VOL. 9. PART 1. JUNE 1977* CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM POIRIERIA Vol 9 Part 1 June 1977 JALCIS (PICTOBALCIS) APTICULATA (Sowerby) While the shells of our small, very slender species of the genus Bale is are invariably white - sometimes porcellanous and sometimes glossy - we seem to have gained fairly recently a species which is delightfully different. This is Pictobalcis articulata., first recorded from New South Wales, and now not infrequently collected in beach drifts from Cape Maria .to at least as far South as Whangaruru. The first examples recorded in New Zealand were collected in 1971. The subgenus was apparently erected to contain those species which sport a colour pattern, and articulata has a very pleasing one - a central band of chestnut from which narrow chevrons extend from both sides , reaching almost to the sutures, Size of Cape Maria specimen. . while from each varix runs a vertical stripe on the base of the shell. Ground colour is porcellanous white. The largest examples I have seen came from Cape Maria van Diemen and measured just over '30mm x which is considerably larger than the type specimen from Australia. The molluscs belonging to this genus are parasitic - mostly on echinoderms, but v;e dOj in fact, know very little about the hosts of our own New Zealand. species , most of which are no more than 5 or 6 ram in length. * * * * * A NOTE ON DREDGING OFF TOLAGA BAY R, M. Lee On a recent dredging trip off Tolaga Bay, where I live, I hopefully tried a- new location about four miles offshore in 26 - 28 fathoms on mud and sand bottom. Results, however, were very poor, with only two small valves of Neilo australis , one Proxiuber and a bit of shingle to show for my trouble. So, after being almost run over by the vessel UNION MELBOURNE, I decided to try one of my old stations where previously I have had considerable success. This is about three-quarters of a mile offshore in a sand channel between hard rock and Bryozoan bottom in 15 to 18 fathoms. On my first try I missed the sand and ended up in the rocks, so up came the dredge again and a move of a few yards was made. The second time was a success and I dredged for about 200 yards before hitting rock. Now there was a fair weight in the dredge and up came one of my best hauls. ISIS 10 Corainella 3 Maurea osbornei:®* About 50 Cylichna thetids 1 Aeneator compta 2 Monodilepas monilifera cookiana 4 Poirieria zelandica ' 1 Herpetopoma laochei 1 Odostomia acutangula 8 Phenatoma novaezelandiae and 1 P.zealandica 1 Gari lineolata (alive) 3 Buccinulum colensoi and several Tellinella h.huttoni, amoenus, Scalporaactra scalpellum., Myadora boltoni (alive) and many more, naking in all 53 species that I have identified. The majority of the gastropods were dead and housing hermit crabs, while the bivalves were alive. This seems to be the rule in this area. 'The closer I can get to rough bottom, the better the results, too. Liratilia conquista Marginella raustelina Axyraene aucklandicus 4 Aoteadrilla wanganuiensis wanganuiensis T.h.sterrha, Neoguraleus Linucula gallinacea. -2- THE LAND MOLLUSCA OF MT WELLINGTON LAVA FIELDS - TODAY and YESTERDAY N.W.G. Those whose interest lies in our small native land snails will have, no doubt, often read in Suters Manual the locality record "Mt Wellington lava fields". Little thought is now given to that area, but Henry Suter spent quite a time collecting there before writing his Manual in 1913} and a fair number of species are listed by him. But what of the area today? While, no doubt, quite extensive in Suter 's time - possibly extending from Mt Wellington to Penrose and with a fair coverage of native vegetation - this rugged terrain of piled scoria blocks and pits has now been drastically reduced to fill the needs of housing and industry. Now only a small remnant remains, as far as v/e can determine, at the end of Herbert Road, Mt Wellington. Although only a few acres in extent, the vegetation is dominated by various introduced plants, with only a few natives persisting down in damper scoria pits below the general ground level. Small Titoki and Karaka and some Pigeon-wood were noted. Astelia and ferns were more prevalent - possibly this remnant has been burnt over at times as no trees of any size were seen. Seventeen species of small land snails were recorded from Mt Wellington by Suter in his Manual and these are listed below: Thalassohelix ziczag (Gould) Therasia celinde (Gray) Therasia tamora (Huttqn) Phenacohelix ponsonbyi (Suter) (type locality) Flammulina chiron (Gray) Flammulina pilsbryi (Suter) • Ptychodon tau (Pfr.) Charopa angiculus (Reeve) Charopa buccinella (Reeve) Laoma marina (Hutton) Laoma conella (Pfr. ) Laoma erigone (Gray) Laoma glabriusculus (Pfr.) Laoma moellendorffi . (Suter ) Paralaoma lateumbilicata (Suter) Paralaoma pumila (Hutton) Such an assemblage of species suggests a reasonably heavily wooded area. The following species are existing at the present time in this small area of much modified ground cover, and usually under scoria blocks or where a small amount of leaf litter has gathered between them. Most of these records are those of J. Goulstone, supplemented by the results of a field trip by the Conchology Section in September 1976. -3- Liarea egea (Gray) 2 . . Cytora cytora (Gray) Thalassohelix zelandiae 9 Suteria ide (Gray) 3 Phenacohelix given! Cumber 25 Phenacohelix pilula (Reeve) 1 Therasiella celinde (Gray) 1 Char 0 pa coma (Gray) 2 Mocella eta (Pfr.) 2 Ptychodon pseudoleioda (Suter) 2 Ptychodon tau (Pfr.) 1 Subfectola caputspinulae (Reeve) 4 Laoraa leimonias (Gray) 2 Laoma (Phrixgnathus) erigone (Gray) 3 Laoma (Phrixgnathus) moellendorf fi (Suter) 2 Laoma (Phrixgnathus) sublucidus (Suter) 4 Laoma (Phrixgnathus) transitans (Suter) Paralaoma lateumbilicata(Suter ) 1 Delos coresia (Gray) 1 Tornatellinops novoseelandica (Pfr.) 2 THE BRACHIOPQDS OF STEWART ISLAND R. C. ’A'illan I make no apologies for giving this title to an account of the molluscs I collected at Stewart Island because it v/as only through a brachiopod survey funded by National Geographic Magazine that I was able to visit Stewart Island in February 1977. So 1*11 give the brachiopods their due by mentioning them in the title and then net xiiscuss them further here because theirs is a separate story. I had as company on the Paterson Island Expedition an assorted bunch of Australian and New Zealand marine biologists and oceanographers - as good company and entertainment as one could hope to find anywhere. Our floating home for eight days was R.V. ACHERON and on board the accommodation was five star standard, so excellent that one of the party quoted "Acheron Hotel** when asked where he had made his airline reservations. ACHERON is skippered by Captain Alex Black, a name no doubt familiar to shell collectors from his ALERT days and honoured in such molluscan combinations as Alertalex black! , Maurea black! , Laoma black! and Cominella alertae. The entire survey was done at Paterson Inlet, that very large harbour that is sliced out of the north eastern side of Stewart Island and serves as the focus of life for all Stewart Islanders. We came to know the inlet with its bush-fringed bays and islands very well during this expedition because the programme called for a survey of as many different sites as -4- possible. And survey we did, by dredging and diving we worked 38 stations extending from tho eastern side of Native Island and Anglem Point at the entrance back to North Arm and South West Arm located near to the hilly, forest-covered centre of Stewart Island. Besides accommodation, ACHERON'S next attribute is its dredge - the most efficient I have seen in use. In combination with the Captain’s knowledge, a tow of only one and a half minute's bottom time always came up full of material, so full in fact that it was sometimes necessary to literally shovel part of the haul overboard to enable us to find the sorting . table so that we could wash and search through- the rest. , Stations worked on muddy bottoms such as at the entrance to South West Bay (= Big Glory Cove) and in Glory Cove itself were probably the most rev/arding in molluscan terms. Diving was difficult in these areas because of the clouds of sediment stirred up as we worked, the lack of current to remove this sediment and also because most of the molluscs were buried anyway. Where there is limited mud brachiopods dominate, in muddier areas both brachiopods and Chlamys gemmulata suteri occur commonly together, but a touch more silt tilts the balance to the Chlamys ’ favour and in the upper reaches even Chlamys does not occur. Other molluscs living in these muddy habitats were Cominella nassoides nassoides , Buccinulum pertinax pertinax, Glaphyrina sp. , Monodilepas monilifera monilifera, Euthrenopsis otagoensis , Uberella vitrea, Pleurobranchaea maculata, Diplodonta rakiura, Maorikellia rotunda, Cuspidaria trailli , Tellinella huttoni, Thyasira resupina m ozelanica, Anthochiton canaliculata and Craspedochiton rubiginosus. Areas in v/hich silt is removed by currents to leave a sandier bottom were found to be best sampled by diving. Some such areas are the channel off the eastern tip of Ulva Island, northern side of Ulva Island and northern side of Native Island. Here there is a less spectacular assemblage dominated by Tawera spissa and Pec ten novae- zelandiae rakiura, with other less numerous molluscs being Nemocardium oulchellum, Gari lineolata, Notocorbula zelandica, Thracia vitrea, Atrina pec tinata zelandica and Alcithoe swainsoni. Dead bivalve shells with large drill holes were conspicuous everywhere; at first I accused Tanea zelandica of this predation, but I later observed the real culprit in action - Xyrne ne ambiguus. Tanea was here 5 nevertheless, as evidenced by its numerous circular egg masses full o.f agglutinated sand grains. The midget octopus Robsonella australis turned up quite often in dredges made in these sandy areas and on one occasions I spied a devoted little mother Robsonella guarding her brood of eggs inside the concave half of a scallop shell right in the middle of the chaos of a dredge sample. She was carefully put into a bucket v^hereupon some of the babies started to -5- hatch and swim straight to the surface. By next morning she was still tending the unhatched eggs in the bucket, so I returned mother plus eggs plus scallop back to the sea. Rocky areas had to be sampled by diving, and in shallow water, swimming through these swaying forests, like tall kauri trees, of Macrocystis algae was a fascin- ating experience , -but progress was slow as you inevitably became tangled in Macrocystis. In the dark waters belov/ this kelp forest live the very large Haliotis iris , H. australis and Mo dolia granosa for which Stewart Island is renovmed, also Eudoxochiton nobilis , Maurea punc tulata stewartiana, Monia zelandica and Cardita aoteana. Dense beds of the ribbed mussel CAulacomya maoriana) occur in deeper water where the Macrocystis begins to thin out. Macrocystis was not found growing deeper than 10 metres in Paterson Inlet itself and below this algal cut off depth diving is a greater pleasure. In areas where rocks project from a scoured bottom of shell grit are Buccinulum nertinax pertinax , Cabestana spengleri , Argobuccinum tumidum and Astraea heliotropium. After observing living Astraea in such rocky habitats of strong currents it occurred to me that the saw-tooth like projections around the keel of the shell create a stabilising basal flange which helps to produce a non-turbulent flow of water over the shell and so greatly reduces the chances of an Astraea being dislodge and washed av;ay by the current. One unusual area was in 30 metres in the channel between Ulva Island and Grouper Rock. Here the substrate was of sand but with large clumps of "rock” made up of masses of, consolid- ated dead tubes of polychaete worms (Pomatoceros terraenovae ) , forming hard ground up to half a square metre in area. Growing on these "rocks" was a magnificent flower garden of encrusting organisms - sponges, ascidians, red algae and hydroids with Lima zelandica and Chlamys dief fenbachi both bysally attached. Aulac omya maoriana was present as ^well, this mussel being found on such hard bottoms right, down to 40 metres. The busy survey programme on board ACHERON unfortunately did not permit much time for shore leave when I could hunt for molluscs intertidally . But several times while at anchor for the night in Golden Bay I made straight for the rocky shores. Here the intertidal boulders were partly stable and had some striata and the isopod Ligia no-vaezelandiae , whilst under stones between mid- and lov;-tide levels were Diloma zelandica, Anisodiloma bicanaliculata lenior , Xymene aucklandicus , Notoacmoa daedala, large Ac ant hoc hi to na zelandica amplificata, Buccinulum vit tatum littorinoides and Lepsithais lacunosus. -6- On another occasion I was rowed ashore to the small .cove at the south eastern end of Native Island - a much more exposed situation with a high proportion of unconsolidated boulders reminiscent of the Taranaki coastline. At mid-tide level were Cellana strigilis redimiculum , C, ornata, Melagraphia aethions and Siphonaria spp. , whilst beneath low-tidal stones were large numbers of Haliotis iris , some H. australis and two real southerners amongst the smaller gastropods - Zemitrella sulcata and Margarella rosea. * * * SNAILS IN LE ROY’S BUSH NORTH COTE, AUCKLAND CITY H, Spencer Some members travelling up Onewa Road, Northcote, on Auckland's North Shore, will have noticed a sign on the left that reads "Le Roy's Bush Scenic Reserve" and may have wondered what snails live there. To my knowledge, no one has gone further than that for a long time - perhaps not even since Suter collected in that locality. So, one Sunday afternoon last August, I decided to see what was there. It proved to be a rich area with numerous individuals representing a good range of species. However, the small size of this native bush remnant is being reduced even further by pine trees encroaching upon it and the future is uncertain. The small area, too, also makes it very susceptible to over-collecting. Here is a list of the species found in half an hour's search and in a bag of leaf mould taken home. Cytora torquilla (Suter) Cytora cytora (Gray) Cytora hedleyi (Suter) Allodiscus granum (Pfr.) Allodiscus planulatus (Hutton) Allodiscus dimorphusCPfi^. Phenacohelix ponsonbyi (Suter) Tornatellinops novo eelandica (Pfr. ) (Ptychodon)buccinella (Reeve ) (Laoma) poecilosticta (Pfr. ) (Phrixgnathus) ariel Hutton (Phrixgnathus) fulguratus (Suter) ( Phrixgnathus) c . f . elevatus? (Phrixgnathus) moellendorf fi (Suter) (Phrixgnathus) . . c.f. viridulus ? Charopa Laoma Laoma Laoma ^ Laoma Laoma -7- Therasiella neozelanica Cumber Obanella rimutaka Dell Paralaoma pumila (Hutton) Delos jeffreysiana (Pfr. ) Cionella lubrica (introduced) * * * * NOTES ON LOCAL VEPMETIDAE Serpulorbis Sasso 1827j Novastoa Finlay 1927? Dendropoma Mcsrch 1861, Stephopoma Moerch 1860 N.W, Gardner Molluscs which kindly produce a shell of regular shape are quite a help to amateur conchologists , but there are a fev/ less considerate families which are far from co-operative and Serpulorbis is one of these. At a glance they seem to be just a length of shell tubing, very twisted, distorted and of no particular shape, although some do have a weak "corkscrew” inclination. The vermetids of the genus Serpulorbis live cemented to a hard surface, or in some species embedded in encrusting coralline algae with of shelly tube showing. They range from betv/een tides to quite considerable depths. There is no operculum, but the "plug" of the foot is usually vividly coloured. The foot contains a large mucous gland from v/hich long threads can be extended to act as plankton traps, supple- menting the ciliary food collecting by the gill. Serpulorbis zelandicus G ). -8- »Ve have in New Zealand three species. One is common and frequently seen a't mid to low tide level cemented to a rocky surface or under rocks. Examples of this species, Serpulorbis zelandicus Q & G, are often cast ashore attached to holdfasts of kelp wrenched from the sea bed during storms, eg Takapuna. The shell is very irregular and no two examples are anything alike. They are usually a brownish colour with some fairly prominent longitudinal sculpture. In older shell books you could find this species listed as Serpulorbis sipho Lam. The foot is usually orange/red, but can be a yellowish colour. (It occurs throughout New Zealand). In 1951 J. E. Morton described another species which lives at low tide level along with the previous species. This is S. aotearoicus , which is said to closely resemble zelandicus in shell characters but tends to be a darker brown in colour. There is, however, a distinct difference in the colour of the animal - black or grey, and in the radula where the central tooth is much smaller. The type locality for this species is Milford Eeef, Auckland (under boulders at low spring tide). It v/as also found at the Noises Group about the same time. It doubtlessly occurs quite frequently around other local beaches, too, but one would have to check the colour of the foot, which might not be easy as the mollusc retreats right back into its shell when disturbed. The third species is a rather problematical one from deeper water. This is S.maorianus Powell, described in Discovery II Reports on dredged material from off Three Kings Islands, A small solitary species, it is spirally coiled in the early stages and is attached to bottom debris. The adult shell is again very irregular but has a distinctive expanded Up around the aperture. The sur- face of the shell is smooth and a dull white in colour. Height 2.4mm, diameter 1.1mm. Holotype. This species is dredged, not infrequently around the Poor Knights Islands. -9- The genus Novostoa, erected in 1926 by Finlay, con- tains the single New Zealand species N, lamellosa (Hutton) = zelandica (Q & G) . This species can be found at low tide in rocky situations, but beach examples are more frequently seen. These consist of intertwined masses of irregular shaped tubes, often much worn. The first few whorls are more or less spirally coiled and vermiform, but later the tubes straighten out. They are whitish, with no distinctive sculpture. It occurs throughout New Zealand, but is said to be more common at the Chatham Islands and around the Cook Strait area. Dendronoma sguamifera Ponder A rather rare vermetid which occurs in moderately deep water and, so far, has been . recorded only from the north of New Zealand. This species is again an i-rregularly coiled tube (often closely intertwined) and of reasonable size diameter of tube up to 10mm, generally attached to the substrate with the aperture raised above. Nevastoa lagellosa Hutton* Group an& single exampie. -10- Dftndropoma squajaifera Ponder. The upper surface of the tube bears two main carinae v/hich have short, distinct, vertical, backward directed spines and several weaker scale-bearing ribs between. Scales are formed on the weak circular growth lines. Tube white, Holotype from 49 fathoms off Cape Karekare. Stephopoma roseum (Q & G) Some confusion exists around this species. It occurs attached to rocks at low spring tide level and is said to be not uncommon. Morton 1951. Has been recorded from Takapuna Reef, Milford, Noises and Bay of Islands. This is a comparatively small species and the figure reproduced here is three times the actual size. The key to certain identification seems to be the odd operculum which has a series of erect bristles. These are said to help strain out larger foreign matter from the inhalent current. -11- Qperculu© bristle. Qperculun!. He Terences : Morton J. E. 1951 The Structure and Adaptations of the NZ Vermetidae Trans. Roy. Soc. Vol 79 Ponder W, F. 1967 A New Species of Dendropoma from Nev/ Zealand Mollusca: Vermetidae Trans, Roy. Soc. NZ Zoo. Vol IOjNo.2 * * * * SOME NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND STONY CORALS N. W. Gardner Although stony corals do not appear to be a very important element in our fauna, we do, in fact, have some twenty-five recorded species which are arranged in sixteen genera and have a benthic range from the littoral zone down to 700 metres. Corals can be divided into two groups according to their ecological preferences - the hermatypic or reef- forming corals and the ahermatypic or non reef-forming kinds, and it is the latter which are of greater interest to us. The stony corals (aherm^atypic ) of New Zealand are said to be related to those of the South Pacific and Antarctica, but show little relationship to those of Australian waters. Less than half of our species are endemic, but only two shov; Australian affinities. They resolve themselves, rather loosely, into several groups: Solitary individuals, Colonial types, and Branching corals, which, of course, are colonial. The one most likely to be seen around our shores is the solitary species which can quite easily be found under rocks at low tide level along rocky shore lines. Here it will be firmly attached, v/ith a raised corallum. The corallite is cup-shaped and has a sharp edge. This is Flabellum rubrum (Q S< G) (Polyp usually a salmon colour) and it occurs from the intertidal zone down to 200 metres. Deep water specimens are generally larger, with the corallite compressed or flattened and though they have a slender stem, often seem to be unattached to the substrate. While rubrum shows close affinities to Antarctic species, no examples have been reported from south of Stewart Island. There are seven species of Flabellum around our shores but all seem to be rather rare. One from the Chatham Rise, L. knoxi , Ralph & Squires, No. 2, is the largest species and has a very wide angle. Flabellum lowekeyesi Sqires Sc FlabclJuru knoxi RalxDn- -13- P ibeHum aotearoa DQuir • Another genus of somewhat similar appearance to Flabellum is Caryophillia, but the corallum is taller with a more slender 'stem*. The species most often seen is C. profunda Moseley, but it is really quite rare, for it occurs in deep water 60 - 1,1 16 metres. It has an expanded calice up to i+Omm with a central ’crown’. It has a wide distribution, occurring right round New Zealand and Chatham Islands, and is thought to be circumpolar. There are a number of other solitary types that are somewhat similar to the above species, and illustrations of several are provided. Paracyathus conceptus Gardiner 15™ high, diameter-' 1 2mm ■Paracynihus conceptus Gaxdii)er I -14- Ceratotrochus limatulus Squire Attached, cylindrical diameter 1cm ^ Ceratotrochus (C.) Letepsammia sp. Fragments only from Northern New Zealand Letepsamniia sp. Those of you who have sorted through deep water dredgings will almost certainly have come across a fascinating small kind which seldom exceeds ^mm in diameter. It is subconical, white, and the septa seem to extend from the centre out and down to the base, giving the appearance of having been turned inside out. ' This is Kionotrochus suteri (Fig.1), which is an endemic species from northern New Zealand. Another small species similarly ribbed, 3.5mm in diameter but taller, is Sphenotrochus ralnhae Squires (Fig. 2). It is distinctly compressed or flattened and is sometimes seen in dredgings from north of the North Island. -15- Fig. Fig. 1 Klomotrochus ^.) suttrochus ralphae ^iiireP5. The ordinary colonial corals are small encrusting types, connected by basal extensions - sometimes several dozens side by side. The best example of this would be Culicia rubeola (Q, & G) (Fig. 3), which is not infrequently seen locally on rubble from dredgings dovm to 50 metres. It has been recorded intertidally at Narrow Neck and Long Bay, Auckland, and at Mahurangi West,' East Coast. Distribution: Central and South West Pacific (littoral zone), New Zealand, more especially in the north. Fig. 3 Cilicia rubeola Q a Ir Of the branching colonial corals, Oculina virgosa Squires is no doubt the most striking one we have. It has been recorded only from the far North in 100 to 300 metres. It is sometim.es caught in fishing nets and pulled free from the bottom, but apparently does not grow in big masses. Pieces of 30cm x 30cra have been seen. Polyps are pinkish in colour, corallites are small and arranged along the branches which can be about 3cm diameter near the base. It may be of interest to conchologists to know that live specimens of the mollusc Trophon (Emozamia) lucina are to be found within the clusters of branches of this -16- coral and it seems likely that this shellfish feeds on the polyps. The genus Madrepora is represented in New Zealand by the species vitiae Squires &. Keyes, and was known, at the time of naming, from one station north v/est of Cape Farewell in 230 - 250 metres. It has long, slender branches with the calices slightly protuberant and regularly arranged in an alternating fashion. \ -17- Species of Hew Zealand Scleractlnian Corals from Deep Water Flabellum raukawaftyti Squires. Stephanoci^athus sp. Notocyatbos (Paradehocyatfaus) orientalis . _ IXmcan . pesmophylluni cristagalH Kilne-E4w|rdg^_ . ?- «> Vi- ■ Qnlga smi^ Kilne^Edwards jHaine -^°^|ocoreIJa duDiosa Alcock. DcndrophyHia paHta "Squires. Hermatypic or reef-building corals are generally not found in waters below 18'^C. At about this temperature they do not form reef but occur as individual groups. In New Zealand, during summer the 18*^ isotherm extends as far south as Cook Strait and in winter retreats to the vicinity of North Cape. These temperatures are said to be minimal for reef-building coral but still within the range of individuals. It would seem that the occurrence of reef-building coral in Northland is not impossible. Calice - the opening of the corallite in which the polyp is situated.. Corallite - that portion of calcareous exoskeleton which encases an individual polyp margin Corallum - the exoskeleton of a coral colony or of a solitary coral Reference : Illustrations s Squires D. F. and Keyes I. W. ’567 The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Sclerac tinian Corals NZ Oceanographic Inst. Mem. No. 43 * * * AN ITEM OF INTEREST - N. Douglas Cyclomac tra tristis Reeve 1854 Further to the article in POIRIERIA, Vol 8, Part 4? August 1976, my second digging of this species alive took place in the Manukau Harbour's esturine creek on the north side of the Maraerohia Point on 16 January 1977. Specimens kept in fresh v/ater overnight appeared to suffer no ill effects. Third digging: On 31 January many fine specimens were found living in the Waikato River. This would be about two miles up stream from the ocean surf. They live ■ there from nine inches to a foot deep in black, muddy sand under brown, muddy sand. The river specimens have shells in better condition (not chalky) than those from the Manukau Harbour. -18- *i Succinea archeyi Powell Hamish Spencer reports finding this species on the fixed dunes at Tairua, Coromandel Peninsula, This was during December 1976 and it is notable that he was able to find a live example at this time of the year. Normally the green algae, anabaena variabilis, on which they feed, has dried up well before then and the seasonal snails succumbed, but the particularly wet season would have kept the algae going much later than usual. * Shells of particular interest found lately include a fine Cassmaria ponderosa perryi (Ire,), brought in from Pakiri, Leigh, by Bob Penniket; Uttleya williamsi , picked up at Omaha by Mrs V, Firth - her second specimen, A Spirula spirula v/ith part of the animal attached was found on Piha Beach, West Coast, during the May holidays by Tony Cunningham, Although many hundreds of these molluscs are cast ashore, it is a great rarity to find one with any trace of the- animal attached. The 'blow' that brought this specimen in also deposited a 15cm Paper Nautilus - Argonauta nodosa - on the ocean beach south of Hokianga Harbour, Large specimens of Janthina .janthina = violacea, were cast up along the 1/Vest Coast from Piha to Ninety Mile Beach, * * * FIELD TRIP TO WAIPOUA FOREST There always seem to be a few hardy souls who are willing to test their luck late in the season, and so the 21st of April saw a small part in the Waipoua area of Northland in quest of land snails. Naturally, it rained and the dampness at times tended to restrict us somewhat, but with visual collecting, leaf litter samples and a certain amount of playing around in flooded water courses, v/e did obtain a fair number of species for our trouble, A brief stop at Ruawai on the Kaipara Harbour allowed us to examine some rocks below the wharf. Here, below high tide level, we v/ere able to see many Potamopyrgus esturinus Winterbourn, gathered together in groups of 50 to 100 specimens under the rocks on soft mud. This species looks just like P, anti pc darum Gray, being the same size and shape, but apart from its habitat preference, is said to have a different reproductive pattern. -19,, A brief side-track to Kai iwi lakes, north of Dargaville, to check for freshwater species, gave negative results. The shore line of soft sandstone seemed to support not a single freshwater snail - not even Potamopyrgus. Sieving in a foot of water produced a couple of small crabs similar to marine species, although this lake is several miles from the coast. There was no sign of Hyridella. V/e camped at Trounson Kauri Park and spent some time admiring numerous Kauri trees and collecting snails. However, snails arc not plentiful in this area for some reason, though a few were tracked down and one young member did quite well with freshly dead Paryphanta busbyi , v/hich had sheltered under bits of corrugated iron in the vicinity of the camp site. Incidentally, during the night v/e heard a couple of kiwis calling quite close by. A nearby stream, investigated next morning, produced some fine examples of Latia neritoides (a black limpet with a peculiar shelf inside) which were living under rocks in the fast flowing rapids. Most of the land s nailing was done near Forest HQ turnoff, an area knov/n to be quite good for small species. Here, Liarea t . waipoua-, Cy tora pallida and Phrixgnathus scadium were much in evidence, along with that old faithful, Phenacohelix given! Cumber. A list of species seen, as far as has been checked at this stage, is as follows : Omphalorissa purchasi (Pfr. ) Liarea turriculata waipoua Pov/ell Cytora aranea (Powell) Cytora cytora (Gray) Cytora torquilla (Suter) Cytora pallida (Hutton) Cytora n. sp. Allodiscus urquharti Suter Serpho kivi (Gray) Therasiella tamora (Hutton) Therasiella neozelanica Cumber Phenacohelix giveni Cumber Phenacohelix pilula (Reeve) Suteria ide (Gray) Ptychodon varicosa (Pfr. ) -20- Charopa angicula Reeve Charopa charopiforrnis Gardner Charopa ochra (Webster) Mocella eta (Pfr. ) Laoma (Phrixgnathus) glabriusculus (Pfr.) Laoma (Phrixgnathus) franc esc i (Webster) Laoraa (Phrixgnathus) elevatus (>Suter) Laoma (Phrixgnathus) ruforadiata Gardner Laoma (Phrixgnathus) n, sp. Paralaoma lateumbilicata (Suter) Tornatellinops novoseelandica (Pfr.) Laoaa ( Ffarixgnathus) ruforadiata- I.T'S mm i: mm. (Several 'of the specimens of Cytora nallida which v/ere collected are a pale yello^^'.ish-white in colour. The occurrence of these albinos in the Waipoua area has long been known). -21- Opportunity was also taken to obtain samples of mud from seepage areas in the darker parts of the forest, although these were not easy to locate with excess surface water after the rain. The following species were obtained from these samples: Potamopyrgus cresswelli Climo not uncommon Potamopyrgus antipodarum (Gray) odd specimens Potamopyrgus antipodarum forma spolaeus (Frauenfeld) not uncommon Pisidium casertanum poTi = aucklandica Suter common The occurrence of P, antipodarum and the spclaeus form together is a little surprising. * * * NEW PAPERS ON NEW ZEALAND MOLLUSC A * ..Two New" Species of Pseudaneitea Cockerell (Athoracophori'dae : Gastropoda) from New Zealand ■ ' D. Vi/. Burton Uo'urnal of the Royal Soc. of N.Z.1977 Vol 7, No.l, March 1977> PP 93 - 98, 3 figs Abstract : Tv;o new species of Pseudaneitea arc described, P. leva from Mid-Canterbury, P. nodosa from the Outer Chetv/ode Is. An account of the anatomy of each is given, • and their- affinities are discussed. Land slugs belonging to the Family Athoracophoridae are found in the Admiralty Is., New Britain, New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the east coast of Australia, New Zealand, and the subantarctic islands. The most distinctive character of the family is the presence of a dorsal ■ tracheate lung, consisting of a pulmonary cavity from whose floor thin-walled pulmonary diverticula radiate out to form the roof of a blood sinus. -22-. The first species described in this paper was found in a beech forest near Staveley by Mr P. M, Johns, of the University of Canterbury, The other species v/as found on the Outer Chetwode Is, by Mr G, S, Hardy, of Victoria University of Wellington, Both very kindly supplied the writer with all the material they collected. * A New Higher Classification of Nev; Zealand Rhytididae (Molluscaa: Pulraonata) F. M. Climo Journ, Roy, Soc.N.Z, 1977 Vol 7jNo, 1, March 1977, PP 59 - 69, 2 figs Abstract : Family Rhytididae Pilsbry, 1893 is divided into Rhytidinae Pilsbry, 1893 for the genera Rhytida Albers, 1860, Powelliphanta O'Connor, 1945 (here raised from sub- generic status in Paryphanta Albers), Delos Hutton, I9O4 and Delouagapia Powell, 1952 (here raised from subgeneric status in Delos); and Paryphantinae Godwin-Austen, 1893 for the genera Paryphanta Albers'," 1850), Rhytidarex Powell, 1948 (here raised from subgeneric status in Rhytida Albers, i860) and Schizo^lossa Hedley, 1902, ( Amborhytida) Climo, 1974, previously treated as a subgenus of Rhytida, becomes a subgenus of Rhytidarex and Wainuia Pov/ell, 1930, previously treated as a full genus, becomes a subgenus of Rhytida, * Notes on the New Zealand Hydrobiid Fauna (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Hydrobiidae) F, M, Climo Journ, Roy, Soc,N,Z. 1977 Vol 7, N0.I, March 1977 pp 67 - 77, 4 figs. Abstract : The author's earlier ideas on the distribution and systematics of New Zealand Hydrobiidae are reviewed and revised. There are tv/o main”coraponents to the fauna - an ancient subterranean group whose ancestors were widespread before rifting of Gondwanaland and have a distribution taking in New Zealand, Europe and Japan, and a more recently evolved group. The more recent group was probably a Gondwanian development and is typified by Australasian Hemistomia group and Fluviopupa group genera such as Potamopyrgus Stimpson and Qpacuincola Ponder, Kuschelita CliraOj 1974 and Phreatica Velkovrh, 1970 are synonymised with Sa^anoa Kuroda and Habe, 1958, the latter elevated from subgeneric ranking in Akiyoshia Kuroda and Habe, 1954* Iglica Wagner, 1927 may be an earlier name for this complex. The genus Horatia Eourguignat, 1887 is tentatively introduced to the New Zealand fauna with description of a new species, H. nelsonensis. Opacuincola troglodytes Climo, 1974 is transferred to Potamopyrgus. Potamopyrgus cresswelli Climo, 1974 is recorded from Nelson and P. gardneri Climo, 1974 and P.m.anneringi Climo, 1974 are synonymized with it. * Larval Development in Lunella Smaragda (Gastropoda : Turbinidae) K. R, Grange N, Ze Journ. Marine & Freshv;ater Research 10 (3): 51 7-25 Sept 1976 Abstract : Larvae of Lunella smaragda (Gmelin) are described from laboratory spawnings and plankton hauls. The short-lived planktotrophic larvae were able to be reared up to the stage of torsion, but no further. The larvae are like those described for other turbinid species, although previous descriptions are somewhat inadequate. Fertilis- ation is external: the young hatch 24h later as green trochophores and change into veligers after a further 24h. Torsion begins 70h after fertilisation and settlement probably occurs shortly after, within 4d of fertilisation. * Rough Water as a Spawning Stimulus in Some Trochid and Turbinid Gastropods K, R. Grange tk Z, Journ, Marine & Freshv/ater Research 10(1):203-16 March 1976 Abstract : A.dults of three species of common intertidal gastropods, Melagraphia aethiops , Zediloma atrovirens , and Lunella smaragda, v/ere collected from Waitemata Harbour, Auckland (36° 51 *8, 174*^ 47' E)kand brought to the laboratory, where several methods of artificial spawning were attempted throughout the year. The one successful -24- method, involving vigorous v/ater movement around ripe adults, induced them to release gametes during’ their respective spav/ning seasons, and was equally effective in the natural habitat. Larval stages v;ere found in the ^plankton only during periods of on-shore v.'ind speeds greater than 10 knots, with v;hich their presence was correlated, rather than with tides, lunar .cycles, or sea temperatures. