection revealed an almost perfect specimen of Xenophora crispa!
I walked around the fishing-boat and...hidden in the sand there were more than 50 specimens (many with the decaying animal + operculum inside).

In 1983 I made my first trip outside Europe. I went to Mahé, Seychelles, Indian Ocean and stayed there for a month.
Every day I spent several hours snorkeling. I never forget the first time.
I was snorkeling at Mare Anglaise, N.W. Bay, Westcoast Mahé. I was snorkeling above the reef in cristalclear water of about 1-2 meters.
I turned my first rock..and a saw several Cypraea annulus. What an experience! But a few minutes later there already were 7 different Cowries in my collecting-bag: annulus, asellus, carneola, helvola, lynx, moneta and
vitellus.
At the end of the month I had collected 23 Cowry-species and 24 Cone-species.

[benicypraea]

Hello Bart:

A nice experience there in Costa del Sol. I agree. I can say you, in my own experience, that Xenophora crispa is a moderately common shell there, specially in the soft bottom (mud) between the area of Marbella and Málaga. However is a quite rare shell in the Gulf of Cádiz, where I was able to manage just 2 specimens in the last ten years!. Often trawled by local fishermen in deep water, these shells are mostly found amongst the nets or in the harbour strongly crabbed or obviously chipped but with animal inside or traces of animal, but myself I was fortunate to find a fresh dead specimen and another specimen, perfect, with the operculum inside but fully cleaned. These two ones were the shells found in the Gulf of Cádiz.
Last year, in summer, I visited the area of Marbella two days with two friends and I personally found two specimens in the local boats, but one of my friends were able to get a good number of specimens, but not all in perfect condition.
Marbella is also the home of a lovely cowry, Schilderia achatidea, where is rarely collected by diver or local fishermen these days. Years ago, in the so called "golden days", in the eighties and nineties, the nets of these local boats were really the best source for these cowries, because they were operating in the best habitat for these shells, but now, the law of fisheries authorities is stronger than in the past years and the fishermen usually avoid to trawl in the forbiden area (llegaly), between 15-30 meters deep. The few specimens recently collected by local fishermen there were, at least according to them, found in the nets in deeper water, where the cowry is rather scarce (45-50 meters).
Of course, I am talking about shells found thanks to local fishermen, not the ones found by diver. But this is another question!.
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[benicypraea]

Hello Bart:

For your viewing pleasure, I have decided to post (by the way, I hope that there are not any trouble for it because perhaps this is not the "correct" section [the correct section seems to be my stars]) these photos of the second specimen of Xenophora crispa found by myself in the Gulf of Cádiz. I have only managed a pair of these shells in my years of collecting. Fortunately the specimen pictured is fully developed, with operculum and quite perfect... if not perfect 100%. The other specimen is not really so good in its condition (dead found).
Enjoy.
Regards,
Beni




_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[Notocypraea]

G'day,

I am currently having one of my best ever shelling experiences.
Currently in Perth, WA and have done some diving with the Crib Kid!
Suffice to say that the water here is a lovely 22/ 23C, Great 20-30m viz and awesome marine life. Have seen many shells (vast majority left) and taken a few pics & video of some Zoila. I have also collected my first ever west coast Zoila marginata so I am ecstatic! Have seen a couple in the water before but those were not collectible due to flaws (chips & growthlines).

Suffice to say the Crib Kid is a true master. To see some of the shells he can find while working similar ground to you is a pretty humbling experience! I have learnt a few things not just about WA shell collecting but also about diving from him. Thanks CK!
It's really great that someone is willing to share information.

Australian Shell Show this weekend which should be fun. Met Marty Beals (one of the worlds best Cypraea collections) the other day. Nice guy! A friend of his Paul ~70+ years old and still diving (what an inspiration) was with him. Had a nice chat about diving and shells!

I will post a bit more when I am sadly back in Melbourne next week


Regards,
Simon

[benicypraea]

Hello Simon:

I agree. A friend of mine told to me that Marty Beals has currently one of the best and most complete collection of cowries in the world.
Congratulations for your diving there in WA!
Regards,
Beni
_________________
I started to collect seashells since my childhood but I decided to focus on cowries in 1990. I like all kind of cowries, freaks, normal, nigers, dwarfs...
Also I collect conidae and Muricidae.

[cowryman3sai]

It was around 1965.I was in second grade.Every now and then after a very nasty storm a voice would tell me skip school.I would walk a few blocks away and go along the shore to huge masses of seaweed and pour through it to find perfect murex,cones,a few chestnut cowries,topshells,etc.I lived in Imperial Beach just a mile from the Mexican border in Southern California.Also I lived at Point Mugu Navel Airstation 35 miles north of Malibu a year before that and spent hundreds of hours 3 houses away at a place called the sandcastle,a huge park that took 15 minutes to walk around the intire perimeter with beach sand at least 2 foot thick.I would dig with my bare hands and find a variety of shells in great shape.After school I lived there till sundown taking in every moment because I knew this was my calling to love seashells and the ocean.Thats 45 years and I ain't changed one bit.I'm still back then reliving the memories.It pays to have memory!
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Robert F.Grant lll in Salina,Kansas 67401 U.S.A. Check webshots.com and cypraea collectors are now on Facebook.com.It's extremely cool!!A must check.Been collecting for 45 years.