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Wallets shells
Wallets shells The pair of Cypraea marginata Gaskoin, 1848, pictured on the left are the light Southern Australian variety, with a pure white background and brown spotting. The two darker C. marginata on the right side are the Western Australian type which has a brown mottling on a white base.
In recent months Mr. Castle has collected several C. marginata which are a delicate pink rather than the usual white Southern kind. These are unquestionably one of the most attractive sea shells this writer has ever viewed. The usual white is pink but the shell still has the normal small brown spotting. It is a strikingly beautiful shell to say the least.
Castle also explodes another theory on C. marginata. Some shell experts have called the light [shell] a male and the darker shell the female. However, he advises us that he has cleaned a number of the light Southern shells and analysis has proven them to be both male and female, the male shells usually being the larger.
We thank Trevor Castle for sending us this picture and data.
Wallets shells Usually we collect only 10-20 different species in any one area, except Playa De Costilla in Rota Bay five miles across from Cádiz seems to be an exception. This bay is blessed?? with all the town's garbage & while I would hate to swim here, the shells seem to love it. About 500 yards off shore is a very large reef that is only exposed during the lowest 0.5 tides, a normal low tide being 2.0-3.0 feet.
On one recent collecting trip at Playa De Costilla, I found 51 different species as no real low tides had uncovered this reef in three months. It seems like half the town's population realized this also & were out on the reef looking for species of bivalves they can eat. Close to shore in mud banks they dig Pholas dactylus Linn, the collector soon looks like the mud bank as it's messy work. Out towards the reef in gravel/mud/weed banks are dug Cardium edules Linn, Mactra sugosz Chem, Lutraria elliptica Lam, and Tapes decussatus Linn. These bivalves are collected by the bucketfull and sold in the local markets.
On the reef itself I find most of the rocks turned over for me as the Spaniards are looking for squid & sea urchins. As the 0.5 tides run in a 3-day cycle it's hopeless to turn them [rocks] back as they will just be turned each day & maybe 50 percent end up in their original positions. As no one else is looking for small specimen shells, it's a real field day for me. Some of the more interesting species found are: Calliostoma zizphinum Linn, Columbella rustica Linn, Conus mediterraneus Linn, Cypraea pyrum Gmel, Chiton olivaceus Spen, Fusus rostratus Oliv, Fissurella graeca Linn, Mitra ebenus Lam, Murex blainvillei Pay, Murex trunculus Linn, Nassarius reticulata Linn, Natica vittata Gmel, Ocenebra edwardsi Payr, and Ocenebra erinacea Payr.
Another form of shell collecting here in Spain is meeting the fishing boats as they return from trawling off the fishing grounds, "La Caballa" S.W. of Cádiz city in 20-40 fathoms. As the fisherman pull their nets up on the pier, I often pick out Cymbium olla Linn, Murex brandaris Linn, Halia priamus Gmel, and Cassis saburon Brug. Some years ago they used to collect Cypraea achatidea Shy. in their nets also, but the style of nets & trawling methods has changed & the C. achatidea is no longer collected, sad to say, as it's very popular with collectors.
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