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Editors : N & N Gardner 6 Tui Glen Road Birkenhead Auckland 10 New Zealand See page 22, -25- CONTENTS. Balcis (PictoBalcis) articulata (Sowerby). Page 1. A Note on Dredging off Tolaga Bay. P.M.Lae. " 2. The Land Mollusca of the Mt. Wellington Lava Fields - Today and Yesterday . N.W.Go " 3 The Brachiopods of Stewart Island. R. C. Willan " 4<> Snails of Le Roys Bush, Northcote Auckland City Ho Spencer. " 7» Notes on Local Vermetidae. N. W. Gardner. " 8. Some Notes on New Zealand Corals. N. ¥, Gardner. 12, Items of Interests Cyclomactra tristis Reeve. ” 18. Succinea archeyi Powell. " 19” CasmariaNponderosa perryi (ire.) 19« Uttleya williamsi Powell. ” 19 » Field Trip to Waipoua Forest. " 19 » New Papers on New Zealand Mollusca; " 22. ' ■• V ' t ' CONTENTS. Balcis (PictoTpalcis) articulata (Sowerby). Page 1. A Note on Dredging;; off Tolaga Bay. H.M.Lae. " 2. The Land Mollusca of the Mt. Wellington Lava Fields - Today and Yesterday . N.W.Go " 3 The Brachiopods of Stewart Island. R. C, Willan " 4» Snails of Le Roys Bush? Northcote Auckland City Ho Spencer. " 7 « Notes on Local Vernetidaeo N. W. Gardner. " 8. Some Notes on New Zealand Corals. N. W, Gardner. 12, Items of Interests Cyclomactra tristis Reeve. " 18. Succinea archeyi Powell. " 19« CasmariaNponderosa perryi (ire.) 19<> Uttleya williarasi Pov/ell. " 19« Field Trip to Waipoua Forest. " 19» New Papers on New Zealand Mollusca; " 22. 01. f 6 Vol, 9, Pari. 2, September 1977» CONCHOLOGY SECT'ON AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM POIRIERIA Vol 9 Part 2. September 1977 gQ^g^YFPARKINSONI ETATSmith This long and narrow, rather primitive bivalve is not often collected alive, not because it is rare, but chiefly because it lives about 15 - 2.^mm below the surface in areas where there is soft mud - often on Zostera flats - a habitat not frequently investigated by most collectors. In this situation it can occur in some numbers, far more so than one would expect from the appearance of the surface. At Howick, for instance, up to 80 per metre have been recorded. (Morton & Miller, 1968). The molluscs move with ease up and down quite long burrows which are usually ’U' -shaped and open at both ends. In the family Solemyidae, the shell is somewhat flexible being only partly calcified, and the hingtiis without teeti^with the 'ligament partly internal. The mantle edges are partly fused, forming a tube. In Sole my a parkinsoni, the epidermis extends beyond the margin of the shell, and when washed up along the shore line, the valves are usually open with a serrated fringe of epidermis along the dorsal margin. -26- Specimens of 50mm are about average, but occasionally examples of 60mm are found. The shell is rather thin, has a series of flattish ribs radiating out from the urabones, and a shiny, warm brown epidermis. It is to be found throughout New Zealand in suitable locations, and is especially . com.mon in the Parengarenga, Houhora and Tauranga Harbours, The family, as a whole, has a wide distribution, being found in the Mediterranean Sea, East Coast of North America, West Indies, Patagonia and the Australasian region. There are not, however, a great number of species. Reference: John Morton & The New Zealand Sea Shore, Michael Miller Collins, 1968 * * * * THE CHRYSALIS SNAIL (LAURIA CYLINDRACEA) IN NEW ZEALAND R. C. Willan Last year Bill Tong and David Hayman, tv;o sharp-eyed technicians from the Zoology Department at Auckland University, brought me some tiny .^brown land snails they had found beneath the bark of a fallen tree in Auckland Domain,.- These specimens were Lauria cylindracea (da Costa) (Fig. 2), which is a European introduction that has not been recorded from. New Zealand before. ■■■■— Lauria has a dumpy little shell up to high; or, -to put it anotner v/ay, it is "not above one quarter part of a barley-corn in size", so da Costa Pleasured them in his original description of 1778. The shell is high-spired, cylindrical with very rounded whorls and a dull surface v/hich is horny- brown in colour, the apex is like a flattened dome. There is a flaring v;hite outer lip and this is continued on to the peristome, tov/ards the upper part of the columella is a single denticle. This denticle is present in all the New Zealand shells I have seen, although in Britain the denticle can be absent (var. edentula) or there may be tv/o (var. bigranata) . There is a deep and acute umbilicus to the shell. Lauria cylindracea is distributed throughout Europe, North Africa and Madeira Island. Dr M.P. Kerney of Imperial College, London, has confirmed my identification and added the New Zealand shells are in appearance quite typical of European material. -27- A second member belonging to the same family ( Vertiginidae) , Vertigo pygmaea (Draparnaud) , has also been introduced to New Zealand, This shell has a mouth full o_f.teet'h (5 denticles) and is even smaller than Lauria cylindracea. In New Zealand the only other land snail species which Lauria could be mistaken for is Cochlicona lubrica (Muiler), the so-called "Slippery Snail" (J’ig. 1 ) . But CocliTicopa belongs to a different family (Cochlicopidea) , it can reach 7mm in length and, as its name "lubrica" implies, the surface is very shiny as though it had been oiled. The shell is yellowish, horn-brov/n and transparent. There are no teeth in the mouth and there is no umbilicus. Cochlicopa resembles a miniature Placostylus. It is common in gardens all around Auckland, in both shaded and open situations; for example under fallen leaves, damp bark and hollows, especially where Tradescantia sp. , the "Wandering Jew", has become rampant. Although I have found Cochlicopa penetrating some distance into bush along with our native snails. Fic. 1. Cochlicopa lubrica (Mull^^x) near Lake rupuko, Takapuna, Fi^^, 2. Lauria cyclindracea (da Costa) Auckland Domain, Lauria cylindracea is., very similar to the European Pupilla mus corum (Linnaeus) , the- "Moss Snail", and Whitten ( 1955) probably mistook Laur-ia cylindrace-a for Pupilla when he recorded the latter from Thames and Western Springs, Auckland, Both are similar in size'~§.nd .shape with expanded outer lips and one denticle inside the mouth. However, in Lauria the peristome is reflected, the insertion of the columellar lip turns away from the mouth and the parietal lip is continuous. ~ In Pupilla the peristome is not reflected, the columellar lip continuous in a circle around the peristome and the parietal lip is inconspicuous. According to John Evans in his excellent book "Land Snails in Archaeology", these tv/o species live in very different, almost exclusive, habitats, Lauria is a v/oodland species occurring in shaded spots on rocks- and under logs and is also common on stone walls. Pupilla is an open-country species typical of grassland habitats and sand dunes,- a characteristic site of Pupilla is earth that is bare of vegetation and it rarely enters woods or other shaded places. In Britain changing densities of these two species in buried soil layers have given information on past climates and man's cultural effects oh his surroundings. References: Ellis, A, E. 1926 British Snails Oxford University Press 298pp Evans, J, G. 1972 Land Snails in Archaeology Seminar Press 436pp Whitten,H.E. 1955 Introduced Land Molluscs of New Zealand Conch. Section, Bulletin No.11: 1-7 x-x-x-x SIPHONARIA COOKIANA Suter B. Elliott Some years ago I considered Siphonaria cookiana to be a very difficult shell to obtain. During my ten years at Takaka, when I combed the beaches of Golden Bay and the West coast of Nelson, I -found only a’ few battered beach specimens of this shell. Probably there v/ere plenty of them there, but I did not know where to look - or failed to realise that they v/ere different from So zelandica. -29- When I moved to Stephens Bay, Motueka in 1969} and began a separate collection of shells from that area, I found that beach specimens of Siphonaria cookiana were not uncommon. If there v/ere dead specimens, there had to be live specimens ,,, but v/here? V/e are told that Siphonarias are air breathers, so the obvious place to look was from mid tide to high tide, in rocky areas. For over a year I kept an eye open for these elusive little shells, at times searching diligently, peering into rock pools and crevices, and all the places wliene S. zelandica was so common. Again and again I would go home empty-handed and baffled. Then, in September 1970, I discovered them quite by accident, living on' Perna canaliculus at extreme low tide. Air breathers ??? They would not get very many opportunities to do so, being exposed to the air only during the lo.west spring tides. There, on the mussels, among Patelloida corticata, barnacles and other marine growth, they were well hidden, and one had to look closely to find them. In October 1975 I received another surprise. I left my car at the end of Staples Street, Motueka, and followed the tidal creek out to low tide. What a barren spot - sandy mud, a few stones and sea lettuce, with hardly even a pi pi to break the monotony. Heading northv/ards, I came to an area of small stones, and spotted a live Siphonaria cookiana on one of the stones. As I bent to get it 1 saw another, and another, and another ... hundreds of them,' So they were not rare after all - it was just a matter of finding the right place. In a very short time my little container was filled with the largest and nicest of the specimens. At Tahunanui, Nelson, beach specimens of S. cookiana are not uncommon, but extensive searching at low tide failed to reveal their habitat. In January 197A Norman Douglas and I discovered S. cookiana and S. zelandica living together at low tide at the Nine pin Rocks, Manukau Heads, This is the only North Island locality I know of; doubtless they are wide- spread, but easily overlooked. Other localities for S. cookiana include Ringa Ringa, Stewart Island; Marfells Beach, Marlborough; Torrent Bay in the Abel Tasman National Park, Nelson; and Kaikoura Peninsula, v/here they are found on low tidal stones both on the northern side of the peninsula between the Marine Laboratory and Kaikoura Wharf, and on the southern side at Atia Point. -30- ITEMS of INTEREST * From Geoff, Forman, Wairoa 2 June 1977 ”We have had repeated southerlies with huge seas b' ilding up, and following the last blow, I spent some time looking at Mahia, Opautoma Beach was swept almost clean, exoept for a number of live St-ruthiolaria papulosa and Alcithoe swain- ■ Sjoni. The sheltered side (eastern) turned out to be the bestabet. I drove almost to the end of the road. Most of the area was clean, except for one area of sand at the back of the reef area. Here, huge piles of shell and sand had been, deposited. I., had a good scratch around and came up with five Trivia merces. I think this may be the same spot where previous cowries have been taken. Other shells worth finding were a single Ae neat or otagoensis and a Margins 11a mustelina. Until now I had not found one south of Tolaga Bay, This specimen had the normal colouring, v/hile the specimens I have found at Tolaga are a lead grey, " * Paphios subtriangulata guoyi Deshayes This bivalve, known previously as ' Amphidesma forsteriana Finlay, is generally looked upon as being of southern occurrence. However, it does exist well up the East Coast of the North Island, for recently numbers of very fine specimens v;ere washed ashore at Waikanae Beach, "■Gisborne. In this subspecies, v/hich is generally larger than the typical Tuatua, the valves are somewhat flatter and the 'slope' of the anterior end is not as acute. * In the Wittericks, marine tank, the Hairy Triton, Monoplex parthenopeus , is hairy no longer. You could even describe it as clean-shaven, as "the shell is bare and faded now with none of the' periostracum remaining. Instead of burrowing right down deeply into the gravel floor, of the tank, this year in April the animal went "walkabout” around the glass sides without eating and settled motionless in one spot. Last year's "hibernation’’ lasted from April right through until August except for an occasional nibble at a live cockle in the first week or two. 6666666666 -31- j STRUTHIOLARIA (PELICARIA) VERMIS FLEMING I Ncef Over the years we have seen a periodic rearrangement of the species attributed to the subgenus Pelicaria, For a while, S, (Pelicaria) tricarinata Lesson is included in.... check lists, then abruptly disappears. Just now, it seems to be banished again. The tricarinate sculpture ■ (the chief claim to recognition) is somethingv/hich appears at random and to a varying degree in most populations of vermis with apparently no clear distributional pattern, though possibly it may occur a little more frequently in the south. Three specimens from a group of fifteen, collected from Takapuna Beach after a good storm, have this feature reasonably well developed. In Dr Powell’s recent checklist another name appears ; and perhaps you are wondering just what this shell - S, vermis flemingi Neef - looks like? It really looks like a very large specimen of vermis with the sub'-sutural nodules suppressed or weak, a more rounded body whorl and lacking a definite, distinct colour pattern. This is the reason for it . recognition. Although such large specimens of vermis do wash up from time to time on our northern East coast beaches, best example are those which are dredged from deeper water. These reach twice the size of the usual harbour specimens which are often distinctly nodular. S, vermis vermis Manulcau Harbour, ( Actual . size) . S, veiniis flcmingi. Hciqht 5S nra . 6O metres Bay of Plenty. However, so-called fleminp:! c6mes~'with'''varying sculpture - from the almost smooth shell to those with spiral lirae and a mere trace of nodules, and even to some which are strongly ornamented as is seen in typical vermis. A large example will, reach nearly 60mm, while a mature, typical vermis from the Manukau Banks may.' measure only 2.L^mm, Even the author of this subspecies, flemingi, recognises hybrids between vermis vermis and vermis flemingi , so it seems too, could have problems in sorting them out' OUR OYSTERS N, W. Gardner Amongst amateur conchologists , there are probably very few who enthuse over the rather uninspiring shells that belong in the family Ostreidae, Much more interest is gdnferated in the gastronomic angle, and the most interesting specimen of all is the one on the end of a fork - without its shellj In this respect we are rather fortunate in having two (now three, if you wish) excellent species in reasonable abundance around our shores. In the North we are quite used to seeing the Auckland Rock Oyster, Crassostrea glomerata (Gould), dotted along our rocky shore lines near high tide level, but in the South you would look for these in vain. Oysters found in those parts would undoubtedly be "Bluff Oysters" v/hich belong to a different genus and have a different habitat. From low tide level to fairly deep water on soft bottom, Ostrea lutaria Hutton is relatively plentiful in the region of Foveaux Strait, They do occur occasionally further North, especially in the Bay of Plenty in moderately deep water. Specimens grow to a fair size, somxe reaching .BOmm, There is generally a whitish concave valve and a flat valve above which is covered in a brownish periostracum. The shells retain a fairly regular shape and are not distorted as is the rock oyster, Crassostrea. Spat settles quite readily on small free bottom debris such as old shells and pebbles and so are easily dredged up by crews of the oyster boats. This is the species we have for so many years called an^asi. -33- Ostrea hef fordi Finlay Smaller than the above species, more deeply concave and often grows in clusters of distorted shells attached to seaweed holdfasts, or low tidal rocks, A pale yellowish shell, this could perhaps be the same species as lutaria which has started off badly in a rather unsuitable habitat, Finlay refers to this as the Port Chalmers’ rock oyster Specimens referable to this occur along the East coast of the North Island where they rjot infrequently wash ashore after storms, eg Takapuna and Orere Point, Ostrea charlottae Finlay A large v/hite oyster, again obviously related to lutaria. However, it seemi? to prefer even deeper water. The shell. is rather flat v;ith the concave valve having large white raised scales and the flat one covered by a light brown periostracum. It seems to be more frequently trawled in the South - Cook Strait to Otago, but there are odd occurrences beyond this. Grows up to 120mm, Crassostrea glomerata (Gould) Needs no introduction “as'if 'is so plentiful on rocks, etc in most esturine or sheltered v/ater situations on both Auckland coasts.,.. The dark serrated edge of the shell and the darker muscle attachment area 'help to distinguish it from the following species which is self-introduced. Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg) The 'Pacific Oyster' has been about here for several years and in this time has become well established and is spreading rapidly. It appears to occupy a zone just belov/ that preferred by glomerata and so may not dominate the native rock oyster population. While it grows rapidly, reaching marketable size in eighteen months, compared with three years for glomerata, it does not last as long out of water - about three days only. C, gigas can be recognised by its white interior, lack of dark crenulations around the lip and the much larger shell v/hich is usually more elongated. It is fairly well established where oyster farming is practised, the spread of this species no doubt being due to transportation of spat boards from the Mahurangi area where _ it was first recorded in New Zealand in 19?1» -34- The Pacific, or Japanese, oyster, as it is some-times referred to, has been introduced to many parts of the world, ie the Pacific Coast of North America; Massachusetts and Alabama coasts: Australia; China; Hawaii and Okinawa (Dinamani 1971). References: Finlay, H. J. I928 The Recent Mollusca of Chatham Islands Trans, N. Z, Inst . Vol, 59 Dinamani, P, 1971 Occurrence of the Japanese Oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg) in Northland, New Zealand N, Z, Jour, Marine & Freshwater Resear Vol, 5, No, 2 O-O-O-O-O- COLLECTING LAND SNAILS IN THE LAKE HAURAKO AREA OF SOUTHERN FIORDLAND, NEW ZEALAND N, W, Gardner Of all the larger southern lakes in Fiordland, Lake Haurako is probably the least well known; ,in fact, many may not have heard of it at all, for it lies further South than Te Anau and Manapouri, Nevertheless, it is quite a large lake, a scenic one, too, but a little off the beaten track and so is known best by trampers and deerstalkers. It v/as because it was off the beaten track and had not been investigated for land snails that Jim Goulstone and I decided v;e would like to do a survey of the land snails present around the bushclad shore lines. So, with the assistance of the Park Board Headquarters Staff and that' of the local Ranger stationed at Clifton, we were able to spend ten days collecting samples from various stations around the shore line and the back and beyond. We arrived at Clifton after a full day's travelling and stayed overnight v/ith Ranger Ken Hamilton and family the latter quite intrigued v/ith the organisation of a snail- hunting expedition. ■-35- Next morning we set forth with landrover and the Park Board's boat, which was to transport us to the various huts situated around the lake. Incidentally, the boat was called the 'John Hayes', after an early explorer in the region v/ho has a small inaccessible lake, behind Haurako, named after him. The road to Lake Haurako is about 20km from Clifton and runs through beech forest to reach the water at the southern end. The water of the lake never seems to be clear blue but always a dark grey and a little sombre, possibly because of the high, bushclad hills v/hich, in places, tower above. During our first days we collected specimens and leaf mould from between First and Second Bays (on a low ridge which had one of the biggest areas of kidney fern I have ever seen), and at Caroline River mouth, and then moved into the Teal Hut area at the very southern end of the lake, where we stayed for several days. The hut is very comfortable with an excellent stove and twelve bunks - which v;e had to ourselves. Mosquitoes and sandflies were fairly bad and there were mice in the cupboard (even av/ay back there), so we had to string up all our supplies on to a wire running across the room, A pile of old logs and debris alongside the hut was carefully dismantled in our quest for snails, and proved most rewarding with the finding of quite a number of Rhytida ota^oensis Powell, Thermia cressida Hutton and many Fee tola and Flammulina. Leaf mould from, below a large Rimu tree with a raised base of debris was sieved and bagged up for later sorting, and proved very worthwhile. On one of our days in this area, we set off for the Hump, 3400ft (and above the bush line). This v/as an all-day tramp and worth the great view from the top, but not especially rewarding for collecting, though we did get examples of Flammulina gracilis from rather open and stunted beech forest. On our fourth day, Ranger Ken Hamilton arrived with Area Ranger Slater from Te Anau to see how things v;ere going and to transport us to a new station at the Caroline Hut, halfway up the lake on the western side. We left our gear here and then went over to the opposite shore to do some further sampling. It was here that we lirst came across Flammulina laingi - generally listed as Thalassohelix lairigi. It was not uncommon around the bases of Blechnum fern, but on the whole collecting was not especially rewarding. Back at Caroline Hut, it was also poor - a very dam.p area, with lots of .moss over trunks of trees and logs on the ground. -37- ■ ' ■ 1 ! [Between 1st. and 2nd. Bays, t Caroline Creek. 1 Teal Bay. Hump Track. 1 Rooney River. 1 Caroline Hut. 1 Unknown River. | j Russet Burn. Hauroko Hut. { Lake Hakapoua. \ Qnphalorissa purchasi. 2 118 1 1 Cytora chiltoni. ?9 1 1 • 1 Phelussa- helmsi. 1 7 12 9 2 5 9 h 1 ' ! Thalassohelix iRniflua. 1 1 129 1 ' Allodiscus austrodimorphus. ! 1 ' 1 i Allodiscus plamilatus. 2 1 ! 3 2 ! 1 1 1 13 1 . ATI Ddi e; SD . i7 1 1 1 '3U Thermia .cr#»<;Qida- 1 ! 1 : h9 1 1 ! 2 ! J 1 T“ 1 T FhpnacohpTix rvilina. ! t i 3h_j j . Flamrulina pf»rdita. fi 2 1 ‘?3 3^ 2 JjiL 10 11 j . Fla.uTiulina zebra. 12 '■ Ii7 29 h i 7 22 110! 11 Flajurnocorteha glar.ial-i 2 I j Flanimoconcha lateaperta. 1 1 i 1 1 10 1 i .Fla -^moconcha .laingi^ 1 30 9 3 e 1 16' 20 ! • Fla.-moconcha feredavi. i ! . i 1 • ! ^ J ^ Charopa anguicula. I 1 13 ! 'hi ' 1 '-'daropa benhani. 78 J u_T : 15C 2 2 2'5 11’ a 36 _JL« '• Charooa bianca j 1 8 $ Charopa montivaf?a. 1 I 1 ^ ^ lJ_ Charopa rnutabili«5- 8 3 11 1 1 _23_ 1 . Charopa oilsbrvl. 1 1 1 .1 i ^1 . 1 / Charopa taoirina. 2 9 ^ 1k:2i.e _lx_ 12 U^J 3-.. .23--. 1.^ Charopa reeftonen'?1 s. 1 . 3 8 10 .3 _i 2 16 Charopa hectori. 1 ? ! 1 i .7 i26± 1 2 Charopa microundulata. I27 i... 1 _27 1 t ! ■ Charopa smithae. » 1 1 1 ! • Aeschrodomus stipulata, - ^ 19, 'J ‘106 6 .. 20. 1 2 ^a:22 1 _5_ ! i 3'jc fee tola rakiura. • ? j 1 1 ‘ i ■ La oca celia. i 1 ' ^ i h i33_ ! ' 25 ! j La oca cf spiralis. ?7 ! 7 1 1 ! ■ 1 i i .La oca cf liratulus. ! i . : 1 - 3 - 3 1-3 1 1 2 1 * i Laoca serratacostates. ’ . ^ •! I j - 1 i^cca viridula. I n 1 i„7 i 1 ^ ^6h r J Laoca n. so. 2 5 j • 1 Cbanella n. sn. 117 1 j ! . la teuir.’oijlicata . 5 h . 1 1 Fara laoca cf sericata. k 10 1 Rhytida par tula. 20 , i . 3. .8. -2_ .J . 7 KeflectopaTliuni cf pseud ophyllum. 1 2 Fseudaneitea cf dendyi. _ .3 ^ — Next day we mrved on again to the Unknown River en route to the Haurako Hut at the northern end of the lake, where we spent several hours on the rather low-lying ’delta' at the mouth of the Unknown River. Collecting was best around the raised pile of debris at the base of Rimu trees. Leaf mould was taken and then on we moved to the Haurako Hut situated at the mouth of the Haurako Burn. (Most rivers and streams seem t' > be called ’burns' in this area). This hut is the starting point of a several days' tramp to Cascade Creek on Dusky Sound and on to Te Anau. The following day, Ken Hamilton stayed overnight with us and while the 'John Hayes' was still about, we made a short foray into a likely-looking area at Russel Burn. It was, however, rather hard going with very sparse Rimu trees and very few snails. Also, at this time it started to rain, visibility was poor and collecting difficult. Up till then we had had fine, sunny days. Ken and the 'John Hayes' returned to Clifton while we stayed on for a further three days. At Haurako Hut we duly established ourselves and set to work to cover as much ground as poasible around this remote spot. Our first day started off a wet and dismal one and to make matters worse, the sandflies were so bad that v/e had to wear parkas with hoods and a liberal application of repellent every fifteen minutes or so. Gloves were a necessity and fortunately Jim had brought a pair on the offchance - I made do with a pair cf plastic bags which were quite effective. Collecting in the bush in persistent rain was not especially rev/arding, s:> we decided on a different approach. From under a large pile of logs and branches, we gathered up bags of leaf mould (we could see that it contained a fair number of specimens) and this we carried to a pool at the lake's edge. The litter was dumped into the water, allowed to settle for a while and the floating material skimmed off. (In theory, this contains all the snails). Although we had reduced the bulk considerably , we still had some very wet leaf mould to deal with. The -problem cf drying it was solved by building a good fire in the hut (open fireplace) and standing an old sheet of corrugated iron over the flames. On top we spread out the wet leaf mould and in no time it had steamed sufficiently dry to sieve. -39- Gliaxopa (Charopa) 40 \ \ By this time, the rain clouds had begun to clear and we settled down to our normal pattern of collecting, searching undersides of fallen branches, under peeling bark of fallen trees, sieving more leaf mould and beating low vegetation. Especially common was Flammulina zebra - beautifully srriped specimens, distributed along the under- sides of fallen branches, often a dozen or fifteen at a time. Here we came,, across a number of the rather rare Flammulina lateaperta, origirally found at Caswell Sound by Dr R. K. Dell. On the fronds of Blechnum fern, were quite a number of a species which looked uncommonly like ^ Fhenac -oheliXo This was subsequently identified by Dr F. Climo as being Laoma subantarctica, a rather unexpected occurrence. In all, some 30 species were found at this station and over 40 altogether. On our last day, v;e v/aited patiently for Ken Hamilton to arrive, as arranged, fairly early in the mnrning, to return us to Clifton. At 3 o'clock, we were still v/aiting and it seemed as if we might be spending a further day there because of some unexpected development elsewhere. However, a little later a helicopter dropped in and we were invited by the Park Board to ride out in style - it seems they had a working party at another southern lake and it suited them to get us out this way. The ride certainly gave us a great view of the country we .had been. working over and of the high surrounding peaks. NEW PAPERS ON NEW ZEALAND MOLLUSC A *• New Zealand Cenozoic Gastropock of the Genus Xenophora Fischer, 180? A, G. Beu Journal Royal Society of Nev/ Zealand 1977, Vol, 7, No. 2 pp 229-2A1, 27 figs Abstract : New Zealand Cenozoic species of Xenophora are: X, neozelanica Suter, I9O8, Opoitian (Pliocene) to Recent; X. prognata (Finlay, 1926), Kaiatan (Upper Eocene) to billburnian (Middle Miocene); and . '' X. flemingi n.sp.. Altonian and Clifdenian (Lower and Middle Miocene). ^1 . * A Revision of the Australian and Tropical Indo-Pacific Tertiary and Recent Species of Pisinna (=Estea) (Mollusca : Gastropoda : Rissoidae ) W.F, Ponder and E.K. Yoo Records of the Australian Museum Vol. 30, No. 10, 1976 (Remarks: Although this excellent v/ork does not touch on the Neozelanic species directly, it must be noted that the Pisinna Monterosato 1878 is shown to have priority, so it will be necessary to use this genus for our species presently listed under Estea Iredale. Ed.) * Littoral Benthos-Sediment Relationships in Manukau Harbour, New Zealand K, R, Grange NZ Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research 11 (1): 111-23, March 1977 Abstract : , . Sampling of 57 littoral stations in Manukau Harbour, Auck- land (37°02*S,174°41 'E) for species composition, distribution, and abundance as part of a base-line ecological survey of the harbour shows that the community trophic structure is related to the sediment grain size. Deposit feeders such as the bivalves Macomona liliana and Nucula hartvi^iana and the gastropod Zeacumantus lutulentus are most abundant in fine sand, v/hereas suspension feeders such as the bivalves Chione stutchburyi and Paphies australe are most abundant in medium sand. The proportion of deposit feeders in the sample increases with decreasing grain size of the sediment. Most stations conform to this general trend, although when the results are plotted as the percentage of deposit feeders against the median and mean grain sizes of the sediment in v;hich they occur, three groups of stations appear anomalous. These stations, at Waiau Pa, Pollok Beach, and Fosters Bay, may be unstable and undergoing a change in community structure or sediment characteristics. Identification of unstable areas using this method may be useful to monitor effects caused by environmental changes. EDITORS: N 8< N Gardner, 6 Tui Glen Rd. , Birkenhead Auckland 10, New Zealand amnh library 1002011 00 CONTENTS Pa^e SOLEMYA PAHKINSONI E. A. Smith 26 THE CHRYSALIS SNAIL (LAURIA CYLINDRACEA) IN NEW ZEALAND R. C.Willan 2? SIPHONARIA COOKIANA Suter B, Elliott 29 ITEMS of INTEREST • 31 STRUTHIOLARIA (PELICARIA) VERMIS FLEMINGI Neef 32 OUR OYSTERS N.W. Gardner ' 33 COLLECTING LAND SNAILS IN THE LAKE HAURAKO AREA OF SOUTHERN FIORDLAND, N. Z. N.W, Gardner 35 NEW PAPERS AO ,*fO I . V ^ VOL. 9. PART 3. DECEMBER 1977* CONCHOLOGY SECTION - AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM Vol.9 Part 3 December, 1977 ROYA KERMADECMSIS Iredale I912. Tlicso molluscs, small and limpet like, be long in the Stomatellidae and are sometimes referred to as the ’wide-mouth' shells and also as the ’false ear' shells. In appear jnce jRoya has little to indicate a close relation= ship ^ri-th the more familiar species of Stomatia,for instance. The shell is rather small, a mere ^ or 6 mm., straight sided, with a high"apei and a uniform brown colour,- just like an ordinary- little limpet until you look at it under a microscope and then you see the distinctive 'hooked 'nucleus. The original New Zealand specimen, which was not adult, was collected about 1934 from Tom Bowling Bay. Now, it is being found, from time to time in beach drift which accumulates in places around some of our Northern beaches. The island at 'Kapuwairua , is one place where quite a number of specimens have been found in the last few years. It has been recorded from Ggat Is.Beach,Leigh|Matapouri|and not uncommonly in shell sand -■ taken close inshore below the cliffs of Poor Knights Islands. Such specimens are not as a rule worn and show very nicely, the distinctive apical whorl. This species, as the name suggests,was originally found at the Kerraadffic Islands, and for that matter, the generic name too, has a connection with these Islands^ Roy Bell was one of 1: 43 hardy family who lived there for some years at the heginning of this century. He was a keen naturalist and obtained many specimens for Mr.Tom Iredale to work on. oOo HGUITG^U FTF.LT) TRIP. The eighteen members who attended the field weekend, 15th- I6th Oct ober , broke up into groups to visit various areas of interest on Satunday and Sunday mornings, As usual, washups at Church Bay, Pacific Bay and Tutukaka were well worth investigation and yielded a, Hydat ina physis a Cabestana waterhousei ,Trivia merces and several Hassarius spiratus as well as Austromitra, one or two very large Im the coast, was strewn with Cellana stellifera and valves of colourful Chlarays zelandiae , Under the low tidal rocks, shelllife was not prolific though sea- weeds were lush and various. Several colonies of Austromitra rubiginosa and small Haliotis iris were seen. The chiton, Ischnochit on maorianus was the most common racllusc in the area, and brittle stars, Ophionereis fasciata and O.antipodum, Pacific Bay, south of Tutukaka, is a very small bay surrounded by steep, high hills. The foreshore is stony and certainly not a place where one would expect to find shells washed up in good condition. This is one of the several bays along this shoreline where Morula chaidea was found to bo living some time ago. At that time, quite a number of specimens were seen on the underside of rocks in knee depth of water. The opportunity was taken to see if they were still present at this situation,but even aPtor some scores of rocks were examined, not a single specimen wa.s seen. They ha,vo certainly dispersed from here, but odd records of examples from open beaches a little to the north still come in. There is not a great area of rocks in this bay, that can be moved atall,but the Brachiopod Tercbratella jnconspicua clustered over the under sides of many, and the small Cardita brookesi was unusually common . Some !^ccinulum were observed but there x/as a, decided lack of the larger species of the genus. Both Haliotis iris and H.virginoa crispata (one or tx^o )as x7oll as H, australis xrere all represented -this was a very lox7 tide- and x;e xrore suprised to see a live specimen of Emarginula striatula though now and again the dead shells arc cast up in nxmbers on some of the beaches in the area. Several bags of loafmould from nearby bushxrcre brought v back, but have not yet been sorted, A number of species were 44 noted,howGVor ,and amongst those were Rhytida dunniae (dead ) Numerous specimens of the very tall Liaroa turriculata both alive and deadjseveaial Phenaefeopa novoseelandica, (not as prevalent as \ie might have O3q)ected0, Polos' jeffreysiana, Charopa hiancayTomatellinops novoseolandichyand Flarnmulina perdita were also present* ~ Samples from a promising hush swamp ^ revealed no fi‘esh- wator Hydrobiids. A pile of dead Pipi shells yPaphios australis ^heaped up bround a marker-pole at about mid tide level ^and just below the Camp, yielded numerous small Notoaomoa helmsi. A few were also seen on old shells scattered over the mudflats, and one or two were noted to be of the narroi; sided ’ scapha ’form, though no Zostera sea grass, was evident. Countless numbers of Maoricolpus roseus were piled high against the stone wall at Tutukaka. This must be an extremely prolific species in this area. Across from the Motor Camp, the quite extensive sand- spit , which is partially fixed xfith Cassinia and grasses etc., supports a large population of Succinia archeyi. Spent shells of this seasonal snail were to bo seen lying out in the open. Under the clumps of Haresta.il grass ( Lagurus ovatus ),live specimens wore still present .Anaba,ena algae, by this time of the year, has usually dried up, but this year, with prolonged damp spells, there was enough to support a fair number of snails. Associated with the Succinea and amongst the damp loose sand grainc around the roots of the Harestail grass ,Paralaoma pumila and T omat ellinops novoseelandica x^ere very abundant . These are regular members of the sand dune community. oOo BULLINA PROM NQRTHERIT M ZEALAND N.VJ. Gardner., Any collecting trip up North that ends with the acquisition of a’ whole’ specimen of the fragile Bullina shell, is always looked upon as being successful. It is a rare shell which washes ashore only occasionally,' and would seem to be restricted to. the sub-littoral zone^no live specimens have been foxind betxrcen tides in New Zealand. 45 According t. work carriod out by Rudman (1971 ), there are probably .four different species occurring around the Auckland east coast. Some of the major differences in shell . characteristics are list-ed below. Bullina line at a (Gray ). An ovate shell with the spirs approx. one seventh of shell height. Side almost straight- with -two distinct red spiral lines dividing co,ch whorl into approx. equal parts. A diffuse red spiral line sometimes occurs around base of shell. Eight to ton cqui-spacodj sinuous jred, axial lines run across body whorl. Up to 15rara.in height, diameter 8,5-inm. Has . . boon recorded from Spirits Bo,y,Houhora, Tokerou Beach, Bland Bay, I'Jhangaruru ,Tutukaka ,Bay of Islands, >Jhitianga and , ' Tauranga. A fine live specimen r.ic’.ig •’■'it]: ;• sever 0,1 dead shells in good condition, vrore found by Ken. Grange while diving offshore at Blojid Bo.y An March 1975* Bullina cf.melior (iredalo) Tho mo.jority of Bullina shells 'which come ashore in New Zealand are considered to belong to this species, though there are some minor differences from tho specimen which was dredged in Sydney Harbour, 46 It has a broader shell than Bo lineata and ha.s a more depressed spire and stronger sculpture. There are two rod spiral lines around the body whorl and those are often wider than those in lineata. Rod axial lines x^eak or wanting. Columella rather straight . Size i5n1m.XIO.3rnm. lulliha roseana Rudman . L'lorc globose than B.lineata,pinlcisli white in colour vrith two pink spiral . ..lirTcT^ dividing the body xfhorl into three part Sj the middle one being txfice the 'x^ridth of the outer tx^o. Axia.1 rod lifl§§ hot xfell narked - extending a, short distance doxm from the suture. V/horoas the aniraal of B , lineata. is- brilliantly' coloured',! ha,t of B. roseana is pure xrhito. He ight 1 2 « 5 mm o X8mm . Holotype is from the Bay . of Islands x-rhoro the one specimen xra.s dredged alive in 15 fa,ths.1 969« A dead shell ca,me up in dredgings ini 972 ?but seems to be a rare shell. 47 Bullina c/f lauta .Pease. Only two records from Now Zealand. This species differs from B . lineat a in Being more heavily calcified and in having more axial red lines.. In B. lineat a there are usually eight to ton on the Body whorl But in this species there are aBout seventeen or eighteen. Height 12raQ.X 7nim. Reference s Rudman V7.B. I97I The Genus Bulliioa (OpisthoBranchia, Gastropoda ) in New Zealand. Joum.I'dal.Soc.Aust . vol.2(2), pp. 195-203. oOo SOI.E OBSERVATIONS cLi PARYPHilNTA BUSBYI BUSBYI . (■ Gray WoT. Patricia Vause On August 5'thj1976,my family v/as travelling north to Kaitaia intending to stop through the Mangamuka Gorge and search along the roadside jin the hope of finding a few shells of Paryphanta BusByi BusByi. We stopped just north of the Soda Spring and walked along the roadside , carefully searching in the long grass and roadside Bush. There had Been a lot of heavy rain during the previous we'ekjand in some places there were slips with piles of clay and fallen Branches. Apart from a few Paryphanta fragments here and there, the situation didn’t look too hopeful ,But we soon 48 foimd the first few intact specijaens which encouraged us to continue searching. These were dead shells of approz. 40mm. diameter, caught in tussock climps several feet up the hanksoff the roadside, and we x/ere all eg ozcited at finding our first Paryphanta specimens. Nearer the summit we found a couple of large freshly dead specimens , half buried in clay slips. One other large dead shell we picked up had lost most of the shiny dark greenish periostracum and x-re could see the solid V7hite, limey shell ezposed. At the summit ,we foxind tlio x;eather very cold and xd.ndy and the rest of the family xverc eager to abandon the search. As I was turning back, I spied a Paryphanta perched atop an empty beer can on the roadside - our first live specimen I It was evident that roadmen had been clearing out the blocked vrater table area, and we noticed clay piles containing crushed Paryphanta shells. I decided that ‘it x^nuld not bo safe to leave the live snail x-^here it was, so added it to the rest of our finds. On our return journey on 8th, August , we left at daxm as I was keen to search the roadside from the Kaitaia end of the Gorge in the hope of finding some larger specimens. This proved more productive|we found more fresh specimens along the road edge, and some others caught on the high banks. Soon I observed the sight I had been hoping for- one large beauty gliding along the grassy roadside, fully extended with its head erect, and large, dark olive green shell swaying gently on the dark greyish black, shining body, with long V-shapod tail. It looked suprisingly elegant for such a large snail, but also very vulnerable with passing motorists so close, and the roadmen starting work for another day, so I gathered it up and carefully brought it home. On arrival,! promptly washed and sorted all my specimens- most were not large, about 40mm. across, but nearly a dozen were 60 - 70mm. ,and five were apparently still alive. Most of these larger shells had a definite'’grox-rth variz" which seemed rather unusual for Paryphanta; and I vrondered ifthis was the result' of some temporary adverse conditions. One empty shell contained a tiny live Paryphanta of 15mm, diameter, this was placed in a large tub containing the bi^ Paryphantas,xntil I could fi:: then up a permanent homo. The juvenile promptly attached itself onto the back of a largo adult and remained there - each time it was removed, it climbed back onto any one of the large adults again. All the animals seemed sensitive to noise | they quickly withdrev/ into their shells at the sound of approaching foot steps, or other household noise. I put some minced meat in the bottom of the tub until I could hunt up some x-rorms,but the snails showed no interest in it. Our disused large Aquarium with sliding glass top vras sot up as a Terrarium with a liberal spreading of wormfilled compost on sand in the bottom, This was covered with moss and leaves and planted with several ferns and grassy clumps. I had road that Paryphanta. vrcrc voracious camivorsjso decided it would interest the children to watch them foedinc outside. ¥e collected a good supply of worms and took our supposedly hungry snails out onto the lawn, to see them in action* The results v^ore very disappointing - the Paryphanta. showed ahsolutly no interest at all. At last we were rewarded when one animal became very much activated by the presence of a large worn,irriggling in the grass nearby. Firstly we noticed the ParyphantA's dark glistoning,oxtended body gliding through the grass towards the X7orm,thon it poised for a few seconds, and a large oval, conspicuous white mouth appeared at the base of its head# This stiticturc extended rapidly^then a large proboscis ( like that of a. Conus ), parted fonfard and captured the end of the worm,pausing'- at the saddle only, while the other end of the worm was still trying to burrow into the ground. Wo tried •offering more worms,but one sooned to suffice, and the snail could’nt be tempted to capture any more. This method of capturing and engulfing the worm vras of grea.t interest to me, as I had read that Paryphanta usually smother their prey in the extensive folds of their foot and devour the worn piecemeal# All the Paryphanta. wore placed in their Terrarium in a. dark area in our basement , where they quickly seilled doxra and buried themselves in the soil under the moss and loaves. They remained hidden most of the time, but rooted around continually under the surface layers. I often observed them v;ith their heads well do;m into the soil. On rairg^, humid nights, they were soon suspended from the glass top or sides of their Terrarium 5 they rarely emerged in da,ylight. Wo added fresh worms to the soil whenever they xfore available, but noted that when worms x^ore difficult to find, the Pa,ryphanta showed no interest in slugs, meat scraps or Helix adsporsa - oven when those were crushed. In oexly summer they shox^cd unucue.l behaviour over a period of several days. All the larger animals emerged onto the surface of the moss and then became very much attached to each other.They remained clasped in a clump of throe or four indivi dun-1 s, for some hours, changing positions from time to time. I assumed this to bo a prelude to their egg laying, so added heaps of bush mould and loaves and plenty of x^orms,in the hope of providing the necessary inducements to produce eggs. However I x^as disappointed as no eggs xforo laid in the leaf ■piles or soil, oven though the conditions ivore moist and warm# Worms x-rcro few in sumiaer and one wot summer's day,x-re tried to got the most active animals to capture fresh x^orms, after weeks of starvation,x^hile also hoping to 'got photographs of the interesting event , but still they would not oblige. A few x*rorms woreallowod to crall along the wet path in front of the snails, in fact one even crawled inside the aperture of a 50 shell jPight under the animal's largo enveloping footjond was a totally ignored. Our Paryphanta. were certainly not proving to he active camivors. The Terrarium remained moist all summer and the occupants seemed happy, even without food. They did not form any epiphram in their apertures, as I had thought they might , when no food was available. The baby snail continued to grow noticeably, so I can ojaly assume that it obtained nourishment from the soil or from other organisms. \\Tien the large snails were put outside j'^hey generally remained in their shells. They would not crawl away to avoid the heat and the siin^ their shells dried up quickly to a much lighter olive ^recn colour, I was sure the animals would die quickly as their shells felt quite hot ,but they soon revived when returned to their cool home. In early winter, several Parj'phanta.. died, including the baby one which had reached, by now, 40aua. diameter. This size was about the same as that of many of the dead shells that we had picked up in the Mangarauka Gorge, The other dead shells had all attained a size of 65 - 70mm. ,and had increased their size by 15 - 20mm. since we had collected thorn. This appeared to be the maximum size they vrould attain. The remaining pair of snails in the Terrarium, did not feed on their dead companions but survived another several months with plenty of worms to oat. They have also died, after a full 12 months in captivity, as 70mm adults, their soft bodies when removed from the shells after soaking in water, were fully relaxed and showed clearly, the large musular proboscis with its mouth, that had so ably captured its prey. •oOo NOTES of INTEREST. Geoff. Foreman, Nairoa, writes -5 "I have been out to Mahia a couple of times lately xvith moderate success9 One shell of considerable interest, was a b_£NTICUtATA ( (NT£1?I0R ) ■ .^£CQNb POIN r, K/\IKOUR.A P£f\J/NSULA _C^LLANA 'RAD/AM.q -KAtKOuftA ■ /A-// -77 ,5-7a>m -A/ATURAt- Size.. 67mm Along with the patterned radians y is the form called argent eus in older shell hooks, usually plain dark-coloured on the outside, and shining silver on the insidefalso .th.e. greeny-yellow form perana is occasionally found. , _ Cellana flava is abundant in some places, many of them^ coloured . - -al^illiant golden- or anga, and attaining.^.O. to ,60miiu.,while. a.. few old timers with paler colouring reach 70mm. Cellana omata is ' fairly common in exposed places|fine clean specimens up to 56mm. in size. Cellana strigilis redimicul\uii also prefers exposed places, T/ith large" clean specimens up to’ SBaiii. ,hut less common than the other species of Collayia. oellaiia' stellifera is small and rare here, and found only at' extreme low tide. With marine growth covering the star pattern on the apex, it is sometimes very difficult to distinguish it from C^ "argent eus'jwhich has exactly the same shell colouring- -. -oLain (^ark. hrowny-rgrev pn the out side, and silver, inside^' But they can he distinguisshed hy the colour the narrow margin on the foot of the animal - bright golden orange in stellifera 1 and greenish- ^ellow in radians. The form phymatius,with its prominent whia ribs, does not appear to be found here. s. . CBLLAN A_5.TRI&< CELL ANA FkAVA (INTLR.IOP _AT|A PoiNT^ KAIKOU^A Pt-NJNSUL.A. _..A.RMC-R1S KAIKOURA Na ruRAL .o/Z£ 6S X p 3 MAA -J:vfAT.UR/'(-. 71 K Among the Acnaeidae,tho largest and commonest species is Patelloida corticatayVfith the star shaped form corallina^a little less common. These are abundant everywhere on low tidal rocks, and often attain 25 to 30mm«with a few up to 33mm# Radiacmea inconspicua is fairly common on rocks at extreme low tide and often on Haliotis iris’ shells. ( interior) T£r,ONT) PclL/>LX»,. ..KAIKO URAJBL.r^LNSUL/] Na'tural. Si zt: „ 56 X 4-5/^m Patel lqa]^,_.c.qRXIQ6TJ<. KaikouRA 2£NIN£lULA NA 1~UR AL 51 T a . . Notoacmea - pilD.opsis. stumus surprisingly, does not seem to like iSlkoura’ s exposed coastline and although they usuallyflourish in this sort of environment , they are uncommon, small I'md in poor condition ^living at high tide on steep rock faces. Notoacmea daedala,up to 13mm#, is fairly common living under intertidal stones# Notoacmea helmsi is small and uncommon, since the muddy areas it prefers are limited in size# On these small mudflats are "patches of sea-grass where I have searched long-.and hard for Not oacmea helmsi scapha , hut without finding a single live specimen in what appears to he an ideal environment# Not oacmea parvicQnoidea is fairly. common, especially on mussels, hut ofteii overlooked hecause of its small size ajid inconspicuous colouring. I have found two specimens of Not oacmea virescens,one alive, the other in shell sandman attractive little limp^ -with hrovm. stripes on a white background. Not oacmea scopulina is fairly common in very limited areas, on exiposed rock faces# 62 , • Those are nearly always "badly eroded or encrusted, and are difficult to distin^ish from P»corticata ,but the solo of the foot is a'" slightly deeper shade of orange. Asteracmea suteri I have not found alive here, hut it is quite common in shell- sand, Atalacmea fragilis is not common, under inter-tidal stones The most interesting of the Fissurellidae- ia, utidouhtedly Montfortula rugosao Although it is-restricted to very few Tocatities,it is fairly common in inter-tidal rock pools on the more exposed parts of the Kaikoura peninsula^hut only in a certain type of pool, and after a, while one can almost tell at a glance v^hether there will be Montfortula there or not. 5ir ; VIEW :T'\ gASr - -AD. k A ; k O U R A P £ /N ' .V5.L ! 1^[AT //lAl The pool must be rather emcall and bare, and if one looks very carefully, these inconspicuous little greenish limpets will be seen. They do not attain the size of Auatralian exajnples, which grow almost to one inchjthe largest one I have seen at Kaikoura was13nm. Large Scutus breviculus occur commonly in rock crevices at very low tidejthe solid white shell attaining a length of some 7Qrnm.,is internal in a large black animal about size. Tugali elegans a,nd Tugali suteri are both rare here and I have not yet found either of them alive. Benhamina obliquata is fairly common in rock crevices at high tide, attaining a size of 67mmt Siphonaria zelandica is common ever;jairhere, sometimes reaching 30mm. Siphonaria cookiana is less common, and easily overlooked. Growing from 12 to”T4mm, , it looks just like a small _ ^landica ,unt il one looks very closely Recently, while visiting the Seal colony,! found S. zelandica, S. CO old, ana, Montfortula rugosa and fine large Notoacmea parvi conoidea, all living together in one small pool. In exposed areas, Gadinalia nivea is quite common on the roofs of rock' caverns -’’another small ’limpet’ which is easily overlooked, Lafft,and also least are two tiny elongated limpets found in shell sand at Armers Beach. Least in size they may be, but cert ainljr not least an my. .efforts to find them alive. At first I thought they were Notoacmea helmsi scapha,but ,as already mentioned, ray efforts -to -locate, this species have been in vain. Then I decided they must be Gundlachia,since the shell sand 63 contained other fresh water species,- PlanorhisaPotajuopvrgus and Sphaeriumt And so, a visit to "Stink Swamp" hecame necessary, a most revolting place inhabited by about twenty pied stilts, which soundly scolded me for invading their territory* They need not be concerned that I might be a frequent visitor’ Although Ifelt quite sure that no self-respecting mollusc would live there, I found a few dead Potaraopyrgus and Planorbjs with the aid of a sieve, Anyone observing me wading in thich black stinking raud,would have good reason to conclude that I had taken leave of my senses. particularly if they had seen me a little later in a nearby creek, down on hands and knees in the middle of a patch of watercress’ Here were plenty of living shells - plenty of Potamopyrgus, while glanorbis and Sphaerium were not uncommon. But not a trace of Gundlachia , although it seemed to be an ideal environment for them. Two more visits to Arraers Beach have failed ta show any sign of these elusive little freshwater limpets, so at present Gundlachia remains a doubtful species on the checklist of Kaikoura limpets. oOo THE AUCKLAM) SHELL SHOW (THE EERST). R.C.Willan. The first Shell Show to take place in New Zealand was held in the North Shore Teacher’s College Caf . ,Northcote,over the week- end of 2 1st^. ,22nd .January 1978* This probably attracted more shcllers than have ever been brought together at one time in New Zealand and we were especially pleased to greet members and old friends from V/hangarei and Christchurch who had come just for the show. The Show attracted large crowds throughout both days and it was soon apparent that a more suitable venue than the College Cafeteria and Lounge could not have been found. Approximately 1,200 visitors saw the show and takings have considerably augmented the Conchology Section' s publication fund. Both exhibitors and visitors wore unanimous in their praise for the organizers' hard work, the excellent quality of specimens on display and the high standard of displays themselves. There were approximately I50 entries, with entries being received for almost all of the competitive classes. Some of the classes of popular overseas shell families such as cowries, cones, murex and strombs had up to twelve entries. Despite the number of entries for classes of foreign shells, those entering shells for the New Zealand sections put up extremely presentable displays. Dr Powell who judged these sections was most impressed. Bob Penniket gained three first prizes (for Cymatiidae,Cassidae,Pectinidae) , Norman Douglas won the sections for Haliotidae,We^ Coast shells and Deep Water shells - the latter exhibit was graced by his superb shell of Pacbymelon bent hie ola. Norman Gardner won the sections for Volutidae and Land Snails. 64 Hunt and Molly Soelyo won tlie Cj'praoa section with, a dis'play of large cowriesjall heing tones of hroi'm and resting on a deep green background materal. Three Cypraea aurantiiffl glowed from adjacent trays in this section^. Derek Lanb had a well-deserved win In the Conidae^ Derek had done so much of the initial organization for this showjit was a great pity that he was unable to be present because of being in hospital =. Joan Coles won the sections for large volutes and small Muric;LdaG,Pot Vause won four classes of foreign molluscs. Pat’s entry also won the Shells of One Colour section - a magnificent exhibit of wU.te shells on a pale blue background|.she had chose'c shells that complimented and contrasted with each other, covering the rabge of sculptural and te^uxal extremes that molluscs are able to produceffrom the fragility and smoothness of an Argonauta nodosa to the crisp perfection of Murex alabaster and Latia^s sppe'^to the simple form of a Heptunea antiquata. fl'ighly comnended was awarded to an entry of golden shells on a green satin background- The Pectinidae is a logical group in which to enter specimens showing colour variation, so it was no surprise that all three wjjining entries were @f representatives of this family - 1st. OoSnook,with Chlamys zelandiae,2nd<,Bob Penniket with Chlamys oper cu lari s , 3rd<, Esther McKenzie T-rith Chlamys > dieffenbachi. , I'ly mese djfiioult task was judging the ’Shells of One Country’ section? .Pat Vause was first (Japan)', second equal were Damaris Keil'^ (Peez Hebrides) and Mary Satison(New Zealand), third was the Rigden Family ( Australia) , Anne Randall ~rcn both a first and second for best picture in the Shell Art section^ Miss JoLi\tLngston,vzho kindly judged all the art sections, considered VoFirth’ s jewel box covered with shells as the best object of shell arbo PcMoSpencer won the Shell Drawing section with his colou.red still life of a group of Hew Zealand shells, Norman Douglas and Margaret Morley were second equal ^d.th their excellent hlack and white drawings of living gastropods? Septa parthenopea and A.lcithce arabica respectively* Norman Douglas worT'tne *secTron foir'?Houog^;^s“bT shells. In a hall filled vzith entries of molluscs ’shells, Norman's photographs of living nudibranchs provided a woll-plaijned contrast. The non-competitive d'spla.ys ■'./ere of equally high standard to those in the competitive i.'octiors. And because shells entered in competitive classes ccuid only carry their name and country of origin those of the disuJ. o.y classes 'vvere frequently of greater public interest because cf their krifo:(:*m.abion content and obvious effort that had gone into coiistn:iDtion of these displays. Jim Goul stone had drawings of land snails together wj.th samples of each species. Mrs.Pearce's little shell animals were the highlight of the visit for many children, and considering the success of the sales table, it was a pity that more of these quaint shelly creatures were not for sale to the piblic. Other displays were of New Zealand corals and oysters, world Tonna species, poisonous cone shells, fossils ,cephalopods and giant Tridacna shells. Ne were grateful to the North Shore A^quarirun Society for their exhibit of tropical fish and a col.ourfully planted terrarium. 65 For a display in New Zealand jtlie numbers of rare overseas sh.ells,all of gem quality, vras stunning - some Of the choicest items being; Pleurotomaria ( Eerotrochus ) teramachii, P*. ( Mikadotrochus ) Iiirasoi , Galeoocorys leucoderma,Lambis violacea Conus circimcisus, C; bullatus, alabaster, Strombus goliath, taurus zmd no less than nineteen S, listeri« The Shell of the Show award has to be left until last. Although there were fifteen entries, the judges were unanimous that the best single "specimen was a magnificent , largo Tonna cerevisinao Kevin Burch from Nhangaroi had taken it liveTin iJovember 1977 in only siz feet of water; its live weight was 6lb, 2ozs, It is very appropriate that the Shell of the Show should have been taken by a New Zealand shell and demonstrates just hovr well our shells can hold their own in competition with overseas specimens, oOo OBSERVATIONS ON PATELLIB LIMPETS • IN the im HEBRIDES r ' D.H.Balcer. Durirg an assignment to the New Hebrides in 1976,1 managed a few brief opportunities to examine the foregone arid in three of the localities visited, volcanic rock was the main constituent of the shoreline. In two of these areas, an interesting ' Cellana was found which could prove to be similar to that recently recorded from American Samoa by Mr, N, Gardner, and having what a,ppears to bo on affinity rath one of the Japanese species, Cellana torouraa. The first of the three areas examined, was on the Island of Tanna, A search was made on the volcanic rock two miles south of Lenatel on the west coast of the island, for Cellana priced Powell; previously recorded in this area. This is a weather "coast with no protecting reef , so the constant sivell breaking on the rocks with some force, made on examination difficult, particularly as I was unable to choose ray time and tides. After four searches, including one at night, one specimen was located in a rock runnel., which was covered by each incoming wave. Because of this position, this specimen was very depressed. Nearby was a Patelloida saccharina Linne ; the only other limpet ' observed. During the night search, I was interested to see a two -^foot eel bounding out of pools and slithering across rocks out of the water in pursuit of crabs, which it was catching with some success, . 66 .■ , ... ■ • ' ‘ The next locality, was the island of Epi some 60 miles north of Vila. The west , coast of this island, where I was located, is mainly coral^in format ion, hut I managed a qioick visit to the east coast , opposite the 4700ft. island volcano of Lopevi, where the rocks are of volcanic origin. C.pricei waa.found here on the face of a huge volcanic reck imbedded in a coral' mhtris.- They were at about mid-tide level, a little below a specimen of " Patella flexuosa QScG, and specimens of Patelloida saccharina. " In 'size -tHey rainged up to 36mm. x 30rom. A little further along the bay, in a slight depression, but above low tide mark, there was an area of smooth rounded basalt boulders, dense black in colour and about I5" in diameter... On the undersides of these I found three specimens of Cellana testudinaria Linne, the largest 58mm. x 48mm. they were in isolation, one specimen only per rock. The ribbing was so fine they appeared s^mooth, and in colour matched the daik rock perfectly. In all respects the sculpture, dimensions and internal colouring were typical of the species. Under two of the rocks, again one specimen per rock, there was a much thinner, frailer species, elongated and also lighter in colour by comparison Td.th testudinaria. They called to mind specimens of C.toreuma Reeve,wbicli I Eave from Kii in Japan. On comparing these specimenswith Japanese example s...;yiere are some minor differences ,but the general characteristics appear to be those of toreuma. As I am not familiar with the degree of variation within this species in its normal range, I am not in a position to know whether these differences are significant. Both specimens are large , measuring 38mm.x28mm.x8mm. They tend to have rounded rather than sub-paiallel sides, but still have that narrow look of toreuma. They are a greyish buff in colour with dense, fine, radial sculpture, but not as rugose as the Japanese specimens. The internal surface is silvery with a reddish-bro^sn boldly rayed pattern showing through the shell, and a chestnut spatula clouded over with white towards the anterior end. In the northem part of the Group, on the eastern tip of Aoba, facing Maewo , another volcanic area, I found a few further examples, smaller in size and displaying a more mottled pattern. Those were found on a vertical face on black volcanic rock in association with small specimens of C.pricei. A large rock had split in two and the specimens were on the tv^o inner surfaces df the cleft, shielded from the sun, but exposed to the heavy swell, to the extent that it was necessary to strip off to get them. T;his was the only place I found limpets in this area, although I examined a twenty foot rock face below low tide nark. In a similar place on the east coast of Coromandel , one would find C.stellifera. It is understandable why they do not live on rocks espiosed to the sunlight and rain at low tide, but there were other locations which seemed to be suitable,thougli were apparently quite bare. 67 In a neighbouring hay, an extinct voloano vent now breached by the sea, there was an absence of suitable boulders to ezamine, but from indications in the black sand drift , limpets obviously exist in the bay. There were however no signs of C.tostudlnaria. In 1938 jl visited the same bay and a cursory examination of the rocks at that time revealed no obvious signs of limpets. It seems that in these tropical localities, the right conditions for Patellid limpets are very limited, even within a particular locality. oOo NOTES of INTEREST The pacific Oyster ,Crassostrea gigas Thunberg, is apparently still rapidly expanding its area of distribution. It is now established in several areas around the northern shore of the Waitemata Harbour, Typically frilly juvenile specimens of 4 - 5cni.,aro now quite common at Island Bay( 20-2-78), Further up the coast at Mahurangi, where this oyster has been established now for some years, large specimens are beginning to show up on rocks and rocky shelves away from the oyster farms v;here they are systematically harvested at a small and tender stage. Specimens of up to I6O c.m.,are not uncommon now. Recently Mr.BoboPenniket came across a large single specimen firmly attached to a rock on the Coromandel Coast# Mrs.P.Mayhill reports observing and phot ographing two adult, live P^yphanta,on Mt .Egmont ,wliile she was on a recent tramping trip, and on the Mangorei Track saw specimens of Allodiscus granum, A. Chiron ,A.miranda ,A.tesselata,Gennoropa hutt orm ,Therasia traversi , Suteria ide, Schizoglossa novaezelandiae,Flamoconcha n.sp., end ^haropa pseudoleioda - all in and under logsj in the litter xrcre only two extremely small Paralaoma( Weaver Clearing) . Suteria ide was living at 4600 ft. ,so obviously does not' mind cold temperatures. 68 Somothing ycoi dicin' t know abcxit our Paryphanta Snails I A,R.Wallacesin"Darwinisn" , Colonial Edit ion, P.433* - Now Zealand, the prickly Ruhus is a leafless trailing plant and its prickles are prebahly a protection against the large snails of the country, several of which have shells from two to throe and a half inches long." Laing and Blackvrcll in " Plants of New Zealand" - " Rubus is one of the commonest species on the edge of the forest and the snails referred to, belong to a rare and disappearing s species, seldom if ever found in the neighbourhood of Rubus." ( Paryphanta hochstotteri in particular , and also the northern P«busbyi,are both sometimes found on the edge of the Bush - under logs covered in Rubus etc. Fern and Rubus ,the bush- lawyer, made a dense covering for Paryphanta on Takaka Hill some years ago. Ed.) A collector in American Samoa ivritesf- " We are having an invasion of Crown of Thoms Starfish. Cur particular area is only mildly infested and we have killed several hundred. However, in nearby areas, natives have caught well over 7000," oOo TRIP TO THE LOYALTY ISLANDS. J, Coles. In August 1976 2- group of Auckland members of the Conchology Section ,flew over Ouvea in the Loyalty Islands, and the view of long sandy beaches and an extensive lagoon, suggested that this might bo an interesting area to visit on a -Shelling trip. Later investigations revealed that suitable accomodation was available, so it was decided to arrange for a few days in Noumea and a stay of 10 days on Ouvea. Finally a gr.oup of five - Mr.*: l>b?s,To'\vn,i'Irs«Hole,I''lr, Crosby and I, departed on a U.T, A. flight on July 26th, leaving behind several very disappointed members whose commitments prevented them from joining the group. A short stay in Noumea gave us the opportunity to visit Anse Vata beach and spend an enthralling hour at the Marine Aquarium. On cur return, we explored the Baio des Citrons, visited some of the bays south of Noumea and saw some of the rugged country cn the road to Yatd*. 69 Early on the second morning, our plane left Magenta Airport and hy 7a-#m#,we had landed at Ouvea. IXiring the flight wo wore enthralled hy the wide variation in cloud formations, a spectacular red sunrise and views of other islands in-tho group. The Loyalty Islands, administered hy France, lie’ in a chain parallel -with .the., east coast of New Caledonia and approximately 50 miles distant. The ^oup consists of three larger islands - Ouvea, Lifou and Mare, together with many small islands. ^ Ou^ea is the most northerly in the group and lies within a 20 -21 Latitude, giving it a northerly position approximating to Mackay in (^eensland. The islands are of limestone formation hut "except for impressive cliffs guarding each side of the entrance to Lekin Bay, the island is low and crescent shaped with miles of sandy hoaches. It is approximately 30 miles long and a maximum of 4j|^ miles wide. It is well wooded, vd.th coconut palms predominating. There are many villages, the native people being of Melanesian and I’olynesian races, with a total population of about 5OOO. A sealed roa4 connects Fayahou^ in the south with St .Joseph in the north. The main export is copra. Yams, taro, bananas and other tropical fruit and vegetables are grown. Land tenure is restricted and part of the island is a Reserve. Both Catholic and Protestant missionaries have been active for over 100 years and there are a number of large churches and school buildings. French is the main language together with native dialects. ‘ "■'There' is a- resident Doctor and a dispensary, and small hospital. Medical care is free. ’ , _ Native style huts in -a -wide -variet y- of shapes, and with- variations in the plaited walls and’modes of thatching, provide homos for most villagers. But wo were interested to find- that . .. a New Zealand firm was building homes there# Accommodation 'at the Relais- -d* Ouvea, situated-at Fayahoue, about 7 miles from Lekin Bay, is provided in the native - style huts called faroe.'^^uch is self-contained, very plainly furnished but adequate for one's nceds^ These are set in a beautiful tropical garden which enchanted us on our arrival, as the 'Sun was shining brilliantly on the poinsottias and other colourful plants# The beach and an incredibly blue sea were only 'a few yards away, The small islands of the outer reef of this lagoon, can only just be seen ,so the impression from the beach, is more of the open sea than of a lagoon. ' As soon as possible wo were on the beach where wc were delighted to find a good -wasliup of shells. First impressions were of Quantities of Phos sentioosus,many in fresh condition, and large numbers of Bulla ^jiulla. 70 During the morning we were taken to visit Lekin Bay, where the low tide allowed us to cross the wide sandy flats and reach the reef. In this hay Lamhis lamhis can he f ound , St r omhu s gihherulus and luhuanus abound and a numher of the larger Terehras can ho tro.ckod in shallow water. Naticas are also present . Cerithiiim clava'was found arid a'gooS. specimen of Malea pomum. The whole area is full of interest as there is an extensive area of protected heach,a small vrharf and rocks used in its construction and also a wide area of more open heach. Land crahs appeared much loss common than in the New Hebrides, hut a few were seen in the vegetation on the sand dunes. One provided me v/ith a good specimen of Lophiotoma acuta. Banks near the beach are crumbling and exposeTarge numbers of Placostylus. Live Specimens also occur in this area, where the headland is well wooded. Former alterations in sea level, have left small caverns in the limestone rocks and a small Chapel occupies one of these areas. My first find on reaching this beach was a Nautilus _ macromphalus ,br oken ,but treasured, as it was the only one found* This species is confined to the New Caledonian region. Ne visited this area on tv;o subsequent occasions -once, alas, on a very wet and quite coldish' windy day ,much more like New Zealand than the tropics, but on each occasion we added to our collections. Ne covered a number of miles of the sandy beach north and south of Fayahoue, I tliinl: the greatest thrill for us all was picking up good specimens of Torobellum tcrebellum each time we visited the beach. Some were in very fresh condition, with a wide variety of markings, Ne -were amazed at the prevalence of Bulla ampulla and vemicosa. Bulla punctulata were also found and an occasional Bulla angasi. We noticed that although many Bulla ampulla were well coloured, there were considerable numbers of vdiite ones which appeared reasonably fresh. Pupa, At ys and Harainoea were common, and among seaweed, specimens of the large frail 'i'lkora soluta,Hydatina physis and Araplustre amp lust rum were found, Pyrenids were also plentiful and attractively coloured. It is interesting to note that _Pyror^ flava was given the name "ouveana" by Heuvier in 1899 Pyr ene~~script a "ouveensis". A visit to Matua Island, one of the nearer islands of the Heef, about -^hrs, journey in a fast boat, gave us the opportunity to view coral and collect in a more rocky area. Here wo saw a well camouflaged fish, resting on a rocky platform. We gave it a wide berth, as it resembled the poisonous stone fish, A Toyota station wagpn was available from the Hotel and this enabled us to see more of the island and cover most of the sandy beaches, but we were unable to collect on the south-east coast. 71 1SI*ANDS. HE.V CAkmNlA . . TB^ 3 SU\>iD OF OUV^. The day before c»ur departure we met a shell collector who gave us a number of good specimens and also took us to a large limestone quarry which abounded in fossils. Some were imbedded in compacted sa2id,were easily removed and in some instances still retained some of their original colour. Others appeared older, were imbedded in harder limestone and shoxred evidence of mineral- isation, A wide range of species xms represented and many \tqtb in perfect condition. Although cool and windy conditions restricted snorkling and fuller exploration of the lagoon, we were able to find over 150 species of shell s,duning our stay, including | GASTROPODA, Stomatia phymotis Helbling. Ouvea, Phasiatiella aethiopica Philippi," Littorina cocinea Gmelin, " Toctus fenestratus Gmelin, " Nerita plicata L, ^^atua Id Chrysostoma paradoxum Bom, Ouvea, Pseud ost omat ella pap^rracea Gmelin. " Cerithium asper L« " Cerithium fasciatus Brug, " Cerithium piperatum Sby, " Cerithium lolurnna forma proditum Bolye " Cerithium zonatus (Brug) " Otopleura nodicincta(A,Adams) " Lambis lambis L, " Strombus luhuanus L, " Torebellum terebellura L, " Heliacus variegatus Gmelin, " 'Trigonostoma scalarif ormis Lam," Cypraea erosa L, " Cypraea mauritiana L, Matua Id, Cypraea caput serpent is L, CXivca. Cypraea vitellis L. " I'Tatica one a Roding " Pol inices auranticus Lam. " Malea pomum L, " Distorsio anus L, Hatua Id. Phos senticosus L, Ouvea >!turGX brunneus Linlc. " Thais armigera Link, Matua Id. Morula fragum Blainville Ouvea, Morula margarticola (Brod). " Cronia contract a " Drupa ricina L. " Mitrella ligula (Duc*los) " Turbo Chrysostoms L, Ouvea, Umbonium vestiarum L. " Littorina undata Gray. " ITerita albicilla L, Matuald. " undata L, " Liotina peronii Kiener, Ouvea, Cerithium aluco L, " Cerithium clava Gmelin, " Cerithium lifuensis Mel.&Stn, " Cerithium rostratum Sby. " Cerithium sinensis (Gmelin) " Otopleura mitralis (A, Adams)" Pyramidella sulcata(A,Ad, )" Strombus gibbemlus L, " Strombus mtabilis Sx-rain." Epitonium marmoratiara Sby, " Philippa radiata Roding " Cypraea annulus L, " Cypraea l^nx L. " Cypraea moneta L, " Cypraea arabica L, " I'Tatica gaulteriana Recluz," Batica robillardi Sby, " Polinices melanost omus(Gm. )" Gutturniirm mricinum Rod, " Bursa rhodostoma (sby.) " Engine sp, " I'lurex Scorpio L, " Morula chaidea (Duclos), " Morula granulata( Duclos) " Eavartia brevicula Sby. " Drupa ochrostoma (Blain. )" Mitrella albina Kiener Purpura persica L, 1? II Vasum turtinellum L, Ouvea# Pyrene punctata (Brug. ) " Pyrene turturina Lara. Matua Id. Nassarius conoidalis Desh. Oavea, Nassarius delicatus A.Adams " Nassarius glans L. " Nassarius horridus Bunlcer " Oliva miniacea Reding " Mitra cucumerina Lam. " Mitra lugubris Swain. " Strigatella crassa (Swain.) " Pterygia crenulata Gme. " Lophiotoraa acuta Perry, " Conus catus Brug. " Conus coronatus Gme. " Conus geographus L. Matua Id Conus litteratus L, Ouvea Conus miles L. " Conus nussatella L. " Conus textile L. " Terebra affinis Gray. " Terebra subulata L. " Terebra areolata L. " Terebra guttata Roding. " Bulla vemicosa Gould, " Bulla angasi Pi3 sbry. " Pupa nitidula L. " Akera soluta (Gnelin, ) " Aplustium amplustre L. " Smaragdia viridis Rang. " Pyrene flava (Brug, ) Ouvea, Pyrene scripta Lam. ■ " Cantbarus fumosus Bill. " Nassarius crematus Hinds." Nassarius gaudiosus Hinds:.;" Nassarius graniferus. Nassarius pauperus Gould " Mitra amaura Hervier " Mitra exasperatum (Gme.) " Mitra mitra L. " Strigatella tiaconica Rve. " Baphnella reeveana Besb. " Clavus unizonalis Lam. " Conus cbaldeus Roding. " Conus flavidus Lam. " . Conus leopardus Rod. " Conus lividus Hwass. " Conus miliaris Hwass. " Corns pulicarius Hwass, " Conus tulipa L. Terebra dimidiata L. " Terebra textilis Hinds " Terebra cblorata Lam. " Bulla ampulla L, " Bulla punctulata A.Adams." Atys alveola Souvcrbie. " Pupa sulcata Gmelin. " Haminoea sp. " Hydatina pbysis L. " Mir BIVALVIA Anadara antiquata (Bill) Oiuvea Pteria sp. " Biplodonta sp. ” Tapes litterata L. " Bonax sp. " Tellina staurella Lam. " Spondylus sp. " Quidnipagus palatam Ire. " Codakia tigerina L. " _ Fulvia tenuicostata Lara. Lekin Bay. Laevicardium biradiatura Brug." Fragum unedo L. " Vosella nitida (Reeve )Ouvea Gloriapecten pallium L. "' Coelomactra antiquata Speng, " Gafrarium dispar Bill. " Tellina virgata L. " Tellina vulsella Hanley " Asapbis violaceus Forskal " Frimbia frimbriata L. " Atactodea striata " Cardium elongatum Brug. " Fragum fragum L. " CEPHALOPOBA Nautilus macrompbalus Sowerby, Lekin Lagoon. 74 Shells j colour slides end prints are tangible reminders of a most enjoyable trip. Memories of beautiful surroundings,a relaxed way of life jinteresting fellow guests, fine French cooking, will also remain. Attractive children, gleefully accept i2:ig sweets and mai'bles, listening patiently to our stilted French, and adding to our collection the tiny Smaragda viridis vzill also be recalled with affection. Our chief cause for concern was the thought of what our follow 'C.onchologists vrould have said if they could have seen us all at a meal ,on two occasions, each with a plate of ten of the large Placostylus from the Isle of Pines [ References! - Marine Shells of the Pacifies ’ r Waltor 0,Cemohorsky,vol, 1 , ,12, Pacific Islands Year Book, New Caledonia - Les Editions Pacifique, I wish to acknowledge the assistance of Mr,W,0,Cemohorsky in the identification of specimens, oOo MOLLUSCS FROM the CHANNELS of PARENGARENGA HARBOUR, N,N, Gardner, New Zealand's most northern harbour, situated just below North Cape, has alvrays attracted collectors of sea shells as there seems to be a belief that the further north one goes, greater is the chance of finding rare species, therefore, the Parenga- renga Harbour gets a considerable amount of attention. Although quite a sisable harbour, it is not a deep onejits numerous a.rms running up into fairly low countryside are little more than tidal sand and mud flatsj No rivers of any size drain into it, though there are a few small streams. Even the main channels, which drain the extensive flats, are not really deep and are well defined at low tide levels. The entrance is comparatively narrow, with a considerable tidal race, and it has a bar of unpleasant character. — ■ In the past, on several occasions, some dredging for specimens has been done, but apparently no comparative list cf ma,teril is available. The main purpose of this paper is to 75 present such a list of species found to he present in a series of bottom samples taken recently in the main channel betv/een Dog Island and the Heads while checking on the occurrence of the Myochama tasmanica (T, Woods. ) jS' small bivalve featured in PoirieriaT'voTrHTpaiFtlT 1 97 6 9 and which attaches itself to the empty valves of Tawera spissa or other bottom debris. In parts of the main channel, there are quite large groups of the vermetid Hovastoa lamellosa. These frequently came up in the dredge in clumps. Prom this area too, great numbers of Zethalia zelandica were brought up - active molluscs whigh thrasiiod about when the dredge v/as emptied. All specimens vrere of rather small size. The large number of dead Tawera spissa shellsprovided ample shelter for the low conical cap shell Zegalerus tenuis, which was present in hundreds, but again, all small, the size being about 10mm.to12mm. Although Zeacolpus pagoda occurs commonly along the out- side ocean beaches, only a few sub-adult shells seemed to be present in the areas in which we dredged. Quite considerable numbers of the tiny commensal bivalve Arthritica bifurca Webster, were present in the dredgings, indicating that its host, the Polychaete sand-mason worm, must be there in some numbers too. Some were brought up in the ■ dredge. This species of Arthritica is recognised easily by the two distinctive whitish areas of thickening on the inside of the shell below the hinge. The harbour has quite extensive Zostera flats, and it is doubtlessly from these that the dead specimens of the tiny limpet Notoacmea helmsi,of the elongated scapha form, have found their way into the deeper channels. The shoreline does not support much in the way of a rock oyster population due, no doubt, to the lack of much hard rock on which spat might settle. In places there is some soft peaty sandstone, which is not at all suitable. However, in the deeper channels, a small variety of Ostraa,not unlike the Stewart Island oyst er , 0 . lut aria , exist s . This attaches itself to bottom debris, as does*"the species from Stewart Id. , and Foveau Strait, but in Parengarenga Harbour does not seem to grow beyond 25mm. Perhaps it is not happy in such a location. The shell has a raised lip, is somewhat 'cupped* , without colour pattern, and looks very much like the southern O.heffordi. While there is quite a sizable list of species in the ^edgings,many specimens are old, representing accumulations that have lain in the channels and runnels for some time. The fauna is typically one of shallow water, with few surprises 5 76 1 some species tiave no doubt drifted in from otbor areas where they had been living. List of species notedjwith some comments. GASTROPODA Notoacmea helmsi( Smith) : Notoacmea " scapha Forma Notoacmea subtilis (Suter) Asteracmea suter i (iredala) Micrelenchus rufozonus (A. Adams) Antisolarium egcnum( Gould) Umbonium zelandicum (H.&J.) Eatonella olivacea (Hutton). Eatonella limbata (Hutton). Estea semiplicata Powell, Estea zostorophila (Webster). Rissoina chathamensis (Hutton). Rissoina achat ina Odhner. Pictonoba camosa (Webster). Morelina lyalliana (Suter). Merelina superba Powell. Assiminia vulgaris (Webster). Zeacolpus pagoda (Reeve). Maoricolpus roseus (Q.& G, ) Caecum digit alum Hedl-ey, Novastoa lameldosa (Hitton). Zeacumantus subcarinatus (Sowerby) Zaclys sarissa (Murdoch), Seila chathamensis Suter, Struthiolaria papulosa (^lartyn) . Struthiolaria vermis (Martyn) . Zeradina odhneri Powell. Trichosirius inomatus (Hutton). Sigapatella novaezelandiao Lesson. Zegalerus tenuis (Gray). Maoricrypta raonoxyla (Losson). Natica migratoria (Powell). Xymene plebejus (Hutton). Cominella quoyana quoyana A.Adams^ Corainella vrrgata brookesi Powell, Amalda australis (Sowerby), Marginella pygmaea Sowerby. Neoguralous murdochi (Finlay). Ncoguraleus lyallensis tencbrosus Duplicaria tristis(Deshayes). Epitonium minora (iredale), Epitonium jukesionum (Forbes), Triphora ampulla (Hedley). Turbonilla errabunda (Laws)* Turbonilla finlayi Powell# not uncommon, odd specimens, not uncommon, several . odd specimens. M M extremely common, common, n II. II odd specimens, one, • not uncommon, not .uncommon. ond. one dead(washed down?) not uncommon, odd small examples only, one. extensive. ' odd dead shells, several . odd specimens, several subadult, several. II II II very common, not common, odd dead shells, not uncommon, common. local ecotype, not uncommon, numerous dead, odd dead shells, (Powell). not uncommon, odd specimens. not iincommon* II II 78 Turbonilla zelandica (Hutton). Turtonilla king! (Laws). TurLonilla sp. Belsa vaga Laws. Cylichna thetidis Hedley. Retusa oruaensis (Wedster). Aglaja cylindrica Cheesomano Liinulatys reliquus Iredale. BIVALVIA. Nucula nitidula .A. Adams,. Nucula Lartvigiana Pfeiffer. Nucula certisinusc Finlay. Ostrea heffordi Finlay. Gregariella LarLata (Reeve). Chlamys zelandiae (Gray). Felanella zelandica (Gray). Arthritica bifurca(Wel)ster) ,, Myllitella vivens Finlay, Scintillona zelandao.(Odhner). . Noolepton antipodum(Filhol). Pleuromeris zelandica (Deshayes). Scaplomactra, scalpellum (Reeve). Mysella tellinula. (Odhner) . Hiatella arctica (Lironaeus). Hyocharaa . t a smanic a ( T . ¥ oods ) . Myadora boltoni E. A. Smith.. Myadora striata (Q.& G,). Myadora novaezelandiae E, A. Smith. not uncommon, several. wide with colour hand below periphery, not uncommon, several . very common, several specimens, one. numerous, but few live shells. several . numerous. several. several live , plus valves . common. , very common. common. one valve. common, sanguineum form, not uncommon, one . odd valves, not uncommon. II II II II " " small. II II oQo 79 iJBW PAPERS <, The Bivalve Mollusc Genus Liraatula s A List of Be scribed Species and a Review of Living and Fossil Species in the Southwest Pacific, C. A. Fleming. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Vol. 8. No. 1 . 1978? . PP‘17 -91 • Abstract I - About I50 named fossil and living species of Limidae grouped_ j^_th genus; .Limatula, Searles Wood are listed. They range from Jurassic perhaps Triassic)to Recent and are now distributed in all oceans and seas, from the, Arctic to the Antarctic, The genus has not previously been subdivided", but its phylogenetic and biogeographic historgr can only be approached by recognizing a number of specie s^groups, some of which are formally proposed as subgencra ,UBing characters of shell shape and ornament that appear to be conseivative. Pour subgenera are recognized(two new) for40 living and fossil species-group taza from Australia and adjacent parts of the Pacific and Southern Ocean sLimatula s« str, (with several groups) ,Limatulett a nov. (types L, japonica Adams) ,Stabilima Iredale (3 species groups) and Squamilima nov. (types Lima hodgsoni E, A. Smith), The folloiving new species and subspecies are proposedsLotrulla arcis (Oligocene ,New Zealand 'and Vicfcria)', L,powelll"~ (Recent ,New Zealand, New SouthWales and South Australia), L.p,raoulica(Recent ,Kermadec Islands) ,L.pontis(Uppcr Eocene, New Zealand) ,L.vlgiiis (Recent, New Zealand) ,L.acherontis(Recent , Kermadec Islands^^l^, siligo (Recent , Western Australia) ,L.Stabilima) gagei (Lower Miocene, New Zealand ),L, (S. )ponderi (Recent, New South Wales and Southern Queensland77^r(S. ) jef^eysiana iredalei (Recent Southern Qjieensiand tO'Western~5usrrarraJ, L.CsJ^ j oxultans( Lower Miocene, New Zealand), L,(S, )waipipiensis( Pliocene, Zealand) ,L, ( S) ma3cwelli(Mddle Miocene, NewZealand) , Ll, (Limatuletta) "japanica, colmani( Recent .Timor and Arafura Seas), Lr Cl« ) ~Jr^inulosa(Recent , Norfolk and Keimadec Is, ) ,L.» (lt» ) Jelli (Recent , Three Kings Is. ;Pliocen3,New Zealand) ,L« (L, ) j_, waitahana (Lower Eocene-Oligocene ,New Zealand), Most of the subgenera and species groups are represented by widely dispersed species in distant parts of the world or in different parts of the geological record, but some are now t characteristic of the Southern Ocean or of the Indo- Pacific Realm and others seem to occupy disjunct ranges. Some of the species groups of Limatula , despit e its : Mesozoic origins and conservative morphology, have apparently been widly distributed throughout the world and have speciated or sub-speciated quite late in geological time. 80 The dextral triforid genus Metaxia (MolluscajGastropoda) in the sQuth-west Pacific, B. A, Max shall. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 1977 7Vol.4?PP*'11'l-117» Abstract 5 - Species of Metaxia Montcrosato are shotim to be dcxtrally coiled, cerithiopsid-like members of the Triforidao, a family of normally sinist rally coiling species. Socionna exalt at a (Powell), is referred to Metaxiai M.kermadecensis n.sp. IS described from off the Kermadcc Islands, and the South xlustralian Seilarex attenuata (HecUey),is shown to be closely related. On shell , opercular and radular characters, a new sub- family -Metaxiinae - is erected for their accomodation. The Recent New Zealand species of Triforis (Gastropoda s Triforidae ), B. A. Mar shall. Now Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1977 siVol.4.> pp. 101-110, Abstract I - Paramendax apicina Powell and Mondax at t enu at i spir a rp'tbwell , are referred to genus Triforis Beshayesj T^antepallojca ' "T.blacki and T.tui are described as new^and a species close to_ the South Australian Triforis epallaxa (Verco) is recorded from New Zealand waters'! i’araracndax Powell is transferred from the Corithiopsidae to the Triforidae as a subgehus of Triforis. it is suggested that the Recent South African CerithiejTa nonnitens Barnard, is referable to Triforis, oOo Editorsi N.5 / A '' ■ ■■ A ^ aa c /■^ /■■ a' - , Q-_rs__Z5^-'yAi S £ A / .-i /- A ' ; iJ » , a: /'. ! i. A uR A 1 I :r a / 5/ X.. I « V ' <>■* !;>*’■■ •{'T.kVA'- Vf"* t < .. av\j(i Jtak\s}.y J llO|.lRf4 ■ IvX^Mi .. .'V, t ‘ • -s ’ «1* , ;•• .'V' ; ■ • ■ A»7'-.;-’’ * L* ’ ' ' • . ^ : ^ ■* ' ■> * ‘ <. |A 1 ■ »' • f* I J , » . f‘/v^ 4 .^JLU Diaphoraplax biramosa grows to 2-^ inches. The 'girdle is usually dark brown, sometimes bright red, and the valves are often beautifully marked with variable patterns of bright green and dark brown. Although they are usually heavily encrusted, this can usually be scraped off with little difficulty, to show the attractive pattern underneath. Then there are the usual common species . . . fine large Amaurochiton ^laucus , often reaching two inches in size; !tschnochTton maorianus , with its usual variety of colours and patterns; Anthochiton zelandicus , with its bunches of spicules; and nice clean specimens of Sypharochiton pelliserpentis and S. sinclairi. Terenochiton inguinatus is rare here; I have found only one specimen of this usually common small chiton. Also one specimen only of Anthochiton aerous and A, stan^eri , under rocks at extreme low tide, Onithochiton neglec tus is moderately common in the same habitat, Maorichiton caelatus is found at mid-tide on exposed rock faces. Though usually of small size and easily over- looked, some specimens grow up to two inches. Some of them carve out a hollow in the rock, ip to half an inch deep, into which they fit very snugly, I was very ' surprised to find a colony of the little Stewart Island chiton, Sypharochiton to rri, living here so many miles north of its usual habitat. Plain black in colour, and reaching 15mm in size, it lives in considerable numbers at high tide on just one exposed rock at Atia Point. Another southern species which occurs here is Frembleya egregia, a most unusu. , almost circular little chiton, which lives in kelp holdfasts. Last winter I found 20 of these washed ashore at South Bay, two of them still in their holdfasts, tucked av;ay deep inside, perfectly safe until a big storm tore the whole plant away from the rock, Cryptoconchus porosus, usually so common throughout New Zealand, is a great rarity here. It v/as over a year before I found my first one. There it was, four inches, or more in size, safe and secure at the bottom of an 8-foot crevice which was only a few inches wide. Possibly it would have been the largest one I have ever found, but no amount, of wishful thinking would enable me to reach down there and get it. Perhaps it will grow another inch, and climb a few feet higher up, and v/e may meet again during a future low tide] Unc 11 rood : Aeon tho chi tonQ - zol loridicus". The rarest chiton of all, although not much to look , is Notoplax websteri. I have found one alive under a rock at extreme lov/ tide at Atia Point, and one washed ashore at South Bay. This is usually a northern deep water species. N. violacea^ rlilchL Is common in the north, is very rare here and so far I have found only one. * * * TWO YEARS IN NIUE Alan Diprose (Junior Member) My family and I have Just come back from two years at Niue Island. Niue is the biggest coral atoll in the world and has the clearest sea water in the world. Niue lies between Tonga and Samoa.' It v/as about the middle of the first year when we really started shell collecting on some close beaches and reefs. Although there were hardly any beaches, here and there were pockets of sand. Occasionally we went at night down to our swimming hole in the reef and found a few shells. Sometimes on fine Saturdays we would set out in the morning for places that had lots of shells and were a long way away. Unfortunately all the best places take a long time to get to. In the time we were there we got about 50 species of cowries and about 50 species of other shells. Some olives that I found would be longer than 2m.rn, Niue is a really- beautiful place; the people are all kind and everything was really terrific. These are some cowries that we found : Cypraea lynx (L) C, carneola (L) C. ventriculus Lam. C. caputserpontis (L) C, erosa (L) C. hirundo (L) C, ursellus Gmelin C, kieneri (Schilder C. teres (Gmelin) C. stolida (l) C. catholicorum Schilder & Schilder C. arable a (L) C. eglantina Dudos C. depressa Gray C, maculifera Schilder Cypraea histrio C. mauritiana (L) C. scurra Gmelin C. testudinaria (L) C, talpa (L) C. tigris (L) C, Isabella (L) C. moneta (L) C. annulus (L) C, punctata (L) C, asellus (L) C, irrorata (Gray) C, childreni(Gray) C, cicercula C. bistrinotata Schilder & Schilder 85 NOTE ON LIMARIA OPIENTALIS (ADAMS & REEVE 1850) (or: Xenophora is not our only Collec tor-Shell) D.Lamb An article in POIRIERIA, V0I.65 Part 4 (August 1972) referred to Lima orientalis as a newcomer to the local scene and noted that it builds a nest Qf small stones and shells. In January 1973, members of the Section had a picnic at Wenderholm with some American visitors, participants in a Pacific tour guided by Tom Rice. li'/hilst taking some of those folk to explore the area at the southern end of the beach, I found my first Limaria. I collocted the rather interesting nest and after drying out and brushing the soft mud away, found that the nest consisted of small shells bound together with orange coloured threads; no stones were found, but the large number of Rissoina chathamensis shells suggest that the Limaria had n© need to look for other materials. The species contained in the nest were: Chiton species Single valves Eatoniella limbata (Hutton 1883) 7 E. olivacea (Hutton 1882) 3 E. roseola (Iredale 1915) 6 Estea rekohuana lactorubra Ponder 3 E. zosterophila (Webster )1905 1 Rissoina chathamensis (Hutton 1873) 78 Fictonoba rufolactea (Suter I9O8) 5 Merelina taupoensis Powell 1939 1 Seila chathamensis Suter 1908 2 Sigapatclla novaezelandiae Lesson 1831 1 Zemitrella chaova (Reeve 1859) 4 Buccinulum vittatum (Guoy & Gaimard 1833) 2 Neoguraleus murdochi (Finlay 1924) 1 Turbonilla zelandica (Hutton 1873) 1 Oh, yes, of course - and 1 specimen of Limaria orientalis (Adams & Reeve 1850) i @ @ @ @ @ LEPSIELLA SCOBINA (Q & G) - OUR OYSTER BORER N, W, Gardner Wherever there are beds of acorn barnacles, sm;' 1 blue mussels or rock oysters, our c#mmon oyster borer xs almost certain to be there, and more than likely, in considerable numbers. 86 Though tolerant of a range of , rocky . coney. tions , be it open coast or harbour situatrons'j'* it "generally favours quieter waters where it can be found in great numbers between high and mid tide levels. It- is a ravenous carnivore and the neatly drilled hole often seen in empty gaping oyster shells is usually the handiwork of Lensiella. This is done by the radula. The pro- boscis, buccal mass and radula are- the-n inserted through the hole and into the tissues of the preyi Lepsiella scobina occurs on rocky shores throughout New Zealand. L, scobina scobina, when found in good condition - not eroded on the earlier whorls, as is so often the case - exhibits a pleasing sculpture of successive axial growth lamellae and rows of raised hollow tubercles arranged spirally. This shows to advantage in sub-adult specimens, but is almost lost by the time Ihe mollusc is mature. Naturally, adult shells vary a good deal in size, depending on the habitat, etc. Generally they are about 25mm in height, but in several localities, specimens of greater size are the rule - ie Whangarei Heads about 35mm, and Nerita Bay 32mm. Overall the colour of the shell appears to be mid grey, but the ’scal..-s* are dark brown and the aperture is almost chocolate within - though occasionally darker with th.. .dg... of the crenulated outer lip marked out in white. The southern form, usually known as sub-species albomarginata Deshayes, is really quite different from the typical northern variety. It also is very common, especially in the South Island, but ranges well north. Good examples are obtainable at Muriwai, for instance. This is always a smaller oyster borer v/ith the whorls more rounded and v/ithout the raised grov/th lamellae and tubercles. As a rule, there is a series of whitish spiral lines over the whorls - sometimes a little ‘.raised, but usually the sherl feels quite smooth. The apertural colour within is darker but the white margin of the lip appears the same as in scobina scobina. The name is perhaps a little unfortunate. Exam.ples of this form from Warrington, Otago and Dusky Sound seem to be taller and more slender, with the spirals wider and more raised. 87 An orange coloured form of scobina is also known from a number of localities. This was recorded by H, Suter (1899) as var. rutila. It does not appear to differ from the typical species in shape of shell or sculpture - only in the distinctive orange colouring so apparent within the aperture. The occurrence of this colour form seems to be linked to the presence of light coloured rocks in the respective areas. Colonies of these molluscs occur quite plentifully at Kawau Island and are also known from Gt. Barrier Island (Port Fitzroy) ; Muriwai; Manukau Harbour (recent Newsletter); also Te Onepoto; near Lyttelton (Suter ’s original material); and Taylors Mistake, South Island. Oo A Bucccssicn of Easterly r:cilcs in July has been responsible for the scouriny out of scallop bods off Takapuna reef, end to the disney' of conservationists - and delight of everyone else, over 1000 live scallops at least, have been r'lecfully scouped up they washed '.shore, Seci. r;ulls have had their share too. The last tirae wo cm recall such a disturbance was February 19h0,\;hon a tropical storm caused a bir- washup of shells including over 200 live scallops. These v.'ore picked up in pools on the reef, and like those collected recently were all about three ins. across, 88 TO TAKE - OR NOT TO TAKE ? J.R, Penniket Thatj is the question - and, if one wishes to take, then how many? If the species is rare, dare I take .any at all? Perhaps just one, or a pair, or three - or be greedy and take the whole jolly lot’ There is, though, no golden rule. A truly rare shell at low tide can be just the commonest, deep down where you and I cannot collect it, Maurea tigris is so seldom taken intertidally , yet scuba divers call it almost plentiful in some localities. A common but desirable shell, easily collected, can be exterminated through overcollecting. Cellana flava, the golden limpet from the East Coast, is readily accessible, desirable for exchange, beautiful, but restricted in habitat with no reservoir of breeding shells in areas difficult to find. Then there are species commonly taken in large quantities for food or other! purposes. Some shells belov/ breeding size cannot legally be collected, but the species are in no danger. Our Paua, Haliotis iris , may not be collected if the shell is less than. 125mm (5 inches) in length. But it is not sexually mature belov/ that size and what we are doing is removing for commercial purposes, thousands annually, of the breeding population, which should, one would think, wipe out that species in time. The Haliotis doesn’t realise this, of course, andf continues to populate our seas by the sheer force of egg production by those left. Consider, too, the vast amount - hundreds of thousands - of cockles, pipis, tuatuas, and toheroas consumed each year, both now and for hundreds of years past, and they are -still with us, although they receive only a moderate amount of protection - and so very often limits are not observed anyway. Judging from the immense middens left by Maoris in ages past, tremendous .quantities of many species, with shells of all sizes, from small juveniles to fully adult, wer'^ consumed for food and yet I' am not aware of any species the Maori caused to become extinct. However, it can be done! Any of us with more than a fev/ years’ experience can tell of changes to marine habitats and therefore to the animals and plants of that area, caused by pollution, shoreline modification, population pressure 89 and/or over-collecting. Many of these categories are out of our control and must be left to our environ- mental watchdogs. vVe must accept responsibility, though, for some of the over-collecting that has occurred. For example, Alcithoe arabica juveniles have no free-swimming stage. They hatch from the egg and immediately commence life as a small shell. This me? ns that heavy continued collecting from a geographically isolated locality would remove breeding adults. Without free-swimming reinforcement from outside, this would, in time, exterminate a colony from .oven the most suitable area. Struthiolaria papulosa, too, often has a localised habitat and I know of at least one harbour flat that v/as depopulated through over-collecting. And so - what should be our measure - when do we say '■take"or *'do not take" or "how many" ? This must be a matter for commonsense and restraint. Most importantly, know as much as possible about the shell you are about to take .and decide accordingly. Only take a live shell if you have need of it and if you are going to clean and use it. Do not collect a live specimen if an equally good .dead one is available. Operculums are nice to have, but not essential to most of us. Never take a mollusc that is brooding eggs. Do not collect immature, damaged or otherwise undesirable specimens - leave them to Always return rocks to their original' position as carefully as possible, to avoid damaging marine life. AN ALBINO FORM OF TANEA ZELANDICA ( .^ & G) Introduction: N. V/. Gardner The naticid sand snail Tanea zolandica (Q & G) occurs along most of our sandy ocean beaches in the North and South Islands as v/cll as Stewart and Chatham Islands. Empty shells quite frequently wash ashore in stormy weather on open ocean beaches, but only occasionally are live specimens cast up on the beach. They are active carnivores, moving through the sandy bottom in search of bivalves.. It is reasonably common just offshore in many' plac.e.s ^arf-d ' the light brov/n shell of about 25mm in height is easily recognised by the attractive spiral rows of red-brown chevron or ’slash' 90 markings. The colour markings of":Tanea zelandica do not seem, to vary much and appear rather constant along .its/ range. _ We can now record the occurrence of a .considerable number of white pattern-less shells in the "Spit" area of Otago Heads, This has been brought to our notice by our Dunedin member Mrs E. McClymont, who has furnish’e’d the following details: "They were first noticed on 9 March 1974 , - four dead specimens of whitish shells without markings. Then again on 4 March 1977 after, a very big storm - fourteen live, thirty dead white specimiens and fifty brown patterned ordinary Tanea v/ere picked up. Since then, over a period of ten trips to the "Spi t" ,about twenty live and seventy dead whitish examples along with about two hundred normal specimens of Tanea have been found. Then, for the first, time, at the end of 1977j I found both brown and white Tanea at Warrington and a lot (about 50) egg cases in a distance of 2.00 yards. Live and dead shells, in a ratio of four browns to one white were washed up betv/een the rocks at very low tide. I thought they may have been brought there by the dredge dumping its load near Warrington, after dredging the channel betv/een "The Heads" or "Spit" in Port Chalmers, as they appeared only after the new suction dredge had been working for a few months. .)!: Cl C 1| 7 ^ iJ <6 S .%V 1% This yoar, I97S5 I have .-been back tv/ice in the last few weeks to Vi/arrington and the "Spit”, to try to find more Tanea, At Warrington there were only two very old dead brov/n shells, and no egg* cases, and the rocky part of the beach is completely covered in sand. 'Whether or not ;this is due to the dredge dumping all" its load in - . Blue” Skin Bay, I Cdi.Jt be sure, but I have been going to that part of the Warrington Beach for the last I6 years, and I have never seen it in that, condition before. It was sad to sec the poor old limpets and Scutus trying to get a footing on bits of rock-'that were -left sticking out of the sand, where "there used to be deep rock pools and boulders. The ’|Spit" was very bare of s'nells it usually is at this time of year, but T did manage ^.fo - find' one live brown Tanoa, tbotigh not a sign of any white specimens. " Details of White Shells: The "white" spGcimens''Jequal' t-he'"size of the. normal patterned shells.— Of the series -of ."Al'binos-" exaii^.ined (about 30 examples), about half are uniformly white, while the others have -ene;“, or sometim.es several_ continuous , but very faint , spiral - J,. bands of pale' brown -about the body whorl. Where only one band is -pres-ant,- this-'-ls- 3 - 4mm wide and is at the' periphery. . 1. .. If there are several bands, these more or less correspond to the spiral rows of chevron or splash markings in normal specimens.' A • A NOTE ON CHLAMYS Matt O’Neill It is generally believed by many conchologists that Chlamys dief ienbachi (Neeve) lives, as a rule, byssally attached and covered by sponge grov/th. You might even say that the mollusc and sponge seem to be involved in a symbiotic relationship. Sometimes the shells are found free of sponge and washed up with sponge-covered specimens after storms in the far south, eg Stewart Island, Recently I found another way in which the mollusc can live. EXAMPLE A: On a trip to Marlborough Sounds I have noted quantities of Chlamys dief fenbachi fragments surrounding the bases of Atrina zelandica, though only a few times before had I recovered specimens on Atrina. During one dive I absently tore apart a large colony of the bristle worm Galeolaria hystrix and their casings in order to inspect it more closely, in the hope of finding Trichosirius. This colony v/as attached to an Atrina and there nestled amongst the casings, in a position where they would have been lying bet'ween the Atrina shell and the casings, were two Chlamys dief fenbachi , quite unattached, free of sponge and showing the suprasilis form. I collected six other examples in this v/ay, none being bigger than 15mm in diameter, and all purple in colour; one or two of these were attached by a byssus, EXAMPLE B: This is somewhat of a physiological freak and I believe its physical form is a result of environment. The specimen was found lying beneath a sizeable rock, but not attached to the rock, and was almost^ buried in the muddy substrate (extreme lov/ tide). The m.ollusc was alive and completely free of sponge. To look at, the. shell closely resembled a very small (20mm) Pecten novaezelandiae , bright orange in colour. The more or less concave valve, on which the rock had been resting, was covered v/ith a regular array of very fine spines, while the convex valve, which had been resting in the substrate, displayed an array of long, well developed spines. It would appear that while -the soft substrate was conducive to the development of one valve, the restrictive pressure applied from above by the rock hindered the equal growth of the other. However, the ans’wer as to v/hy certain specimens are bysally attached and others are not, and why some are sponge-covered while others are not, is one to which v/e can only hazard a guess. 93 BEACH COLLECTING AT WHANGAMATA E.R. Sneddon Heaven is 6.30 in the morning on a deserted shell beach j the sound of the surf mesmeric and the rim of the sun on the horizon. This is the first day of one whole week with a comfortable holiday bach at our disposal and two eager teenage boys raring to go - monetary rewards being offered. And would you believe - a wash-up at the northern end of the beach which our local shelling friends had not yet discovered] Xeno phora neozelandica v/ith Tawera spissa valves on it, Cantharidus opalus, a Janthina .janthina, a small live Maurea tigris, Poirieria zelandica no-t--quite whole, a few Chlamys ^emmulata and some large lumps of the bryozoan Cellepora aft'glutinans. Not a lot perhaps, but a promise of things -to come, Struthiolaria papulosa litter the high tide line and more are being washed up. Maurea punc tulata are quite common, v/ith the occasional live one amongst them. Xe no phalium pyrum , too, are not uncommon, though -not as many as we have found on other occasions here, and no live ones this time. But live Xymene ambi/^uus were very much in evidence. We picked up over thirty on that first morning and took them back to our makeshift aquarium at the bach, along with Thais orbita, Cominella adspersa and barnacles. . ... . . ^On subsequent mornings in this same area we found a small Maurea osbornei , a recognisable piece of Maurea pellucida spirata, a Xeno phora neozelanica with pebbles, a Limaria orientalis valve, 'whole Toheroa shells (not live]), Alcithoe arabica and Alcithoe fusus haurakiensis , a big Amalda australis , a live Mo no pi ex parthenopeus , Pe nion sulcatus (mandarinoides form) , and the wentletrap Cirsotrema zelebori which seems to grow extra large there. Also two of the land .snails, Rh.ytida greenwood! , were washed up, possibly from the Wentworth Valley, which is a reserve providing beautiful v/alks and would, I think, be a promising place for land snailers. A bonus came our v/ay one morning when one of the boys v/ent snorkelling with a speargun round the wharf piles in search of John Dory. He had no luck with the fish but broug-ht up- two very nice shells from the sarid, one k big Xeno phora neozelanica with the coral Flabellum rubrum on it, and the- other a -Penion dilatatus. Obviously they had been thrown overboard from -fishermen's nets as their boats were tied up- to the wharf. 94 Whangamata is a holiday resort with a vigorous permanent population which swells each holiday season into the numerous baches _which line the whole length of the beach, Whangamata Harbour at the northern end is protected by a long bush-covered peninsula, and though drying out to sand flats at low tide, exposing big cockle beds, provides a good anchorage in its main channel for fishing and pleasure boats. A v/harf at the narrow entrance is usually crowded v/ith small boys fishing for sprats and the very large swimming crabs to be found there. The sandy surf beach stretches south in a curve to a point and then south again to the Otahu Estuary, a favourite spot for surf fishermen. On the mid-way point are three or four rocky islands, the largest, Clark Island, being connected with the point by a submerged reef, negotiable - with caution - at very low tides. Tuatuas (Paphies subtriangulata) are plentiful at low tide and pipis (Paphies australis) from Otahu Estuary, There are three other beaches in- the area within easy reach by car, and each day we made a trip to one or other of them. Onemana is the closest just north of Whangamata, v/here a new subdivision is being developed lucked inside the Tairua Forest. It has a steep beach of crystal .white sand which flattens out at low tide. There are rather bare rocks at each end, and some mussel-covered rocks tov/ards the northern end, v/here you can also find .a few Diloma coracina. We have never found anything special at this beach, cut there are always Chlamys zelandiae , many of them a clear yellow, some Chlamys cemmulata, Cardita aoteana valves, plenty of Haliotis vir^inea crispata, (Whangamata has them, too), and Brachoopods, This time we got a good specimen of Haliotis australis , bigger than those previously found in this area (SOmm; . Whiritoa is another holiday beach resort a little way to the south of Vfnangamata. It also has a steep beach of crystal v/hite sand v/hich flattens out at low tide, but it is twice the length of Onemana and much more promising shell-wise. There is a small estuary at the northern end and a dried-up stream and cliffs at the southern end, where there are also mussels to be had fromi the rocks at low tide. Struthiolaria papulosa wash up in thousands, especially at the northern end, but along the length of the beach are a wealth of small shells to be found. This time we collected Tanea zelandica, Notoacmea pileopsis , a few Emarcinula striatula, Chlamys g;emmulata, Zeacolpus vittatus , Trie ho sir ius inornatus , Atalacmea fra^alis, a Mar/^inella mustellina and a worn Trivia iierces. We also found lots of Arcalda' australis (small) ; Am a Ida depressa ; Cantharidella tesselata ; Xyme ne traversi ; Marinula' filholi ; Neo.guraleus Sinclair! ; Thais orbita (small, brown and frequently ribbed); and in the sand amongst the dry seaweed at high tide level, one Columbarium .spiralis without its siphonal canal. 95 Then there is Ohui Beach. On the map it is shown as Opoutere Beach, but locally seems to be known as Ohui. It is north of Onemana and is not as readily accessible as the other beaches, being bordered by farms. A big shallow tidal basin cuts it off to the south and to the north it ends in a sizable hill edged by rocks and a stream spread- ing across the sand. In between are three miles of flat sandy surf beach with very few people, and shells worth looking for. It can be approached from either end. There is a rather scrubby reserve on the southern point which entails quite .a walk from the rough carpark over a hump- backed footbridge through pine trees and over the sand dunes to the beach. At this end and for most of its length the tide-line shells are small and include Chlamys zelandiae (many small yellow ones), Chlamys gemmulata (also small) ^ tiny Me so pe -plum convexum with occasional big valves^ Zeacolpus pagoda, Cellana stellifera and extra big Umbo r. lum zelandica (up to 24mm across) . This was the way we came,? •making a day . trip' of it and walking the full length of the beach and back, again. The northern end is a bit more easily accessible^ through a farmer’s property, for which he asks a donation of 50 cents to be put in a box at McGregor’s Gate towards the upkeep of the road. When the weather is dry, cars can drive right up to the last fence before the sand dunes, but after rain, a bog makes the last part of the road unusable and adds an extra half mile to the v;alk. This is the end where the best shells are. Straight out from the track is a rocky hillock, at high tide an island, but at low tide you can walk right round it , and -it -is t-hen that you find the big delicately-coloured sea-anemones in the sand at the base of the rocks on the seaward side. Mussels cover the rocks reached by- the tide, and tuatuas are in the sand around it. Struthiolaria papulosa wash up on the tide line between this rocky islet and the northernmost rocks. It v/as on this stretch of beach we found a big Maurea osbornei , a small Astrea heliotropium, several Zeacolpus vittatus , two whole Panopea zelandica, a worn Turritriton tabulatus exaratus , and two Turbo granosus , also the extra large Umbo ni urn zelandica which are all along this beach. To the north where Slipper Island seems only a step away, Struthiolaria papulosa float bobbing over the rocks and -are deposited in great' heaps on the high tide line and in the rock hollows. Amongst them. we found Alcithoe arable a, Alcithoe fusus haurakiensis . Xenophalium pyrum and nine Maurea tigris , eight with holes in them, but one perfect and with the animal still in it. 96 All the beaches have been very kind to us over the years and have produced: Poirieria zelandica Architec tonica reevei Mayena australasia Siliquaria weldii Xenophalium labiatum Alcithoe swainsoni(up to 177mm) Maurea pellucida pellucida Austr'otriton parkinsonia Offadesma angasi Zenatia acinaces ^ Resania lanceolata Monia zelandica Tellina nuttoni valves Monodilepsis monilifera (small, in shell sand) The live shells we collected we brought back to Auckland and put in the marine aquarium. Of the 70 or 80 Xymene ambi/?:uus . we found live, we put all but 30 back, and these are doing very well, as are the single Monoplex parthenopeus , a small Cookia sulcata, Thais orbita and OomTnella adspersa. The barnacles lived about two weeks, and a Cirsotrema zelebori burrov/ed down into the gravel .and hasn't been seen since. Some live Diloma coracina were eaten by the Xyme ne ambiguus. A .SUB-FOSSIL DEPOSIT OF SNAILS AT PORT JACKSON J. F. Goulstonc At the eastern end of Port Jackson, there is a limited area of sandhill. Prominent on these sandhills are Maori middens v/ith all the remnants of past feasting. In one- spot immediately behind, the middens, the sand contained a considerable quantity of small snails,’ some still y/ith clear colour patterns in evidence. The wind was constantly eroding the top layer of sand, leaving only the larger species. .The fo.llowing is a list of species which I collected on the surface: 97 1 = 50 or more 2 = 10 - 50 Therasia decidua (Pfr.) 1 Helix adspersa (Drug.) 1 Rhytida greenwoodi (Gray) 1 Charopa coma (Gray) 1 Charopa (Fectola) infecta (Rve. ) 1 Phenacohelix pilula (Rve.) 2 Charopa (Subfectola) caputspinulae (Rve.) 2 Charopa buccinella (Rve.) 2 Laoma (Phrixgnathus) moellendorf fi Suter 3 ..plus a few small marine 3 = less than lo Succinea archeyi (Powell) Phenacohelix giveni Cumber Cytora torquilla (Suter) Tornatellinops novoseel- andica (Pfr.) Laoma (Phrixgnathus) lucida Suter Charopa hectori (Suter) Charopa (Mocella) eta (Pfr. ) Paralaoma lateumbilicata (Suter) Oxychilus cellarius Paralaoma pumila (Hutton) Estea Colo die cot,oai.e. However, I took some sand home from .beneath the surface and the picture looked somev/hat' different. A list of species with numbers, from about three cupfuls of sand, is given, (The numbered new species are to be described by Dr F.M. Climo). Cytora torquilla 29A Paralaoma pumila 132 Charopa buccinella 70 Charopa (Subfectola) caputspinulae 75 Tornatellides subperforata (Suter) 1 Phenaco helix giveni 2 Therasia decidua 2 Laoma (Phrixgnathus)lucida 3 I think the deposit has been formed through the action of sand gradually engulfing the vegetation at the edge of the bush, though a number of other explanations are possible. A river flov/s into the bay at this point and could well be the collecting agent. Paralaoma n.sp.38 70 Paralaoma lateumbilicataOA Paralaoma n,sp,29 35 Charopa (Factola)infecta21 Tornatellinops novoseol-. andica (Pfr.) '12 Charopa parva 5 Phenacohelix pilula ■ 4 Charopa coma ' • 5 * * * * NEW PUBLICATIONS * Cerithiopsidae (Mollusca: Castro poda)of Nev; Zealand and a provisional classification of the family by B. A, Marshall National Museum of New Zealand New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1978, Vol 5? PP 47-120 Abstract : Cerithiopsidae H. & A, Adams is defined; 37 New Zealand Recent species and 1 subspecies, and all genera v/ith Recent type-species, including some with fossil rep- resentatives, are allocated to Cerithiopsinae H. & A. ^ Adams, Eumetulinae Golikov & Starobogatov, and Al^tinae n.subfam. Seilidae Golikov & Starobogatov is'. reduced to tribal rank in Cerithiopsinae. Cerithiellidae Golikov & Starobogatov is maintained as a discrete family within Cerithiopsoidea, .and Ataxocerithium Tate and Seilopsis Tomlin are referred there. Conciliopsis Laseron is synonymised with Cerithionsis Forbes & Hanley, the genus is defined, and a lectotype is designated for the type-species Cerithiopsis. tubercularis (Montagu), Cinctella Monterosato is resurrected from synonymy with Seila A. Adams for the Mediterranean Seila trilineata (Philippi). The follov/ing species are newly synonymised: Seila dissim.ilus Suter with Specula st.yliformis (Suter); 99 Cerithlopsis canaliculata Suter with Specula retifera (Suter) ; Cerithiopsis subantarc tica Suter and Cerithlopsis acies Suter with Zaclys sarissa (Murdoch) ; Zaclys paradoxa Powell with Horolog:ica dirempta (Odhner) ; Seila chathamensis Suter and Seila huttoni Suter with Seila cine ta (Hutton) . The following genus-group taxa are newly introduced for New Zealand species: Euseila Cotton; Aliptina n.gen; Cerithiopsidella Bartsch; Laskeya Iredale; Petilaskeya n«gen; llorologica Laseron; Synthopsis Laseron; Prolixodens n.gen. The following species are described as newrMendax Mendax hebetatus ; Me ndax seilaf ormis ; Aliptina acheronae ; Cerithiopsidella blacki ; Petilaskeya zelandica ; Zaclys murdochi ; Cerithiopsis powelli ; Joculator sublima; Horologica cowei; Synthopsis re/H^a; Synthopsis acuminata; Prolixodens benthica; Prolixodens crassa: Seila maoria: Seila dilecta; Seila elegantissima : Seila regia : ■ Cerithionsis infracolor Laseron is newly recorded from Nev/ Zealand. Mendax dunli- carinata POwell and Socienna maoria Finlay are referred to Triphoridae. The 20 remaining previously described species are redescribed, and 19 are reillustrated with scanning electron micrographs. Besides Meraxia Monterosato, Seilarex Iredale. Socienna Finlay, land Paramo ndax Powell, which have recently been allocated to Triphoridae, the follov;ing genera are removed from Cerithiopsidae ; Onchodia Dali; Tasmalira Dell; Cerithina Holzapfel; Hallovsia Briart & Cornet; Trynanaxis Cossmann; and Orthoche tus Cossman. * Additions to the New Zealand Recent Molluscan Fauna with notes on Pachymelon (Palomelon) by P.K. Dell National Museum of New Zealand Records National Museum of New Zealand Vol 1, NoJ-1, pp 161-176 April 24, 1978 Abstract : A species of Cyrtodaria and a new species of Capulus , Halicardia and Alcithoe are recorded from New Zealand. The fossil Aneator slogans (Suter) is recorded from living material. The living species attributed to Palomelon are discussed. The type species lutea (Watson) is shown to belong to Alcithoe . and smithi Powell and grahami Powell are regarded as synonyms of wilsonae Powell. 100 * Classification of New Zealand Arionacea (Molluscai_, Pulffiona.ta) _ - ' A Revi-ew of the New Zealand'-GharDpine''Snairs ".with Lamellate Apertures — - . ' . - F.M. Cllrao^.. .. National 'Museum of New Zealand _ Records National Museum of New Zeal^d Vol 1, No.. 12 ' ’ PP 177-201 Abstract : The genera Fee tola Iredale, 1915? Mylesia n.gen. and Ptychodon Ancey, 1888 are used to accommodate the charopines with lamel-late apertures, previously grouped in Char o pa (Ptychodon) . Two subgenera are recognized in Ptychodon: Ptychodon s.str, and Solemia n. subgen. Ten new species are described, and the systematic position o'f Pitys cryptobidens Suter is discussed. . ************** Editors : N SfiN Gardner 6 Tui Glen Road Birkenhead Auckland 10 New Zealand 101 I AMNH LIBRARY 0020- CON TENTS Maoricrypta youngi Pov/ell, a Northern Species N.W.G. Page 82 Notes on Kaikoura Chitons B. Elliott 83 Two Years in Niue Alan Diprose 85 Note on Limaria orientalis D. Lamb 86 Lepsiella scobina Our Oyster Borer N.Vi/. Gardner 86 To Take - or not to Take J. P. Penniket 89 An Albino Form of Tanea zelandica N. W. Gardner 90 A Note on Chlaniys Matt O’Neill 93 Beach Collecting at Whangamata E.R, Sneddon 9k A Sub-Fossil Deposit of Snails at Port Jackson J. F. Goulstone ' 97 Nev/ Publications 99 ^7, . - J i-" VOL. 9. Part 6. October 1978 ISSN 0032-2377 CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM POIRIERIA VOL. 9 Part 6 SeptomLer 1978 M ELEGANT TROPHON PROM DEEP WATER OFF LORD HOWE ISLAKD — The Oceanographic Institute , from time to time carries out quite deep bottom sampling in the Tasm‘an Sea from their Research Vessel, 'Tangaroa' . We are able to illustrate one of the- very attractive species of molluscs obtained from 8l6 - 84O metres on a * recent trip to the Lord Howe Rise, The specimen was made available by Ken Grange, . This Trophon,^tentativoly identified as c/f c oulmanensi s , i s pure white, rather thin, with fairly long upturned hollow spines and with a faint spiral soulp-fcure, ^The ^ell bears -some resemblance to se-veral Antarctic species, - oOo - 102 SOME LAiro SNAILS FROM THE MilELBOROUGH SOUNDS, G, FORMAN. Wg camped dn Resolution Bay in tlie Qaeon Charlotte Sound, arriving on the- last- day of '1977 • Though''' we pitched camp in the rain, that was the last we saw of rain for the two weeks of our holiday. The paidy comprised Bill and Chris liinstanley with their "boys from Upper Hutt,and Tim Moran- and myself from 'Wairoa. One of the aims of this trip was to make a visit to Blumine Island to see how Bsr^phr^a hochst ett eri "bicolor Powell, "was faring. Blumine Id. lies opposite Resolution Bay, and to reach it we woulvd have to cross the main channel of the Sound hy dinghy vri.th oufboard motor. As the sea often goes from flat calm to a very nasty chop in a matter of minutes, we waited for settled weather and set off one morning while the sea was a flat ca.lm. On approaching the island, we made for a, small stony ‘beactr. A gully with some "bush in it, rose from ‘behind the beach. On entering the bush, we walked onto the site of an old bush mill. Remains of machines, an old saw blade and many old bottles littered the area which was now covered by a canopy of Kamahi (Woimania racemosa). The stream had two small concrete dams on it and some well preserved steps, now covered in moss, alongside the dams. The whole place wa,s very dry and our search began as we follovrcd the right hand side of the gully. It soon became obvious that we had the wrong gully, x^ith no sign of Parjgphanta and only a couple of small snails to be found under a log. Tho bush wn,s little more than second grovrth vri.th ferns being confined to the depths of the gully. Bracken fem flourished on the hillside above. The retum journey was made down the other side of the gully, xd.th little hope of finding anything. A few old bleached shells, mainly Gharopa coma (Gray), were spotted on a narrow ledge a couple of metres above the stream. A steep slope x-zith some fern and bush cover, x^as above the ledge. We were soon scratching around in leaf mould on this ledge bringing to light many shells. A few small snails taqtq found on ■ the slope above the ledge but the majority were on the ledge where they had probably been washed doxm from above over a fairly long period of time. Prom this area of two or three square metros nearly 1000 shells were recovered, Cbropa coma were by far the most plentiful, shovdng a range of spire height up to the 'globosa' form. Sixteen species of small land snails x-/ere sorted ;l^pm this one spot. One remains unnamed at the ’ moment. It is a Phenaoohelix' which looks like Phenacohelix ponsonbyl Suter. , though more rotund, 103 VJo had missed the Paryphanta "by one gully# Ihe gully to the south of our search had heen the site of the homestead of the farm which had probably followed the milling of the timber on the island. All that remains now is an orchard of cherry trees and mulberry. VJhen we visited the island again the search for Paryphanta was forgotten for a while as cherry picking took over. That is, until a Paryphanta hochstetteri bicolor was spotted in the dry creekbed under one of the cherry trees. The search then began in erne st , but once we began travelling up the almost dry streambed,Paiyphanta were found without difficulity. Many empty shells were in thc3^treambed, but both live and spent shells were plentiful throughout the gully. To us >the tree cover did not appear very suitable, being a sparse second growth cover, much of it I'lanuka. Paryphanta were all oirer the place, many of them on the move, and well away from any cover. Many empty shells had a hole in the shell alongside the aperture. Vie wondered if this was caused by Wekas,- one keeping us company throughout our visits to Blumiie Island. APtcr collectiiig a few of the best spent shells, it was back to the cherry picking for a while and a damp run home in the dinghy, as the sea began coming up. The bush behind our camp at Resolution Bay was searched fairly regularly for small snails but with only limited success in numbers, theu^ twenty species were Iccated. Among the most interesting finds were Rhytida meesoni meesoni Suter, which were found by searching around the base of the crown fem,Blechnum discolor. The track between Resolution Bay and Ship Cove was also quite productive with many species being found under logs and stones alongside the track. The bush itself was very dry and likely pockets of laaf mould produced nothing of note. The list of Land Snails recorded is as follows s- Blumine Island Omphalorissa purchasi(Pfr. ) 2. Charopa bianca (Hutton) 1 . Qytora lignaria (Pfr.) 35* Charopa coma (Gray) 422. Charopa(Pectola)colensoi(Suter)99* Charopa(Pectola)rautabilis( Suter )9 Charepa(Pectola)Reeftonensis Charopa(Mocella) eta (Pfr. ) 2. Therasiella neozelanica Cumberl 3« Allodiscus wairoaensis Suter 17 • Thalassoheliz igniflua( Reeve) 41. Phenacohelix lucetta( Hutton) V. . . . .... - (= Stokesi)-1'i Phonacoholix sp. 1. Laoma(Phrixgnathus)celia(Hutton)72 Paralaoma* allochroida (Sutor)21. Paralaoma sericata( Suter) 12. Paryphanta hochstetteri bicolor Powell. 104 Resolution Bay. Omphalorissa purchasi ( Pfeiffer ) 2, Cliarcpa 'bianca (Hutton ), 3« CHaropa coma (Gray ), 21, CHaropa (Pectola ) colensoi (Sutor ). 16. ~ * Charopa (Fectola) mutabilis (Suter), 2. — . — .Charapa. -(Fectola) reeftonensis (Suter). 4« ' Charopa (Subfectola) rakiura (Powell). 1. Tberasiella neozelanica Cumber, 1 . Flaramulina zebra (LeGuillon). 1, * Thalassobolis: igniflua (Reeve), 3« Mlodiscus xmiroaensis Suter, 1, Allodiscus planulatus (liitton), 3* Pbenacobclix lucetta (Hutton) , (=stokesi) , 1, Laoma marina (Hutton), 2. Laoma (Phrisgnatbus) celia (Hutton). 2, Laoma (Phrixgnathus) cf liratula $utor, 1, Laoma (Phrixgnatbus) regularis (Pfeiffer), 2. Paralaoma allochroida (Suter), 1, Rhytida meesoni meesoni Sutbf, 6, Delos jeffroysiana (Pfeiffer ), 3* - oOo - COLLECTIHG IN A SCUTHERH HARBOUR. C.BISSETT. The Waikawa harbour area has open- sea rocky coast at Curio Bay^ sandy shores at Porpoise Bay and mudflats towards the V/aikawa River, There is a fishing fleet based at V^aikawa itself. The mudflats yielded the usual ^Impliibola crenata ,Prot othaca crassicosta, Tellina gaimardi , and Cominella glandifcrmis. Curio Bay is a ^d.ld and dangerous rocky coast. The rock shore is the floor of a fossilised forest and you can see the tree stumps with their rings and also fallen logs. It is one of the few Jurassic forests in the world. Some 160 million years ago a volcano eiupted and blanketed the forest with ash. There have been earth movements since, and now the sea has worn the rock back to the original base of the forest, so we now have the phenomenon of littoral animals making 105 106 themselves at home on a fore^ floor,- Curio Bay is a wildlife omitf rplT'''' and the ^als are flourishing. itere aro Cellana 7^^--^—, pelliserpontls.Oulactis gi^P^a,Litt orina Uui^oli^6rInaT ^^^ciata an;^o^,Melagraphia aethiops.and •barn^liFpnTmTr^n c, modestus and E.plicatusT f-iiminuo o-p .. other! side in the sheltered Porpoise Bay at the iuncture oL Wo^ axe patches cf shell erit ail some sood shells ond .;is pationt. These include | Sou tus hreviculus. f i^o'tosaria nigricEnsVier^i^telTr ( inconspicua,the PolychHiwBJmTGHCT^Irh^tS^^^^ with Trocims ]^ridus^Barbatia novaezealandiae.ftodT;vi7.;irn^T^^ ^ ^ _ A search over the rocks produced Haliotis iris,H,australis H -°g^g «ith veSy-lIttirSlSmStahoA Sd s^dr,™ ^ K>°>“ at South Head c-Jid sends spray many metres into the ail Open Sea. ITEMS OF IlTTERESTo C:/nG.tona kajiT^yla (Watsonl885). An attractive white shell heloncinG to our Cynatiidao. It has the upturned siphon,typdcal of some of the tropical members. /J.as,this species of ours is seldom seen, for it lives beyond the Continental Shelf, The illustrated specimen is from offthc Ota{?o Coast in50C Fathoms. It is a cold water mollusc vd.th related species occurring further south. Nature Note from J. Coles - Tlie Canargue is a large, remote delta area in the South of France, situated beti^oon two branches of the river Rhone. It has long been known to Omothologists as it supports huge populations ofbiris,both resident and migratory, including the only European breeding colonies of flamingoes. illthough road access has been improved and the area under cultivation increased this century, it is still a naturalist hs deli£^t. In the book"Canargue"by Karl Weber and Lukas HoffEin,an excellent description is given of tliis area and there are many superb Photo- graphs of numerous birds and animals. A glimpse of the interest this area could be to Conchologists,is given intho following extract j " /ui astonishing wealth of species can be found among the snails and shells wa,shed up on the beach. There small clams which are scraped from the sand by the locals, with tools like rakes, and provide a tasty dish, then there are the blue-black mussels, likewise a much 10/ valued food, and various other kinds like the thick»v^alled Auger shells, the pelicarfe foot shells and the smooth, white shelled clams, Serohicularia piperata»Like folded cut-throat razors, the long narrow razor sh^Ts, lie scattered about among hundreds of pale yellow, cross-striped cockles, and thinr-shelled,fine ribbed scallops. uiiadhg the scallops, in particular, there are some very attractive specimens* ' ,.This species has lorig been one of the best known shells of' the Medit erranean- in the Middle jlges ?because the pilgrims brought these fan-shaped shells back with them to central and northern Europe as drinking vessels testifying to their pilgrimage to the Medit erranean, and in our own conturybecause they'have become the emblem of an international oil concem|and are',moreover,used for the serving of ragout fiii^S have been some good washups after printer storms tMs year and Betty Grange tells us of their finds in the Far Morth|- • "We left home Saturday morning ' 9th,/iUgust and arrived at Kaimaumau Beach, north of Kaitaia, early afternoon* Along the beach .many 'Xymene ambiguus mostly with the animal still in them, were washed up, also half a dozen Chlamys enclosed in sponge* On cleaning them I found one complete stranger-for all the world like a young Australian Mimachlamys asperiimus ,but it still remains a mystery. From there we went on to Pukenui Lodge Motel* Oh Sunday morning as it was a very low tide, we went up to Rarawa* Walking 'south, we picked up Two double Mesopeplum convexum, usually only obtained by dredging,and only the second we have ever found , Lots of Maurea selectum & Poirieria zelandica wore there too - a nice start to the day. The beach was covered with seaweed and the shells v:ore all in amongst it* Lots of broken pieces of very largo Tcrna wore also seen* APtcr lunch, we set off Tor Paxton Pt.at the northern end of the beach. ^ Bob set off for a walk along Great Exhibition Bay which also had a lot of shell and seaweed on it. I stayed about the rocks at the end of the beach. ^ihat a time I had in the rock pools and all round the rocks, -finding live Poirieria zelandica , beautiful small, live Charonia lampa.s capex of a deep orange rod colour jAstrea heliotr opium (with hermit crab) and then in a bi.. . .pool,a dozen huge .scallops. (Wo had a good tea that night l), Xymone ambiguus wore just everywhere — .in pools, on the rocks, and they wore laying their eggs all over the place. It looked quite amazing with all the shells ^riLth all those round eggs on them. Wo couldnlt got over how many there were and all the different sizes.' Bob came back xiith a big grin on his face, as he also hah had a good time, ' Along the tidglino -'Were liundreds of large open scallops, and one lone Xenophalium,-a Xenophalium thorns oni in very fresh condition* Lots of Poirieria zelandica had vrashed up too, which was unusual, as these are, as a rule dredged in deep water* We decided to have another look in 108 the pools and Bob found a Bulling linoat a >rltli a hormit orab in it, and also sorao more scallops.-. One tiling, ’ wo noticed was the lack of very ar.all shells which .we always find there. Wa,Ud.nc back around the rocks v/e found more fresh, double ' Mesopcpluci convexuin and when we reached our favourite spot,! picked up the find of the day,(a.fter Bob had nearly walked on it l),a small very fresh Tonm,Tone we had never seen before, -most fiust rating, as we had to carry it about for a week before we found out that it was a Tonna melanostoma. There were also many more Charonia lampas caper: of the rod colour, and dozens of small Monoplor parthonopeus in the pools, and on the rocks. I dont knovr whether the stormy weather had brought them in orv'T’hethcr they liad come in for breeding:. I^hen we arrived back at the motel,vrc vrerc talking to the proprietor and he asked us if wo had found any scallops, as the x/eok boforo,loca.l people were takinc their land rovers vrith trailers devm to the beach and just fillinc the trailers with scallops v/hich had been blox-m in. ¥o \tqxc also told, that on the Thursday before wo arrived, the boach was piled hich with shells' and that there xrore all sorts of {goodies amon^jst them. As the collcctin£;_ xfas so GOod,x^e vrcnt back the next day but the x/ind had risen over nicht and it xiras also raining'. Never mind,boin^ keen shell collectors ,xrc ^ sot off, and horrorsl - the beach was clean. The tide and the xrind had done their worst. ¥e still decided to walk to Paxton Pt.and back round the rocks xAiere we found a nice Xenophora- neozelanica ,raore Poirioria zolandica and double Mosopoplum convexum - *but that' x-ras it. The rock pools x-ihich had had so much life in them the day before ,xiere all empty,- hopefully the Xymene , Charonias and Monoplex had returned to deeper xfater. The next day the weather turned fine a{^aih>so.. we went up to Spirits Bay, but’ the xond and hic^h tide prevented us from oven get tine onto the beach. In fact the vraves x^ere comiiig rirht up and over the sand hills, a pretty sight , but not for shell collectors So, off \-fe xfont to Paua. ^fhen the tide dropped, Bob wont in one direction and I in the other. After awhile, the peace x-ras shattered by ixiuch yelling and jumping up and doxm and x/ax/ing cf arms frexn Bob, and I thought he X7as just fooling, but no -ho had found xdiat he xiras looking for - a- Conus koiroadccensis- ,quit o an old shell, xfith very little colour on it, "but a Cone, just the same. Other than that , Paua had nothing else on tho flats. The usual Mayena ,ifc,s sariu s and Amalda etc, wore missihgh " Next day X70 xfont out to the Bluff but the beach was clean except for hundnyeds of Bosinia anus. So xre called in' to Rarawa, The beach xfas, still cleon7but at Paxton Pt,,the only good shell was an /Lrchcteclronica roovoi - the best that wo have found to date. On the way home \‘IQ decided to go the long way round and call in at Taupiri Bay, Just as xfell,as again luck xras xri.th us xrhen a nice Balcis artioulata x/ashel in. a.t Bob's feet, Nc .also picked up two Philippic lutca,Cominclla quoyana nccopinat a, Trivia morccs and a very fresh Polinicos siniac. A very enjoyable and profitable week. 109 Sholls found on tlie trip include 5- Xenophalium pyium pyrurn Xonoplialiun thorns oni Bulina line at a Xenophora neozelanica Tonna cerevisina Tonna raelanostoma Panopea zelandica Architect onica reevei illcithoo arahica Alcithoe fusus haurakiensis Solemya paikinsoni Astraea heliotropium Monoplex paithenopeus Maurea tigris tigris Maurea pelucida spirata Maurea punctulato. Maurea selecta Poirieria zelandica. Cantharidus opalus (50mm. )■ - Charonia lampas capax Mesopeplum convexum Longimactra elongata Venericardia purpurata Xynoiae aiiihiguus Conus keimadocensis Limatula maoria Dalcis articulata Trivia rneroes Polinices simiao ■ Philippa lutea Cominella quoyona necopinata Pecten novaezclandiae Cahestana spengleri Nasso,rius aoteanus Chlamys zelandiae Chlainys,not yet identified,’ Lilian Witterick reports that her Monoples parthenopcus(Salis)has woken up again^after sleeping? -Let ween April and Septemher, This is the third year this specimen has-. "been in the tank and the third time it has hehavod in this way. A diet of scallop, oyster, muss el and cockles is being much appreciated. These, the Monoplex prefers tpl „ open for itself, ” Recently, Bob Pennikot has come across two instances of Chlamys gemmulata having been found living in enclosed spaces in wrecked ships. The fifst. mm ibering several hundred, we re discovered inside the toilet and shower block when this section iras raised three years and eight months after the sinking of the Wahine at the entrance of Wellington Harbour. Though the doors and ports were, jclosed, the- spat had managed to enter and in this calm environment , had grown into veiy largo , clean, tliin shells with a range of beautiful colour patterns. In 1977 a launch sank near Kawau Id. East Coast ,a,nd. was towed into Leigh Ifcrbour in 197 8 by a fisherman who had caught it in his nets. Again, having a groat liking for enclosed spaces, about eighty Chlamys gemmulata had settled in the cabin of the sunken launch, and one year from the time of the sinking of the vessel, had grown to a large size. The shells were all clean and well coloured, ...■ • 110 N0T5S FROM Mr>RICHiUU) WILL. JJ* * S T/ilK PIT laTEil i;im VOLUTOfflTR/.o D.HOLE. Mitra and Volutomitia, iDolong to quite different families and have "been split jcn “both radular and egg case differences. Mitridae has been split into four families, the whole group having evolved from Spindle shells. They are novr listed as follows - Genus Mtra ” Pteiygia " Sc ah ri cola " Costellaria The ’basic shape is a tall spired shell tri-th plaits or folds on the columella, These plaits have two functions 5 first when crawling, the animal can pull back rapidly and second, it is protected by them from its enemies. There are only two I^tLtras vrhich d.o not have folds, and only two Volutes which do not have folds. /J.though the Mitra is a tall shell, with a long aperture, it is also a very dui verse family and can take on many shapes, for ezomple,one resembles on Olive ,Imbricaria olivaoformis ( Swainson) ,anotherIrabricaria conulaila Lamaik, has a typical Cone shape and a narrow apart urep the plaits only, give it away. Among the New Zealand represent it ives we have ’ two, which we find in sha|.low waterj Mitra carbonaria = (Vicimitra maoria),and iiustromitra rubiginosa Waimatea =r(Prozimitra)obscura,does wash up on a few northein beacheS. MLTRTDAE Mitra carbonaria Swainson ,= maoria Finlay. A chestnut brown shell and white, narrow footed animal with a long proboscis. Its food is unknown but probably, it is a worn feeder. It is uncommon, but not rare and dwells just below low tide level to ‘ ' deeper water. Austromitra erecta Powell. Named from one shell only,taken at Taupo Bay, Nhangaroa. ( several have come to light since )*Ed. Austromitra lawsi Finlay. The largest of all, is a whitish shouldered shell, taken in I5 fathoms, 10 miles outside Otago Heads. • st remit ra rubiginosa(Hutton) angulata &p s cud. omarginat a Suter, ” antipodum Brookes , lubiradix. & planatolla Finlay, and brunneacincta. Powell . / 111 Augtronitra ru~bigino3a is an intertidal species, dark "broim -.o-th an oran£;e colunella< It feeds on sea squirts on the surface of vdiich it lays its>.p^^i3 capsules. The form anti^joduia is smooth, hrown and yellow, hrunneacincta is fat and white xri.th weak hands. Type locality is l8fathoms off Mayor Id. ,in the stomach of a ^Terikihi# plant ella is taller than the others, Aust remit ra zafra Powell. A smooth rounded slicll,;d.th arial ribs crossed hy spiral lines. It looks like a Columhid with plaits. VOLUTOMTRIDilE Volutoraitra hanksii (Doll). Has a deep water distribution -Ol^o to 10^ more dwelling in more tempo rate waters. It has a smooth lii^h expanded slioll xd.th three plaits. The colouring; is dull vri-th a broim chalky pcriostricum. /in adult specimen averages distribution extends _...down ..through Otago, Ghathan Eisc, to "Campbell Id. Volutomitra. probloraatica(Pondor) A more shouldered shell. It was named in 19^5 cind is very rare. Otago. Peculator hedleyi ( Murdoch ) * Egrestas dissimilis Powell. A small grey shell ,59m. liigh, with white dashes and spots. Similar. in shape to a Marginella. Occasional specimens found- in shell sand but not uncommon in dredgings off the North East coast. Peculator obconicus (Powell). Talccn from the far north and only in dredgings, I'/hite, sometimes with a pattern in the form of ■ ''a flashes. It has spiip4 ribs ' crossed by-axial " ribs. A deep vrator sliell.- Microvoluta margi.nata( Hutton)z biconica Murdoch & Sutor.-cuvierensis Finlay. . ” 5. 6mm. in height with cords in the sutures, knobs on the shoulders, folds on the columella and blotches and flames marking it. A brightly blotched little 112 shell found throughout- NewZealsnd from 33fathoms to 600 fathoms. Waimatea ohscura (Hutton) ,=* (Proximitra)- mortenseni Odhner. A shell hrightly and variously coloured chocolate to orange y the top whorls having rihs. The form mortenseni, carries rihs on all whorls. It has heen taken in 1 3 fathoms at IrJlialc Id. and from Trig.Td arid the Mokohinaus. It foods on Voiraetid gastropods of the genus Serpulorhis. The only one of the Volutomitras to ho found intertidally,it vrashes up occasionally on a few northern heachos, where the worn shell discloses a pattern of white markings. The animal is white with yellow spots. - oOo - NOTES FROM- A TALK BY Mr.NOffl^T G/dhPEBR ON VOlUTIDAE. D.HOIE. Tliis family occurs in most seas, being almost 'worldwide in distribution, with a gap in North Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Rod Sea and several pockets elsewhere. It is a beautiful family of diverse form, especially those species from tropical countries, and deservedly popular with collectors. They are very well represented in Australia. ‘ Our Now Zealand Alcithoe has a large egg and the newly hatched young are restricted to, crawling on a sandy bottom( unlike the Veleger type of juvenile ywliich have a free swimming local stage), and thus tend to be 'hemmed in' by areas of unsuitable bottom causing local populations to emerge with a common gene pool. The presently accepted nomenclature unites the following|- Alcithoo arabica (Gmolin)r: doprossa Sutor. (a sliort spired, pale form found only from Spirits Bay.”) ' A.arabjca is the nodular species found at and below low water. It is well lonoxm to most members and is found more frequently on Northern East Coast' bdach'es. Some, beautifully c oloured -specimens wash up after storms. Some West coast harbours such as Parematta and the Manukau have colonies living on the sand flats. 113 AlcitliOG r.r r" : 1 c a. j r,cul oid es Poxfcll.(= j olmst oni Poi, ’•oil. differs in lic',vin.''.ncdu lea, only on tlie last half -whcrl,) jaculoidos differs from tj’i.'ical arahica in that it has a toiler spire jtliinner shell and no colunella . flan{,:G - this hoin^':* absent in all deep water forms. The ran^ie is from East Cape to Horth Cape. Snail examples wash ashore at tines on Great Exhibition Bay. /ilcithoe calva Powell. Prom deep water. A. slender tall spirdd shell, usually id.thout nodules jdait a few specimens do have a ireak; series and these shoxr some resemblance to jaculoides. nan£;D,EaGt coast of South Island, - Cape (Uampbell to OtacQ* Alcithoe ST;ainsoni Kanfick.= elongata Sirainson = notutaraensis Powell. Is now generally looked upon as bein^ just a smoother ocean beach form of arabica^vdiich of course ha,s priority) Quite smooth to distinctly nodulaj? examples occur. The ’subspecies' notutaraensis is just a pale fom of the ordinaiy sirainsoni. Pan^sG|SouthIsland,and up, the East Coast of the Noirth Island at least as far as the Lei^h Harbour. (P.Warrcn) , and up to 90 mile beacn on the Hest coast. Pine lar^je shells occur in deeper water off Otaco and Stewart Island areas. iU-cithoe ostcnfoldi Iredale. A largo thin inflated form from off West Nelson and Westland occurring: in about 30 - 40 f^.is. More slender examples of wiiat is probably the sane tliin,:,', - ’• occur off North Island West Coast j probably another deep water fom of strains oni. Alcithoe larochci I-Iarvrick. Not uncommon in nodcratcl^a.dccp water, in the Cook Strait area. Like ostcnfeldi ,but smaller, luonges to the top of the lloith Island alon^r East Coast in very deep water. Present in Pravm- trawls in 250 fathoms. Grouped in the Submenus Leporomax,are the small volutes. iblcithoe (Leporemax) fusus . v , Occurs in a dine alon^: the entire East Coast of both Islands. The typical.. species is from the South Island, 114 and soutlicrn pajrt of the North Island. Has a smooth hody whorl and close nodules on the spire. suhspocics haurakicnsis Doll . Similaj? colour pattern and size to fusus fusus,hut has nodules on the hody whorl, 'Range app3?oxinat ely from East Cape to th© HauraJd. Gulf, suhspocics hodlcyi( Murdoch & Sutcr). This a slonder shell xdth long flutings on the hody whorl Quite largo specimens v/ash ashore on Gt .Exiiihition Bay, at times. Rango,Bay of Plenty to North Capo, Alcithoo (Loporomax )chatharaonsis Doll, Also relat od to" this group. It is a rare species from the Chatham Rise in very d.eep water. The shell is smooth, lias no azial sculpture and a blotched colour pattern, Iredalina mirahilis Pinlay«= aurantia Powell,-* which is a more ■ inflated shell. Smooth and shining. Prom very deep water off hoth North and South Islands, No columella plaits. Dr,R,K.Doll,in a recent paper advocates doing away iriith the genus Pachymolon - all arc to he included in with Alcithoo . ( The distinction between them is said to liave 'l3oon the presence of a shallow sinus and. thin sliell in Pachymolon.) Pachymolon id.lsonao Powell, = smith! Powell, = grahami Powell, Typica,! wilsonac occurs at the Cliathara Islands. It lias rounded ribs over the hody whorl, P.smithi comes from off the Otago Coast and has weaJe ribs above the periphery, and P. grahami, a dwarf form, from deep water, in the same area, Pacliyi.ielon (Palomolon) hontliicola Doll, is a vciy rare shell from Northern parts of Now Zcaland-Prawn trawl material, Pachymclon fissurata is also a very large, thin shelled variety occurring in the Bay of Plcmty and also off ^0 mile Beach, Pachymolon lutoa (Natson) A very rare deep water shell. Recently a few have boon talccn,off the Nest Coast of the South Id, It looks like A.larochci, The animal is dark in colour 115 almost l)lack and is found at a greater depth, than larochci* Pachymolon flomingi Dell. A distinctive, new species ,with strong nodules and an ' orange mouth. It comes from away down hy the suh- ant arctic Islands in vrry deep water. Waihaoia(T.eremolon)lgr^xi Dell. This little -shell ,70 to SOmm.in height, is chalky . ■■■ white in colour with an aperture of hiscuit-hrown and comes from 300 fathoms ,Chatham Pise - where a - ' ■ lot of nice things turn up. oOo SHELLS FROM 0KE>JA BEACH, NOHTH /UCKLAIID. ■ P^YTKCCIA VAUSE. Orewa is a long sandy surf h each, expo sod to gales and usually swept clean du2±ng storms, so it is surprising to find that a large number of species do occur at regular intervals. The Southern end of the heachjfrom the Estuary hanks to the Surf Lifesaving Cluh rooms, usually provides the best supply of sheila. After strong Easterly winds, the high tide line is littered with the common bivalves ,Paphies sub- triangulata and Paphies australe ,but the East Coast form of the Tohoroa,Paphios vchtricosa is also found. Large specimens of Dosinia anus andPg subrosea are common, and at times a number of T), larabata arc found. This beach is an excellent locality for the various Epitoniidao| Cirsotrema zelebori is often abundant and I have picked up several hundred specimens on a visit, -a few still havers their operculum. Drift linos or shell sand deposits yield Epitonium minora( rarely with opbrcula) ,Eotenellum and B. jukesianuna. I have also found a . ■'* ... couple of specimens of Ecbuclcnilli ,but those are rare. Several years ago I first noticed Crassest re a gigas appearing. Those arenas a rule , specimens of 50 ~ TOmmoin length, attractively fluted in purple, pinlc and white, and generally firmly attached to long dead valves of PP-phies subt ri angu lata. They wash up at liigh tide amongst the common bivalves, and can easily be 2?ecognised by their distinctive shape. Lately, while I have been cleaning some of the 116 ■boautifully rid^od -Tliais orbita,wliick Iiad washed up along the high tide markjl have noticed h hiuinher of tiny Crassostreagigo-s settled into the grooves of the Thais sholls«p C.,;.. ^ are also living on the thick deposits of old Paphies suhtri.3ngulatun in the Orevra Estuary. Other bivalves washed up along the hoa.ch include Ifactra discors, Chi one stutchhu;;^ y^cma trigonepsis ^hassina yatei^with ridges • • invariably grouxi^ doim by the i^rf )',G5.ri linoolat a , Solet ellina nitida; Tollina gaimardi /Tellina liliana (occasionally a pretty orange shell) j Pema canaliculus Jhpdiolus neozolanicus , snail Atrina zelandica ^and occasional specinens of the following - Pi varicella butt oniana ^Pect en novaezelandiae ^Not opaphia olegans ,Myadora st ri at a ? Limar i a orient alls, Zenatia aoinaces , and Venerupis largillicrti. The north end of the beach sonetines yields freshly snashed valves and pieces of Offadesma angasi,- obviously found by the gulls first# I did hea,r of one lady who collected a small boxfull of intact Offadesma a few years ago, during a gale. Kelp holdfasts are wn,shed up now and again, and are well worth examiningo A nice surprise one day, was a large live, pale orange Chlamys zelandiae attached by byssus underneath one Kelp holdfast. Sometimes a complete Cleidofhaerus albidus is attached, or Hiatella arctica,Ostrna lutaria and Anchomasa. sinilis(usually single valves) and small Phola^dicna sioathulataT*”^ Verriicularia zelandicus are comraomly found in this habitat <> It was~interc sting to note that several Zelithophaga truncata had bored right through one rather solid Cleidothaeius albidu_s and were seen firmly embedded inside its shell, when the upper ISlre was prised off. The pools that form from scouring., action along the sides of the rocky breaki-rator at the Estuary mouth, sometimes harbour living Struthiolaria ^papulosa and abundant largo C online 11a adsporsa. Eotli species are also found washed up alive along high tide mark. The living Struthiolaria papulosa are often rather surf worn when I.-" fully adult , but the younger adults and juveniles have the attractive' Characteristic patterns. Tlie fexf living Struthiolaria vermis found beached, are, as a rule, small dark coloured specimens, some with the v/hite peristome, others yellox; coloured. The beautiful, clean Comine 11a adspersa are the best specimens I have encountered anywhere, well spoclcled jbrigiit orange aperture and often x-dth a perfect spire. Cominella maculosa and Cominclla glandiformis are seldom x^ashed in, “iDut the latter are common in the shallox-rs of the estuary, though poor specimens 5 as they are VQvy eroded in their muddy surroundings. A number of Ili.loma sub ro strata - all, patterns and colours - graze on the algae covered heaps. ..of dead -bivalves in the estuary shallows. Tire rock brcakt-/ater also harbours large numbers of the red sea anemone ,Isactinj.a t oneb ro sa , gr oxdng under the shady sides, and on a couple of occasions7i have found the vfandering sea anemone ,Phlyct enact is tuberculosa, stranded in the poolsc Of special interest is a very 117 large , unusual st arfi sli ,, 1/uiclica. . varia. « wliicli also strands in these pools, and along the estuaiy hanks. Unforttinatoly its long snakelike arms are very fragile, and most specimens are already severely disfigured when found. Tlie fex^ perfect specimens I have carefully lifted up, drop their arms xdth disappointing rapidity. Othor g,astropods picked up along the beach include ,Um'Donium zelandicum , Bulla quoyi,Trmhus vii*idus , Turbo smaragdu s , Cookia sulcata, medium sized, living Pen! on sulcatus , ima'lcfa australis ,Nerita melanotiagus, Amphibola crenata ,Molagraphia, aethiops,Maoiicolpus roseus,Zeacolpus pagoda, and an occasional very worn or broken Alcithoo arabica. Many Arachnoides zelandiae and Bchinocardium australe are buried in low tidal shallows and x-rash up durirg stoims. The coramom swimming crab, Ovalipes punctatus , falls common prey to gulls after storms, as* numbers of the crabs strand on a loxr sand-bar to the left of the Estuaiy mouth and the gulls wait there to forage. In recent months a > cheerful band of Oystercatchers,have taken up residence on tliis area, and can be hoard piping their xraming as anyone approaches. In early June I was pleased to see that their numbers had increased to about a dozen, -several black oystercatchers,and the remainder with the usual pied markings » They make a xrclcomo addition to the shags and ducks living the Estuaiy*. I have foxmd a fcxiT tiny Janthina .j ant hina , af t o r Easterly gales and some Spiiula sjdiula , one of xvhich had a piece of its animal still fiimly attached. Velella velella and Physalis physalis, the Portuguese -man -of -war, and Lox')as anatifera,the goose barnacle, also strand at high tidcjaccompanied by Auroli^i. labiatg, the common jellyfish. Molluscs of brackish x-xater areas a,lso appear along high tide mark and in drift lines -Melanopsis trifasciata,OphicardGlus j, costellaris,Marinula filholi jPotaraopyrgus antipodum and Ampliibola cronata. It is not unusual to find beached, the land snail Holir aspersa and the ubiquitous Cbzychilus ccllaius. The appearance of shell sand or suitable shelly deposits is •' .. .* rather sporadic , but can be well xforth gathering and sorting through. In May of 1977? and these yi. elded 93 specimens of Pupa ld.rki,a surprising find. Most xrere beach xfom,but a fexz xirere in excellent condition. Other shells x;e re ; - C omino 11a q^u oyana , Trochu s tiratus. Anti solarium ogonum , Paplmolla cancollata ,bmaida inucronat a ,A, depre ssa , A,novaozelandiae ,Xymeno plebo us , Parat roplion quoyi,Taron dubius, Micrelenchus tonobrosus,M.j dilata'tus,MTsanguinous,Cantharidus purpureus , Philino aurif oimis ,P;^ocipom.a xroldii ,Limaria orientalis, Phenat oraa zelandica,lUplicaria t ri st is7najBinoea zelandica., Pis spin cliAtSaihonsis , R,anguina,Chomnitzia zolandica,Fossarina rimata,T^ea zelandicarone tiny shellj ,heO|^Tiraleus sinclairi ,iI.intoriuptus,h. t eneb ro su s , N . amo onu s , /mt ime lat oraa buchanani maorum ,Nucula hart •yigi ana , Hoipotopoma~ bcTla , Tho'riLstc'^la opprossa , Maoritomolla .. . albula,Puccinulum linGum,P.vittatum,Zoacxmantus sub^rinatus , 118 AustToaitra rubiginosasRLsellopsis varia,ITotosinister infoliX} ZaclyG sariGsa,Zeaitrolla c}iaova,Paxula paailluSyEatoniella limbata E» olivacGa,^’IerGlina taupoensis ,Fictonoba rufolactea^Lit-toilna unifasciata antipodun,SipIionaria zelanclica ySigapat ella novaczelandiae ,Maoriciypta monoxyla ,MToost at a , Zegalous tenuis ,ITot oacmea liolnsi and Tilcliosirius inomatus. On June 20th after stron^j gales, I was astounded to find the entire length of the beach strewn td.th many thousands of live Atrina zelandica,all about 15011^1, in length. The southern end of the beach was especially thickly deposited with groat masses of the shells and the gulls and oystercatchers wore quickly breaking them open and gorging themselves on the mass of food. I counted 30 oystercatchers this time so the numbers are still increasing. The sandy pools around the rocky breakwater wore piled with masses of Atrina, many struggling to attach their byssus,but -trilthout success. liiaong the AtrLna,wore about 300 Offadesma angasi, ranging from 30mm. to large 100mm. si^eoimens. Most were freshly broken open by foraging birds, but I collected a good number of perfect specimens, mostly by going quickly along the liigh tide mark and picking then up before the birds could ruin then. Over 100 live Struthiolaria papulosa were seen, many adults as well as juveniles and 8 S. vermis that wore very tiny adults, richly coloured and with animals in them. They wore so small that they looked like a dwarf form, as all had a well developed peristome. There were three large live Penion sulcata along hi£^ tide mark, all different colours one being very pale, one the usual greyish colour and the other a rich reddish brown. These were a welcome find as was the one live Posinia greyi - my first ever ! I'lany Tellina li liana and T.gaimardi all of large size,v;ero strewn among the Atrinas,v/ith one lone T. edgeri,and one complete specimen of the St arf i sh , Luidi a varla. This was a fairly small dead specimen, partly dried, so I was able to get it home safely and into formalin, intact. At the far end of the beach, to the North, wore hundreds of large live specimens of gaily patterned Tawora spissa,a.ll on the sand at high tide. I liave never seen them washed up in that area before. I took a bucket of Atrina zelandica home, and late that evening, when I was cleaning them, I noticed that each one still contained its commensal crab ,Pinnatheres novaezelandiae . 'These had clung tightly to their home, even in those shells choked v/ith sand, or xfith the animal obviously dead. Even a long soaking in fresh xfater did not dislodge them. Hox^ difficult to clean, are Offadesma ! It is impossible to open the valves wide enough to clean out all the flesh, no wonder the birds prefer the simple puncture throu{^ the side resulting in the loss of so many lovely specimens. A -week later there x^as- scarcely a trace of tha,t incredible washup. ‘ /ui elderly gentleman who- has lived at Orewa for many years p t old me he had never seen anything like it in all the years he had - x;alked the beach. . - - oOo - 119 NEW PUBLICATIONS The PowelliPhanta gilliesi - traversi - hochstetteri - rossiana - lignaria - superba ring species (Molluscas Pulmonata), hy P.M* Clime National Museum of New. Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1978 jVol *5 ?PP» 289 - 294. Abstracts /in alternative classification of the New Zealand rhytidid genus Powelliphant a 0 ' Connor, 1 945 presented, P, Gilliesi (Smith. I88O) and P. hochstetteri (Pfeiffer, 1 862 ), are recognised as species, and the following subspecies are recognised v/itliin hochstetteilgh. superba(Powell,1930)9 h.lignaria (liitton,l880); h«rdasianaI'Powell')930) h« fiordlandica (Climo,1971 )• A model is esplalned which suggests that all described species and subspecies of Powelliphanta are part of a complex ring species. This developed as a result of glacial disjunction of South Island populations and hybridisation across a Cook Strait land bridge formed during the last Pleistocene glaciation^ - oOo OBITUAEY Br.John I'Ian^ick,who died after a brief illness, on August 16th,, in his 88th. year, is considered to be New Zealand's greatest Palaeontologist . He spent over 30 years as Palaent ologist to the Geological Survey, and wrote extensively on the Tertary and Recent mollusca of New Zealand. Students of fossil Conchology,are all familio,r with his paper on 'Turrit ellidae and 'Mariiick's illustrations of New Zealand Shells, vrith a Checklist of New Zealand Cenozoic Mollusca* by C.AoFleming, Dr ^Man-xick was held in very high este.em,not only for his work, but as a person, and will be remembered VTith affection by all who knew him. ~ oOo - Edit or s I N.& N, Gardner 6 Tui Glen Rd, , Birkenhead ^ 20 Auckland ,10. New Zealand, i r ;i 'ii I I 1 i CONTENTS Page An Elegant Trophon from Deep Water off Lord Howe Island 102 Some Land Snails from the Harlhorou^ Sounds G.Poiroan 103 Collecting in a Southern Harbour C.Bissett 105 Notes of Interest 1 Cymatoma kampyla (Watson 1885)» 107^ Shells etc o of the Camargue J. Coles 107 Northern Collecting B.Graiige 108 Monoplex habits L.Vritterick 110 Chlamvs f-cemmulat a B.Penniket 110 Notes from tlr.R.Willan* s falk on Mitridae and Volut omitridae D.Hole 111 Notes from I-Ir. N, Gardner ’ s Talk on Volutidae D.Hole 113 Shells from Orewa Beach j,North Mckland P.Vause 116 New Publications 5 120 Obituary^- Dr.J.Majm'fick 120 ISSN l)()32-2377 MAY 10 1070 CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM POIRIERIA VOL. 10 Part 1 FoLi^iaiy 1979 GOIgmA MAORUM (Smitli) R.W.G, This is one of our more colourful small venerids - one of the few that sport an attractive colour pattern. The §^nus occurs over the western Pacific - from iiustralasia to Japan. Our single species Gomphina maorum Smith, is found only in the north of New Zealand and even then seems to te' rather restrictedjijuost check -lists cite it as being rare and located only at Cape Maria van Piemen. Strangely enough, it must he a fairly common bivalve in this area, for the sandy beach between Te Werahi and Cape Maria Headland, is frequently littered with single valves along the high tide line. Most of these are whitishj without .nolour markings - bleached,no doubt but still pink near the hinge^ If one vras able to dredge just offshore from here, live shells would certainly be obtained. After a spell 'of rough weather, a few live specimens sometimes find their way onto the beach. ' These occur in two main colour patterns} the dominant one is of irregular, brownish, zigzag lines, well spaced across the shell| with the addition of two more solid bands radiating out from the hinge. Sometimes these bands are hot very wide but on other shells they occupy much of the surface of each valve. Occasionally, a pattern of close zigzag lines , without the radiating bands, occurs. Specimens of up to 20 mm, are not unusual,' Although listed as living only at Cape IVIaria van Diemen, it is also known from seyeral other localities, though rarely so. Years ago, a fresh whole specimen was washed ashore at Long Beach,Russell,Bay of Islands. Strangely, in spite of considerable dredging having been done in recent times,! know of 1 I no further records fron this area. More recently a few conpletfe shells have heeh coning ashore at Bland Boj'’ and Taupiri Bays-nicely patterned ezanples. The known range of this interesting small veneiidjis therefore* extended, iiny additional records would he of interest. oOo IB CgjLB ELiVE EM IHE SAME ' HERE I II.W.G. To the New Zealand Naturalist ,the Throe Kings Islands off the northern tip of the country are of special interest j for , although they are only about 30 miles from the shore, a distinctive endemic flora and fauna has evolved there. To the Malacologist ,they are of considerable interest as they support a land snail fauna that is unique and thriving. This vas not always so, A mere 23 years ago Great King Island was badly infested iri.th goats- with dire effects to wild life, Tlioro was no regeneration of vegetation, remaining scrub and Ixish was open and park liloe, and dryness was increasing everyivherej all this because of the liberation of goats last century, to provide a source of food for possible shipxr/recked mariners. The commendable decision to exterminate these animals in 1946, resulted in much wild life being given a reprieve - for many species, just in time. The regeneration wliich has resulted, makes this a real success story. The grovrth of plants in a short time vras phenomenal and vegetation is now dense Conscquontly»the large Placostylus snails have increased from the few dozen remaining, to hundreds. Islands elsewhere ,ho\-rever, have not fared so well, and one that comes to mind is St, Helena, in the South Atlantic, which has had a long and luckless battle with goats, I The subject is one wliich has been discussed by T,C, Crowley in his presidential address (J, Conch. 29 233-237,1978), and the following revelent information is gleaaed from this source. Due acknowledgement is made. The island of St, Helena was densely covered with luxuriant forests of indigenous vegetation when discovered by the Portuguese in I5OI, This cover of course, prevented erosion and protected the fauna, but with the subsequent liberation of goats in 1513?the stable ecology v^as inevitably doomed. In 1651 the East India Compan;^’’ took possession of the island and it was nearly 50 years later before there appeared to be any concern about the rapidly 2 dinanisliirig forests. Up to this tine, the hark of the indigenous redwood and ehonyjWas Gripped from the trees and used for tanning. The trees were left to die where they stood. The Governor of the day seemed to reetlize all V7as not well and rec emended to the Company that the vast herds of goats should he destroyed, as they prevented the regeneration of the forest. The reply he received instructed him to encourage the goats as they were more valuable than trees, - and so passed St*Helena‘s last chance « Ue are told that hy 1810, the forests weret all gone^ fuel was then being imported) and that introduced plants were running wild. Amongst those, the New Zealand flax apparently now covers much of the island "in a dreary blanket", The result of all this on the land snail fauna, for instance,has been very grim. Originally, the island had a varied selection of endemic species. The destruction of their natural habitat , however , eliminated practically all of them|the only species which seems to bo holding its o\m now is a species of Succinaa which has been able to -adapt, to an ecological niche of its oim. With the increase of grassland and open meadow, it was inevitable that European species would appear and many of these have thiiyed. ibnongst these are, of course, some bid 'friends'- Helix adspersa and Qxychilus allarius. How easy it would have been for such a fato to befall our own Great King Island, if action had not been taken • - ■eOo - mmui GTQRi-ia at. kaikouha _B. Elliott Kaikoura seems to be well kno^'in for its freezing temperatures, frequent gales and violent storms. Nothing is heard about the many fine warm days, when the sun sparkles on a calm azure sea and fluffy white clouds drift across the blue sky, high above the snow -coveredSOOOft .peaks of the Seaward Kaikoura Range. This scona of breathtaldng beauty has no news value, it seems - but, let there be another storm threatening,and Kaikoura is headline news again with another blot on its reputation. Those who build their houses too close to the beacJ5, surely have no p pleasure when enormous waves inundate their homes, and those whose gardens are their pride and joy are far frbm hdppy>rhen-theii favourite shrubs and flowers are battered by a howling gale. Those who were responsible for making Kaikoura’ s foreshore so at tractive, must have been dismayed when heavy seas, in a few short hours , swept throixgh the Merabrial gardens and the playground,and right across the r oad , sv/eeping away hedges, killing trees, 3 causing massive erosion and leaving a trail of debris behind. But the shell collect or, listening to the shrieking win^ and observing the crashing waves, can't help feeling a thrill of eager anticipation I wonder what wll be washed ashore this time#?- " June and July seen to be the best months for beachcombing at Kaikoura* By August ,the weather has settled down and fewer shells are washing ashore. On June 13th, a South West Storm hit South Bay, washing a 20 foot Basking shark up onto the beach. This was one "treasure of the deep" that did not end up in my collection. Even the local seagulls did not soem very interested in such an enormous meal. Shelling during the next few days was' not as exciting as I had hoped j nothing new, but nice specimens of Lunella smaragda, Haliotis au6tralia,Sigapatella novae zelandiae ,IIaoricolpus roseus and Zeacopagia disculus an occasional Modelia granosa ,jlrgobuccinum tumidum Penion mandarina , Bosinia zelandica,Haliotis virginea ,Eudoxoohit on nobilis and Frembleya egregia. Big clumps of the stalked barbacle ,Mit ella sertus were cast ashore along tri.th large quantities of seavfeed. At East Head too there were great piles of seaweed but not many shells; A nice large Cookia sulcata ,a squid beak (probably Hotodarus sloanii) and an Aplysia brume a were among my finds, and also several clumps of Aplysia eggs were waslied up. Not long before, on May 22nd., I had seen five of these big dark brown Sea Hares with their egg masses in a low tidal channel at East Head. The eggs are golden yellow in colour, long strings of jelly-like substance in tangled clumps, I hope that some of them survived the storm 1 ...A P L, QUtfEA ST Jo%'h Ltaxr^ oylindrica (da Costa) and Valooia nulohella (Mull*) in the school grounds at Qnelamga* Hamiah Speiioer discovered severetl speoimezis of - Vertigo pygmea(]>rap) sheltering under some timber in their garden at Horthoote* - oOo - Lltnaria orieiitalis | ' ' Al^iou^ 't£o~nunbers of thls^ldvalye living, between tides, has been ■ very such reduced after suooessive easterly gales' Ih'the last year or two, they have been observed in several places reoently, on Auckland's east ooast* At lea^ or*so were been in one arM, mostly In their ne^s of shell grit and debris, and though^ most wex*e young, some of the' animals, were gpite mature* ' In the same area, the blue mussel Mvtilus edulis act eanus* seems to be on the inorease* . This species ,thou^ quite oomon in the Bay of Islands, is DUoh more at home in the South Island* 9 THE COl'IENELIul M/.T N. Douglas Hvae you ever made a Sea JIat ? My first was made about a dozen years ago<, It was a yard across I Heighted down with, half bricks, it was also the proverbial "half ton"l But then, don't I always do things the wrong way the first time I Later when the size was greatly reduced, the shell catches simply multiplied* In every way it was better. See Dia^am* Some samples of one-lift catches ; with this model, are listed below* EAST CAPE AEEA; Set off the Tolaga Bay wharf at night ,20-5-196? • 60 d.v'-o Ccninclla czccriata tolagaensis Ponder 1 968, (first found in this area), 26 live Buccinulums. 1 Cominella glandiforrais(with hermit crab) 1 Lepsiella scobina (with crab), and one Buccinulum( with crab ) . This was all in one lift of the l%t, remember 1 There were several other similar lij^ s , some with Penion sulcus inhabited by hermit orab^ SOUTH ^?ESTLAKDg Off Jackson Bay Wharf 23-4-1968. A dozen shells, ^11 with hermit crabs - iArgobuccinum tumidum, iAustrofusus glans, Xenophalium sp* STEITAET ISIAITDg Set a± night using a dinghy in the Lords River estuary 6-5-71. 72 Cominella nassoides*4 Turritellas (with heirait crabs) and 2 Buccinulums (vjith crabs)* COROI^IAMDEL PEcUITSULA AREA? Off I'Jhitianga wharf in daylight , May 197 4* Over 80 Cominella - assorted ads])ersa and maculosa.alive* MANGOtIUI ILARBCUR; Set off the wharf, 26-5-1 969 One very good specimen of Mauroa pellucida spirata(>dth crab) and three living Monoples parthenopeus* BAY OF ISLAITDSi Set at night off the big game fishing launch "Lady "Julie", anchored in the bay at Robert on Island, 31-3-196? • About 1 00 live Cominella quoyana were on the Mat by morning* 10 A CftMKMfifXA H..Vr ko/c^Fl*. G^t7oal Isft't't is a S^ell pis'll ■ is a head^cf SnnA^n^d. 7?:m ftp tVo 8 {e i’l ! aa have the violet snnilsaJ anthlnA* ISiey are often elongated, ooqparatively fast svinmang aoUuBOS equipped vlth'telesoopio'eyes and veil adapted for catching medusae, ooj^ods, tiny fish axid ewen other 'sea butterflies'* Ihe Pterq^Syon the other hand are very active 0pisthobrBneh8~*>aXso veil ends red for sfriiiBBing,havlng the tvo parapodla dravn cut into jaembrancu } vings Vlth narrow ousoular baaes iddoh are used to rcw or *flap in t le manner of butterflies* Pteropods are divided into tvo groups; th^ Edielled ones - Ihesoscmata and these vhich are naked Symosoaa^a* / AlthflUA 'sea butterflies normaily liVe near the surface, it is possible to^oort out soie drrnploo fflsau bottom dredgings - em^y shells vhloh have ^tled down after the animal has died* Dredgings from around the Three Kings Islands ,have yielded <^te a number of the speoies reoorded from Hsv Zealaxid Waters* The folicwing species have been recorded from N*Z* Heteropoda ATUmi^l Stoll spirally odled in one plane, (as in fresh water Plazuxrbls) Foot divided into tvo part s,>post0r lor part 1]^ an operculum vhlle the anterior section has a sucker* Atlanta leBueurii(d*Orb*) ^toll dlsooidal, transparent ,oooQpre8sed, oazinated,eapable of oogtainlng libnle animal* V. Atlanta per (mi Lesueu:?o Similar in shape to preceding species jbut larger. Carinaria anstra?-in ( Qc(2c G«) ■ Shell irij®ite,alntstrolf«lcibo8e* in dredgings traa the Three Kings area* Plentiful 1^£SS^S& (d*Oxh«) Shell nlzirtdt«UsaQr»f^a speoies is also quite contoon in Three Kings dredgings* 15 Pteropoda Thccosomata CmSULIID/iEj Shell cartilaginous, elongated, shallow cavity along its lengthy tubercles in rows on outer surface, ^i^b'^lia parvidentata Pelseneer Slender shell, elongated, constricted toiiards middle of its length- Spines on surface, Size,35i^« CAVOmillPAEi Shell bilaterally symmetricalynot rolled up in a spiral, animal may be entirely retracted within the shell.' Cavolinia inflesa Lesueur Non-spiral shell, elongated, somewhat compressed each side , re curved teiminal point* 16 Cavolinia longirostris (Lesueur) Shell gloTjulax with, chaiinelled "beak and short hooked wings* Three ribs* Cavolinia telemus (Linn6) Rather like the preceding species but the terminal •tooth* is larger* Lateral wings not so pronounced* Finely striated. Yellowish, peluoid. Cavolinia (Diacria) trispinosa (Lesueur) Shell of depressed ’Kite’ shape, aoute lateral spines and long straight caudal spine. Transparent white, longitudinal folds on surface. 11 mm. 17 Cavolinia ( Diacria ) trispinosa Lesueur, Clio pyramidata Lime A trianpiilar or cone shaped shell, compressed laterally. 10 mm. Herse columella (Rang) Shell straight , elongated, smooth surface, with the posterior half , conical and pointed, A partition towards the middle of the shell is a little inflated, size,14mn« 18 Herse coluaella Creseis vir^la Rang, A tiny tusk- like shell, sli^tly curved and about 1 -2 mm in length. Stylioia subula(Q#& G.) Shell siaaJ.1, pointed, conical in shape* • 59 PERACLIDAE - - -- Peracle sp# Minute sinistral spiral shells of an indeterminate species,,*v have been taken .off ' the Iforthland coasts# ' • The figured specimen is Peracle reticulata (d'Orb.) height 1.5mm. (from off the Brazilian coast.) . - oOo - Ertract from Woodward’s" Manual of Etollusca "1 87 6, on the European pearl mussel ^ Margarit if era margaritif era( Linne') ; ’ ■ ‘ M . - "This species, which afforded the once famous British pearls, is found in the mountain streams of Britain, Lapland and Canada| it is used for bait in the Aberdeen Cod-fishery, The Scotch pearl- fishery continued till the end of the last century, especially in the river Tay,tihere the mussels were collected by the peasantry before harvest time. The pearlswere usually found in old and deformed specimens ground pearls about the size of a pea, perfect in every respect, were worth £3 or£4. The mussels were found set up in the sand of the river-bedcrvd-th theit open side turned from the torrent 5 about one in a hundred might contain a pearl, and one pearl in a hundred mi^t be tolerably clear# " - oOo - 20 NEW PUBLICjCTiONS The jjomenclatiire of Ttccee iBacific Bulla ^ecies# hy R.C.Willan Zoology Dept, University of Auckland. J.Malac, Soc. Aust, 4 ( 1-2) j 57-68,1 July 1978» Summary; The correct nomenclature is established for Bulla guoyi Gray Dieffenhach,l843 j Bulla angasi Pilshryjl893 and Bulla veimcosa Gould, 1859* Pull synonymies are given as well as descriptions and locality records. The Cfenus Ueilo in New Zealand ( MoUuscaj Bivalvia) . hy B,A#14ar shall National Museum of New Zealand, Wellington. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1 978 jVol, 5, 425-436, Abstract; The phylogenetic history,paleontological implications. and ecology of larger No>^’ Zealand Recent species of Neilo (sensu strict 0) are discussed, N.wairoana delli,N,blacki,and N.(Pseudomalletia)aoteana are described as new. The following taxa are reduced to chrono sub species: N,.jugifera Marwick - of N, australis (Quoy& Gaimard) ; N, annectens Povrell and N.rugata Dell - of N.sublaevis Marvdcki N.sinangula Finlay - of N, awamoana Finlay, The iJoUuscan Qe^^us Cominella(Gastropoda:Buccinidae) at the % * '' Three Kings Islands# . . by R,C,¥illan Zoology Dept, University of Auckland New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 1 978 ,Vol, 5 ,437 -443^ Abstract; Three endemic taxa of Cominella Gray are recorded from the Three Kings Islands, New Zealand, Gbminella (Josepha)rsgaJLiS. n.sp.and ( J osepha)quoyana griselcalz n.ssp, odour sympatrically in relatively shallow water (.to c, 50m), whereas C,(EU.oominia) mirabilis n-i -pahi 1 i a Powell is known only from c,l80m, 'The history of colonisation by these taxa is hypothesised and discussed. 21 « t i II 4 >• *» r CONTENTS Pa^e Gomphina maorum Smith N,W*G. * 1 It could have heen the same here N,W*G, 2 WintBr Storms at Kaikoura B. Elliott 3 Notes of Interest! Chatham Islands Lauria cylindrica v Vallonia pulchella* Vertigo Pygmea Limaria orient alis N.Douglas Chris,Dawber H, Spencer 9 The Cominella trap N, Douglas 10 Oruawharo (Medlands Beach, Gt .Barrier Id, R.Kindlesides 12 Sea Butterflies N.W, Gardner 13 The European Pearl I-tussel 20 New Publications 21 Editors! N,&N,Gardner 6 Tui Glen Rd, Birkenhead Auckland, 10 New Zealand. PO Vol 10, P-rt 2. Mriy 1979 ISSN 0032-2 7 CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM /•V i'.* A' \:‘s = 4^=- b> t t I < : ; \ ! POIRIERIA VOL, 10 Part 2 May 1979 OUR FRAGILE BIVALVES OF THE GEl^S SQLETF:TJJMA.Blainville,l824* N.W.G, Soletellina ‘belongs in the family Psammohiidae along with the sunset shells of the Genus GarikJSchumacher,l8l7 jhut lacks the distinctive ’rays’ of the latter,? Our two species are relatively comraonj occurring on most sandy beaches and in harbour situations where the bottom is somewhat muddy# At times we have enquiries as to how these shells may be identified, for it is not easy if ypu haven’t examples of each to compare. Points for identification are 5 Outline, Position of hinge, Colour of epidemis, and Colour of interior. Soletellina nitida ( Gray 1843) In this species, the anterior end, from the hinge forward, is considerably longer than the posterior end which is subangled. The epidermis is almost transpaa?ent , shiny, yellowish brown. This is generally worn off around the umbones exposing the purcli^li shell, which is also the same colour within. Grows up to 50 mm. Pound throughout New Zealand in shallow water, sandy situations. Soletellina siliqua (Reeve I852) The anterior end, from the hinge forward, is much shorter in this species and i;he ventral margin is evenly rounded, giving the valves an oval outline. The epidermis is often heavier and yellowish or greenish brown in cdlour. 22 The valves are probably a little stronger than those of the previous species and the colour of the interior is froirr -white to purplish white. Also grows to 50 in length. This species is more likely to be found in sheltered situations whore the ' l. bottom is fairly soft - throughout New Zealand. Shells of Solotellina are wafer thin and move easily through the sand. ‘.They are active buirowers and deposit feeders. The siphons are long and slenderjthe inhalent one reaching out of the sand to move around above the burrow in a radius of several centimetres. oOo HBSQlLfTION BAY, I^iARLBOROJGH SOUITD. G. Forman The Marlborough Sounds offer good opportunities for collecting shells within the sheltered wajrers of its many bays and inlets. Throughout most of the Sounds a narrow, rocl^ band forms the intertidal area and then drops away into deep wader. ' Resolution Bay, in Queen Charlotte Sound is one such bay, and as luck would have it, my last visit coincided with the lowest and hi^iest tides for many years. The extreme lo\^ tides brought to light many species which live below the normal low tide. The very high tides brought a 'f&w prcbiops as it lapped the top of a nearby jetty and boatshed floor. A large tree which had come up on the beach some seven years before, was lifted off by the tide and was last seen drifting away round the bay. For this visit , shoreline collecting was mainly confined to the area near cJur campsite jconsisting of a ‘beach' of boulders varying in size from small flat 23 pebbles to large rocks which were difficult to move. At either end of this, beach are steep rock faces hi^ up on which , small numbers of Fotoacmea pileopsis can be found in cracks and \mder small oveihangs. Other limpets which are common at a lower level on the rock faces and on the large boulders, are Cellana onata and Cellana radians. Ihe perivdnkle Littorina cincta are few and far between. The only specimens seen^ wer© in the same crevices and overhangs as Notoacmea pildopsis. The boulder beach, consisting ofrounded sandstone rocks, offers a veiy stable habitat in these sheltered waters. They lie partly buried in coarse — sand. The-blue mussel Mytilus edulus aot earns is the first shell to catch the eye. It foms a dense carpet over the rocks at the mid-tide level. Not many other species are obvious on the surface of the rocks, apart from Cellana opnata.C. radians and a few Diloma zelandica and Lepsiella scobina scobina. Hidden among the blue mussels are small numbers of the ribbed mussel .Aulacomya ater raaoriana and Risellopsis varia. 'It is underneath the boulders among the small slcnes and coarse sand that a number of species are present , often in large numbers. - From high tide level down to about mid-tide, two trochids,Diloma nigerrima,in groups of a dozen or more, and more scattered, the southern form Diloma bicanaliculata lenior. Further down the shoreline , and in the same situation, a common shell is Buccinulum vitt atum littorinoides. All specimens seen were thin, very elongated shells. Of thirty specimens noted, twenty nine were marked with narrow spiral lines, only one having the three broad spiral bands. Buccinulum lineum lineum are also present in small numbers. Apart from the mussels, the only bivalves occurring in large numbers are pipis ,Paphies australis, clustered together in small pockets of sand between the large stones. Because of the very low tides, it was now possible to find a number of species which are usually well out of reach of a wading collector. Most of the large' rocks had * nests' of Modialarca impact a attached under them. Also found in small colonies on the underside of rocks are th© uncommon Monia zelandica. Though usually in groups of three or four, one rock had a dozen specimens on it, many being attached to old dead shells. Occasional specimens of the southern fan shell,Chlamys dieffenbachi are "'also found -attached to these rocks. The star limpet , Cellana stellifera is -•' quite plentiful washed up onto the beach but it is in this deeper water area •that the-first live specimens could be found. Also at this depth, the Paua " Haliotis -viyginea virginea is quite plentiful. I had first found H.virginea virginea in a small bay, together with Haliotis iris, near the southern point of Resolution Bay. On this latest trip, I found them spread all round the Bay, Of. the many species found at extreme low water, one to oatch the eye was Penioh sulcatus. All specimens seen were of the rounded 'mandarina'type of shell. Though most of them were small specimens, one large, very smooth shell measured 1 30mm, by 60mm, 24 ■ Only a few feet out from tlie low water mark,tlie ledge of boulders ends and drops into deep water, and. the nethods of collecting from this deep water — are -many and varied « I'Jliile fishing, a four prrng, grapnel type of anchor is used to hold the dinghy, - As most- fishing is done very close to-th.e;l-e^^ - often within 20 metres of the shore ;hut in 20 metres of water, the, sea floor is littered, with debris from the ledge. Sometimes when hauling in the* anchor’, one ■ of the tines x>rill hook into a piece of this debris , which is brought aboard, for close inspection^ It usua.lly consists of a rock covered in a variety of creatures - tubo worms, ascidians 5 sponges ‘and seaweed, I4any molluscs find a home among these creatures. Prominent among these are shells which live ih crevices ^ Hiat ella arct ica and Not j lus ref^e^s. Fine specimens of Cardita aoteana an(TT/hl'^.y3~^i e f f enb achi are also found on these rocks. The Chlamys - - • dief f enbachi are always covered with sponge and are often hard to spot , tucked away among the other inhabitants of the rock. • • | A veiy successful method of obtaiVning perfect specimens is-when catching ' a few blue cod for bait or dinner-.j After cleaning the cod, the gut contents are washed and sorted. Shells commonly found this way are Chlamys dieffenbach without the sponge cove ring, .Li-matula maoria. and Neraocardium pulchellum. Single specimens found this way have been ,Mesopeplum convermn and a tiny — ^<^cden novaezelandiaec I have caught a Poitie.ria zelcrd-ica by -a -most -unlikely -meth.'d. On reeling in a line to rebait , a small, long spined Poirieria zolahdica was clinging to the remains of the old baito Dredging from the din^iy has brcnught up a good selection of shells from Resolution Bay. The gear we used is fairly crude, being ah old five gallon tin,which is first used to carry gear to the camp-^and-theh -bonverted to a dredge 9 Apart from a couple of small shallow bays with sand bottom, we had , expected the deep areas of the main bay to have a soft mud be ':om,but we were veiy much mistalcen, Nherever the dredge vas used, it picked up a mixture of brokfen rock, coarse sand and on only a couple of occasions , some mud« Some species were found only when mud was recovered. A very pleasant surprise from this mud vras lAibrica - two live specimens, along -with two species of tusk shell , Dent alj.um nanum and D, ze?.andiae which were both plentiful. Many species were found among* the broken rock and sand, some being very plentiful. Among the most common species are Tawera spis sa , Not oc orbula zelandica,Scalpomactra scalpclliLm and Araalda novaezela,ndiae. Other species quite plentiful in the bay are Gumina dolichostoma,’' e - lina but t oni ,Pleuromeris zelandica and Maoricoplus roseus,, A single valve of Dosinia greyi,a few Notocallista multistrlata and Zoacolpus delli were also good Finds.” Other species picked' up in- small numberE included Antisolarium cgenum,I7ucula st ranged ,Nobellula,Tanea zelandica, Estea rckcr huana ,Balcis yegrandis and Nozeba emarginata. 25 i . ojr collectiqiis aijd CQU^orais • ^ ■ ’ Derek I.Lanbo The Enters of .-this journal have ^several times exhorted -us to provide material for inclusion therein* As one of the general collector class, I j-_have had a stirring of conscience and looked around for a reporting (rather than reseaTOhirig ) joh and came" up with the idea of . report irig on collections owned'hy our memhers* This, I very so'on'?’ounH... out’7'€al^^ 'a' little /tiSe^ as I, probably in common with all meidiers,ehj6y *3u^ 166Mhg'at‘,'and''talldrig about shells, it is a pleasant task, I would appreciate any comments or suggestions to be covered in- future ~ as the two in this issue are intended to be the first of a series, . THE JQAl^ COLES CQLLBCTIONo " Miss Coles needs no introductJ.on to members, but as one has to start scmewhere,she gets one nevertheless, Joan started collecting and joined the Conchology Section just before the Exhibition in 1963t Right from that year, she has been involved in committee work and indeed still is, including, of course her service as President from 1972 to 1976, Miss Coles has collected overseas in Queensland, Hew Hebrides, The Loyalty ' Islands and Norfolk Island( her article on the Loyalty Is, appeared in V0I.9 Part 4 of Poirieria) ,and is one of the most regular attenders on Club outings. Apart from personal collecting, she has exchanged a few shells, purchased a few, ( an Oliva rubrolineata from the New Hebrides 't rip ,was a pleasant sight - ' previously,! had known this shell only from a colour plate in’ Marine Shells of the Pacific' Vol. 2, ), and in 1975, bequeathed the Volute and Murex noctiCific 'Of the collection made- By TMrs.J, Wyatt, — Although Miss Coles does not keep an Accession Book or Catalogue, she has compiled schedules of the 'shells collected in the New Hebrides and the Loyalties and these check lists will be of great interest to anyone contemplating a visit to either of these areas. The collection's strength naturally reflects Joan's favourites which are the- Volutidae .Terebiidae ,Naticidae ,Nassariidae and 1-Iuricidac, The ’goodies' noted included Xenophalium r o.yanum , V olut a ab.-'/’S s i c ola , V . lut osa , V , r oadnight ae , V»arausiaca,V,papillosa,V,tibiaformis,Neptunopsis gilchristi .Livonia mamilla Tleucost oma) ,Homalocant^ zamboi ,scorpio and, anat omicus ,I4urex~*^azi ( 1 20 Fms, off Tampa) ,M.bipinnatus , Oliva rubrolineata , Columbarium pagoda, Conus bullatus, C«rutilus,Cypraea catholic orura ,St rombus listeri (there are two since the 1 st , Auclcland Shell Shov;-’, ) ' Apart from the raries there was, of course, much more of interest as the following selection might' indicate. My attention was especially caught by a beautiful St rombus latissimus with full colour and no corrosion, an 26 GxtrGinely large Murex radix (the hlack and white Mures from Mexico), a lovely Cypraea lynx from the ’IT'evr’ Hebrides -with- larrge- hat_£ew spots, or should that he with few hut large spots ?- a, large Cypraea ventriculus from Niue, and a 7" Turrit ella terehra* But what about a humble Bosinia -D.ponderosa from the J Sea 0^ Cortez and measuring 4" across, the same size as a Periglypta reticulata collected by Miss Coles at Yeppoon. New Zealand is well represented and included in the collection are Morula chaidea,M,palmeri,Latiaxis lischkeanus (Tolema peregrina) , Ace on hanc ocki , Talabrica bellula,Terefundns cuvierensis and Fusinus genticus from Great J Exhibition Bay. Several shells brou^t forth their particular stories, two of which must . suffice , however . On a Club visit to -Kawau Island, a group were laughing at Joan’s repeat performance of instructions on how to locate a Charonia. She explained -amidst hilarity- how to bend down„put pne’s hand under a rock ledge, search around - and capped the performance by pulling out a fine C.capax. Another incident occurred at Melo Beach in the New Hebrides when as the very last member of the party moving along the beach ^^he found her Conus nimlr-cus* We've all heard this kind of story - perhaps those rushing ahead don't let on about their successes • j I spent a most enjoyable evening looking at shells and discussing them ; with Joan. Her love of shells was demonstrated when, having asked about her ! favourite families,! asked if she had any likes or dislikes. She commented, "No dislikes - I like all shells but simply like seme more than othersl" | i Footnote. (Headnote?) One can lose one's head in Joan's shell-room, ^ite literally, so taller members please bow your head reverently on entering. THE HOLLOWAY AND STEVENSON ‘COLLECTION Miss Holloway needs no introduction to our Auckland members but many of the newer members will not have seen this magnificent collection nor know the background to it. Miss Holloway started collecting 60 years' ago, and 'in earnest’ since the 1920’s. Arther Stevenson began collecting in 1915?^'^^^’^ Br. Powell in19l6, arid became one of the earlieErt members of. our club, Ini 942, Hiss Holloway and Mr.St evens bn .^decided to~ amalgamate-their collections, and. the joint collection flourished .until 1953 Mr. Stevenson moved out . of .Auckland. They were then faced with '"the difficult task of- sharing out the collection, and this took about five years to complctel - Only ten-years later , circumstances again changed and the' two collections were re— and finally- amalgamated,. The united collection is now , quite obvieusly- too- large for any further_ f li^s of this nature. The sources of the shells are many indeed. During the late 1940’ s and the 1950’ s, about a letter' a day was being despached to overseas collectors for exchange contacts and very- many of these were fruitful* 1 27 I would hate to estimate the costs of the parcels at present rates of postage. No oversea collecting has "been enjoyed hy Miss Holloway^and very little hy Mr* Stevenson, but their collecting in New. Zealand has been extensive# The collection is housed in the basement which probably maintains a less fluctuating tempreture than that suff^r^ by some collections* The extent of the excavations bears out the enthusiasm of the owners for the collection.j Standard sized trays are arranged generally in sequence according to Thiele. As in all collect ions, some specimens are displayed., in cabinets for the ’ ooh and Ah' brigade. All specimens are carefully catalogued in ah accession book and again by family and individual shells are numbered in Indian ink. Numbers are applied down to the smallest shell on which they can be written and Mr, Stevenson writes small figures very neatly and clearly indeedl He has a fair amount of practice too. The library is extensive , rather fewer of the ,glos.sy_c of fee-table types but well endowded with Transactions and Proceedings .etc. The size of the collection is rather breath-taking and seeing is believing but Xn ‘... over 14,000 lots could be over 100,000 specimens, Conidae,for example are represented by 1,350 specimens covering 120 species. Harities ther» are, as must be 'with so many shells,but they remain discreet, almost unnoticed among the vast array. In fact, despite oohing and ahing ray myself,! took fewer notes of raries than on other-occasions. Of special note however ,wcre.. the displays of Paryphant a ,Placostylus ,Poirioria and XenOphoras , and I did no1^ the T olema , Cypraoa mus,C«hcsitata howelli (the white one) and C . aur ant ioa ( in the plural}T Commoner shells of particular interest or beauty included Strombus latissimus, Conus gubornat or , C . acut angulus , Cypraoa reticulata and Cypraoa histrio wostralis. No particular families are favourites because of the museum nature of the collect ion, but- at the present time, Mr. St evens on is working on the Conidae and is naturally looking for material in this family. Miss Holloway also has an impressive collection of rocks and minerals, but time did not permit , more than a cursory Ibok at this. Miss Holloway was the second Secretary of the club and was involved with the introduction of study-groups which still continue in the form of Buzz-groups, . She was a committee member for several years, and presented me with a copy( in mint condition) of Bulletin No. 1. dated 1 st .Ilovembcr 1940. This includes the : program for the year in vfhich two subjects noted wgtc," How Shellfish Grow Up", by A. G, Stevenson and " Shellfish' of the North Shore Reefs", by Miss N, Houghton, Two of the four pages list additions and alterations to Br. Powell's checklist. Who said, "times change".? A collection of photographs of visitors included not only the big guns from our own Club, but also those of BrSoClench,Tucker-Abbott , Chase, P.K. Godfrey, and Miss Joyce Allan along with a host of well known collectors. The two afternoons spent viewing the collection wore full of interest , but more time is required to do it anything like justice. 28 NOTES OF INTEREST Even in the most unlikely places, land snails persist - and this is especially so along' the "ninety mile" isthmus of Northern New Zealand. Several species are to he found living on the odd Punga fern, and fallen litter, growing in the tiny pockets of scrub behind the sand dunes. , On Mt .Camel , where there are pld Punga ferns amongst the scrub, Phenacharopa novoseelandica (Pfr.),that tall charopid which has chosen to be "so different from other species of the family, lives in quite reasonable numbers. Another unlikely looking place is on the steep pinnacle of rock in the entrance to the Houhora Harbour. Under the rather sparse vegetation, in dry crevices, four species of land snails have recently been collected^ Tornatellinops novoseelandica (Pfr.) Very numerous under flas bushes. Allodiscus urquharti Suter. A single example . Laoma (Phrixgnathus) conella (Pfr. ) Moderately common, Paralaoma sp. (generally referred to as n.sp.24,by our land snailers) extremely common. , : Although Hydatina physis' (Linnaeus) is quite a common mollusc in Australian-waters- and'- ha-s— an -extremely vn.de range from Africa to Japan and the Indo-pacific jit-is a great -rarity here in. -New .Zealand, though the shells .are considerably larger than those found in -Australia. (Onp_in measures — - ; . At the end of April, Da-vid md Ross Hosketh. disturbed .two specimens which had boon buried just below the surface of the sandy mud near lovr tide at Paua,on the Parenarenga Harbour. The beautiful rose pink animal vd.th its wide frill edged with bright blue vras a wonderful sight. The larger shell was faded arid broken about the edge -maybe it had been v^alked on I , but the other v^as brought home and kept in the marine tank,v^here it has been quite happy and much admired. About ten days ago the Hydatina laid an egg mass|croam^ jblciircd raffled and about 30 mm. in length, it is attached by a small string into the sand. VJliother the eggs are fertile or not remains to be seen, but we have not heard of the Ilydat ina physis brooding in these waters before. A third shell, in fragments was also picked up at the s'ame time -probably the seagulls loiew something about that I . , . Mrs.C.Bissett v-n?ites," Last November I went out to Orcti beach about 8 kilometros from Invercargill, I hiked out using the cycle track which is planted with flax,Hobes -and tree lupins as it winds past the New River Estuary on ono side and the Waihopai River and Airport on the other. The beach is of grey vihito sand and is not unlike Orowa Beach in the North. Bluff can be seen on tho loft and Riverton far in the distance, to the right. Stewart Id. was enveloped in a misty blue cloud. In pioneer days, Cobb & Go's coach and 29 horsG teams ran regularly over Qretti Beach from Invercargill to Riverton. The week previously, there had Been gale force winds, and three hours and i two sunhumt feet later, I had found quite a number of interesting shells wasliod up. There were 12 single valves of Chlamys dieffenbachi in colours og rod, orange and purple | an old but whole Argobuccinum tumidura , a Glycymeris laticoststa with bright red raarkingG,and several kinds of mussel. These included Mytilus edulis aoteana,Aulacomya maoriana and Modiolarca impactagalso single valves of Pema canaliculus and Modiolus aerolatus. Other bivalves were,Spisula acquilateralis , live juvenile Tawera spissa and Amphidesma forsteriana busy digging themselves into the sand when the sea left them uncovered. The Toheroa,Faphies vent rlcosa, lives here, buried well down but is strictly protected just now, A perfect Haliotis iris floated in, and there were several Haliotis virginea yirginea,a two inch Cookia sulcata, a Xymene ambiguu s ,T rochu s viridus, Trochus tiaratus ,and Sigapat ella novae zelandiae . Therewero many broken shells particularly of Maurea punctulata but eventually,! found a perfect two inch specimen. Many of the shells had a very blackened appearance as though they had been in a fire. A lot of the -shells were rock-dwellers and could have come from the rocks at Riverton. The commonest shells on Oreti Beach are Maoricolpus rosous and Zethalia zelandica. . .,;.r A noticeable feature of the tide line was the number of large, brown leathery egg capsules of the Elephant fish. Call orhynchu s millii. The 90 Mile Beach on Northland' s West Coast is often swept clean as far as the eye can sec and nobody seems to be able to predict with any certainty as to when a whorthwhile washup will occur, so it x^as quite a surprise to several of our members recently when they ' just, went out to look' at the area nesr Houhora,and found the beach strewn with quantities of small Pema canaliculus (Cmelin) , washed up in clumps , Tangled up in the threads of the bysses were Austrofusus glans(Roeding) , and other shells common to the coast , but along with them were hundreds of the usually uncommon and very attractive turrit ella, Zeacolpus ahiparanus Powell, Tlie shells were all empty but in very fresh condition. This species comes ashore down nearer /ihipara at times, but is seldom_ seen at all near Houhora, 30 A MCPJlBLE visit TO TE AEEI BEACH, Patidcia Vause The dovistatin^ gale of July 1978 brought up many wonderful shells along the East coast beaches, and I had found more than enough treasures on local beaches around North Auckland, without venturing further afield. However, at the August Shell Club meeting, so many interesting shells from Te Arai Point, south of Mangawhai Heads , were displayed, that .1 regretted not having visited that locality also. As a month had passed since that .tremendous st-pnn, I doubted whether -any good specimens would still be found on the ,Te.Ar,ai beach, and remembering fruitless trips in the past,to Omaha and Pakiri,! was hesitant to trek even further north to another omp.'-y beach.- . However, it was the first weekend of the August school holidays, and my, three children were keen to try -out their new home-made, slcepirg bags, so we quickly packed..oun gear into the van and set off for the vreek-ond.. - . The weather j^as not VQ.ry promising and we did get lost once or twice af“ter vre loft the main hi^way north of Wellsford, but eventually we saw the sea beyond a large coastal pine forest, and hoped wo wore heading for the right place. As soon as vro arrived, wo investigated the rocks at the far right end of the lovely long sandy beach and found some remnants of huge Ponions and Charonia lampas capas, smashed almost beyond recognition, but with the decaying, animal and operculum, wedged firmly inside the skeletal remnant of the shell. A lot of very large St ruthiolaria yoimis and some S«papulosa were -scattered over jagged hightidal rocks, but they were beach rolled and battered. We had a horrible suspicion that those were to be our only finds for the weekend, - but lunch revived our spirits and so did the appearance of the sun, so we sot off along the beach, to the north, admiring the pleasant surroundings and the view of the offshore islands- the Hen and Chickens Group and Little Barrier, and also the Whangarei Heads, further North. Only a short distance along the beach, we started to collect plenty of fine shells. They were in a thick band along hightide mark, mostly the two species of Struthiolariao A few of the S. vermis were an unusual pink colour and a couple wore a definite lavender shade, -most attractive. -We were especially pleased to pick up some lovely large specimens of Gari. These strongly rayod-shol-ls have boon known as the southern form of linccltita as they are found commonly in the South Island and at Stewart Id. ,but in the last yoar-or t-wo-ytho storms have broutiit in large numbers on some of our northern beaches, and was the shell I had hoped most to find. Then wq started to pick up plenty of Xenophalium p:/run, mostly small specimens but a lot were still alive or freshly dead with animal and operculum. We were surprised at the large number of X.pyrum with several strong growth varices, Some wore so strongly marked that they had the appearance of tartan or plaid. Some large specimens of Xenophalium wore found along the beach, including one good X.labiatum labiatum and two specimens of Xenophalium labiatum insperatum. We collected a \d.de selection of didderent forms of Penion sulcatus .ranging Prom the smooth dark striped shells, to cream or light brovm,strmngly nodular shells, to mauve or white dilatatus type of elegant sculpture. Unfortunately most had their lips chipped or broken, or a hole in the side of the body whorl, though the animals v7ore in some cases, still alive. 31 Very large , attractive specimens of Gari stapgori t^erc plentiful, in the full range of colour patterns* Some "beach specimens of Monoplex parthenopcus, Ca"bestana spengleri and Mayona australasia were also adda^ to the now over - flowing "buckets. The chiliiren were especially excited at picking up some Alcithoe ara"bica with "beautiful dark markings, ranging from the most delicate juveniles to huge, rugged, adiiits- many still alive. ..Wp walked as far as the river and stopped to sort throu^ the scattered piles of Um"bonium zelandicum at mid-tide, for smaller treasures - half a dozen large, fresh Amal'da mucronata were the best find, but Maurea punctulata , Cantharidus purpureus ,Tanea zelandica, Divaricella huttoniana,Diplodonta ze-lahdica-, and Bulla quoylw»To.pilBa picked out. . — . . A pair of delightful birds were running up and down the beach near the river mouth. They called 'frequently to each other as they mo’vod' along at considerable speed. VJhwn ray son Geoffrey checked his bird books, he found our intriguing birds to bo the Bow Zealand or Red- breasted Dot teral( Char adrius obscurus). Those two \ictq the only birds of their species that we observed, thougb- we walked a considerable distance along that quiet beach. The long trek back to the van,with our loaded buckets and large plastic sacks slung over our shoulders , was very trying in the hot sun, but wo could not resist rushing down to a freshly exposed deposit of shells in a small area at low tide. There we found Austofusus glans,Tanoa zelandica, live Xenophalium and Alcithoe arabica ploughing through the sand, a few Xyraono ambitguus and our first over two specimens of Turritriton •<>a"bulatus exaratus , alive in the shallows. Six year old Deborah was thrilled with her Turrit r it on shell -she know it was something special as soon as she saw it among the pile of debris, much to my surprise I After a busy day \-ic relaxed on the duno9,with a picnic tea, before going back to the high tide lino of shells again,until a beautiful sunset reminded us it was time to sot out our sleeping bags on the dunes for the night. Daughter Catherine was chatting to an elderly lady who was busy surfcasting and rather intrigued at the loads of shells being gathered from the beach by all of us. Fortunately for us, this kind lady offered us shelter for the night when a sudden appearance of rain dampened our enthusiasm for sleeping out on the sand dunes. Early next morning wo admired the sunrise from her hilltop home, the warm rosy glow lit the dazzling white dunes and the cold steely grey surf and sea. It V7as an unforgettable awakening, with such a grand view and the loud rhythmical crashing of the breakers on the shore. "If^e all stood outside and ate an early breakfast , while we planned the day's activities. ¥c had boon told of another road ent ranee , further up the beach, so wo set off immediately to see if any different shells were to bo found that rooming. .*• The sand was ice cold under our bare feet, at 7 a.m.,but we had an interesting walk for another hour, and picked up quite a few more shells as we approached Maiigawhai''Spit ; children amused themselves "by following rabbit tracks along the beach ’and-up- across the dunes into the pine forest. 32 ¥g docidod to _lo.a.YQ„TGArai and try our luck at Omaha on tho return •goumy homo, but , the- beach thor was well cleared of earlier washups,and just as well j probably, as ther wore weeks _ of _cloaJiirig and sorting ahead from that vj-qnderful Te Arai washup. - ~ - - Other species collected at Te AraijVrere as followsf Pecten novaczelandjae (large, complete specimens ) , Chlaj^~ ^olandiae ' ( halves ) Solemya parkinsoniana ( several, very large) ,Tawora spissa,Araalda australis, Longiraactra elongata,Bassina yateiCworn quite smooth },Dosinia maoriana,D. anus and I)« subr osoa , Piloma coracina( inside bivalves ) , Thais orbit a ,Trochus viridus, -T ,t iifcratus , Cookia sulcata and one each of tho follovringj Xbhbpkora" nebz'elhnica^P oir icria zolandlca-, Paphio s vent ric osa >Maur.ea. tigris ,M.solocta,Haliotis iris,H,virginea crispata,Tonna cerovisinaf broken) , Argobuccinum tumidum ,Astraoa holiotropium ,Vonericardia purpurata and Waltonia inconspicua - both species from kelp holdfasts. oOo DREPGIMJ AROJITP KA3T CAPEE d Bert .Lee I fish commercially" in 'the waters from Capo Runaway to Tablr Capo at I-Lohia Peninsula and I have done mther well in shelling from this aoxsa, though there are long spells when no shells come to light. I cany on board, a dredge i designed and vrhich was built by Bruce Shepherd. This works very well, though it is not used often. I do not loiow much about tho shoreline shelling as time ashore is spent with my family and working on the boat. Collecting areas arc as follows! Runaway and Lott ins ( rock ). Te Araroa Flats ( i'5ud ). East Cape ( Coral & Rock ) Tokoraaru Reef ( rock ), Tolaga Reef ( rock ). Ariel Reef inside and outside and Cabbage Patch, which includes Table Cape. ¥e fish between 20 - 100 fathoms and call 20 -50 fathoms, shallow water, and outside that ,deop« The shells from shallow water betv/coE. Gisborne and Hicks Bay, except whore there is foul bottom, are common to the whole area. The bottom is mainly mud, and vrith muddy sand in tho larger bays. Some of tho shells taken from those areas includof I. Runaway and Lottins- Trophon licinus (lledley 8c Pettord)_ Bonollit ia suporstes Finlay Muricopsis octogonus-T Qnoy & Gaimard) 33 2. To Araroa Flats - Monodilcpas monilifora co old. ana Dell. Solariolla (ZetelaOtoxtilis (l^irdoch. & Suter) Sc lupus Iiyalinus (Odhnor). Toctisunion cforpidellaef ormis ( Sutor). Tornia cerevisina Hcdlefra Iiaurakiensis.Poirieria zelandica (Qu6y& Gaimard). Zemitrclla paeudomar^inata( Suter) Zcndtrella stephenophora (Suter) . Iredalula alticincta(t!iurdoch « Suter) I'iicrovoluta marpinata (Hutton) Austromitra rubi/rinosa -angulata fom Austronitra rubi^inosa -pseudoraaginat Daphnolla oancollata Hutton. Bbizorus nesentus Finlay Cosa cost at a (Bernard). I'lucula nitidula (A, Adams), Saccolla bcllula (A.Adans). Datliyarca cybaea Hedlcy. Yoldiolla powelli (Dell). Zoraitrella . reiois Powell. Macrozafra nodicincta (Suter). . Iredalula striata (Hutton) Austromitra rubirinosa (Hutton ). " " planat ella f orm a form. Agatha ^oor^iana (Hutton) Gumina dolichostoma (Sutor). Cavolini'a inf loxa ( Lesuour) ,Twb, Cuna ma;^d Powell, Ennucula stranf^oi (A.Adams). Saccella hedleyi Fleming'. Poroleda lanceolata (Hutton), ZemitroUa cbaova(Roeve) . 3. East Cape - ■ Solarolla toztiTis" (Ififrdocb & Suter). Tasmalira vit ro4Sut or )=wellingt onensis Mondas trizonalis (Odhner Seilac4l^osoila)chatIiamonsis ^ter Proxiuber hulmei Powell. Uberella barrieronsis (l^Iarwick), Amalda ^Baryspira )mucronata( Sow’erby 0 . Amalda novae zolandiae( Sowerby) . MariP-inclla maoricina Powell Marginella cairoma Brookes. Marginwlla sub fusula Powoll Marfrinolla vidae Doll Lucorapox aiyu status (Powell). Bathytoma AinlaAd (Powell). Taranis =( Pone stro syrinx) /:ratiosa( Sut or ) ;Aot eadrillia wan/::anuionsis (Hutton) Ajitimolatoma ahiparana Powoll Antimolatoma benthicola Powoll !l „ buchanani maorum(E.A.Smith). Austrodrillia -So^jidrillia) sola Powell, Tomopleura =(Maoritoraella) albulaQHutton) . Maoritomolla orient alia Doll. Antifcuraleus f one stratus Powoll Antifparalous murrbous (Webster). Liracraoa opontroma opont r oma( Itirdoch ) . Liracraoa odhnori odhner i Powell Liracraea epentroma whani^aroaensis(Mur. ) Pupa kirki (Hutton) A.ctoon cratericulatus Hodley Phlino anf;;asi Crosse & Fischer Phline powolli Rudman . . ...... - Phline' const riot a I^lirdoch & Suter Cavolinia teleraus (Linnaeus), 4« Wliarariki Deep - R.anolla olearium (Linnaeus) Alcithoo svminsoni Man-rick This area is not trawled often. Alcithoe larochei Marwick Alcithoe fusus fusus (Quoy & Gaimard) 34 5. Tokomaru and Tola^a Reef, - The shells are similar from "'both' areas o The'-same- shells -are- found -as a'bove plus| ~ ■■■' — Maurea oshomei (Poweil'y ’ ■ Poirieria aelandica (Qoy-& Gaimard)^.. Colum'bariura =(Coluzea) ’spifaTis ( A , Adams ) ,'Epit o'nium mih-era = philippinarura(lre, ) Epitonium ~bucknilli Powell.' - 6. Ariel R'e'cf.' Gut side Latiazis lischkeanus (Duriker) Austrodiaphana raaunr semrad, .out 'near the edge of the reef. ' Two dead specimens "were also in tho/. hadLe. A*vor,y 'fine: Serpulorbis sp, was common,:’ attached to rocks ,botb'‘ oti,' top and underneath. '' ' ’ As this is such a small area, taking live specimens of any sort is discouraged - though a fevr young folk xrero fishing hopefully in the lagooii ■* Over the headland from Emily Ba,y is Coraotry Beach - strewn x-.mth rocks and edged with a narrox^, basaltic fringing reef battered by the surf, but containing interesting shallow pools.- - --G-onu s ■ ar i st-Qpltark s , a form of Cocoronatus,was living among soax^eed and under "st ones, and wo picked up some~5-ead L/z-riaT in good condition along with a -newly dead Bursa i-;^anularis. Hermit crabs xrere in residence in a number of tiny shells and in the odd Nassa corta,Nassarius spiratus and Conus flavidus apart from the 'common Hinoa and Merit a. In one of the few sandy patches at lox-r tide^'a- koiony of Nassarius spiratus was thriving but other- wise only the hardy oval shaped sea eggs ,Echinometra , nest ling Well dOxm in crevices in the reef , wore to be scon. Hinoa braziliana a,nd a fex-r crabs dominated tho undersides of stones at half tide and nearer high tide level, Siphonaria normalis covered the rocks, A species of Bombicium xfas common . 40 0 •• i n •. 1 « KIIOMI IHtS 1 NORFOLK i'oLAND S r <* 'JMA'J.'t .m.\ * '• -.li. *. ,.r. . , w-V-ij,/- ** ., f'y M ^ i. ‘ w> V- - • , - •;'* -' .J,, . - <1 • ' “ " . *>.*’<» . . V4-:. ^Sf '■* I.J i-. . •*' **■ ' ' *> V* ‘ « /-o' ■ ' ' * ^ ^iA-w .^' ' / • «, i.' •' •‘■5*. '• ••> ■ . *■ r*. > r 2'^\ “■ V^ ■ ■■•■ ><-:.''. - j!.. i- ti#.;' , r ^ ’i'-- ■4y ?■*• *'*’^ ’Vi =ci- Y--^ . .X 'r " V ’ ' r"’ -3! • • t..^ . . /o^ i -/ / "®; n I ^ ' ■, ' .-r V- 0 •' r’’ .J' ■ '<5?;, , V- K / •if- y - ■ '% ■■'^ w' "33r‘ “ ' 7 4 ■» :^S >■1 : ... .... ; Yd j _ ,:y 1 ^ / :, ■'■ * :.'•- •- .r»i ■ r'-' .. _ 4v ‘. ' '/ '. a*Jv^ . '>• Ai < - / ,» vY , / .' • i » • * ' • * -1 »* .;*r> ’■ / -^ -«■ ‘”r ».4 i ' V '*t U'lfc I ' *m3 *»4»i>«' -"r^''rr; . '^■3 -r V;....., . . ^ * ’*" *^^*^ '^'' - ».i i ^ _ ’ - «. ' V'. ■ "^.!f '•* .'Y'w^^ ^ r-c X^‘ . *.x ‘/‘^■^---tw*^-*’' *' ■-|LvK'' • ;r. : ’/ /fj* 'Vv. :r V .. ' ' ‘ Y % \ ‘ t-' iV' ‘ i _*.A, ^ *> v} ;i -f ■ . -^.j ,«iww,.. ...r-w,.^ «v.^. '• '. ■ -i • • ,.r*!'''"''t- ■ ; ... -S5/--' :• •■^■1. ; V^#** • y along tliG rock joints or where there were depressions which would afford some shelter, and the inevitable herita melanotragus was on. every rock* .Cascade, on the northern side of the Island, is a boulder strewn Bay where there is a landing’ and hoist built - out frcfi.the shore. It was used extensively during the early settlements when the weather was unsuitable at Kingston. A vrhaling station was also 'located in this Bay. • . ..... .... ' The most noticeable thing about the boulders here and elsewhere oil Norfolk Island, is the vast number of Nerita raelanotragus clinging to the rocks as the tide falls,- rarely a specimen of Il.plicata stands out' among the black raelanotragusc There are no true' limpet s , oddly enough, but Siphonaria nonnalis ' is veiy common and in many cases covers the stones ne-r high tide to the exclusion of anything else* The species is not very big - about 20mme iii diaravrter. The most mature specimens seemed to be nearer high tide mark, especially on the wall of the landing area which is covered with this mollusc jin all stages o-f growth. In amongst the smaller stones were hundreds and thousands of Hjnea braziliana. If a stone was lifted out from J.h;e pile, the shells would drop off from underneath in handfuls - and to think of the excitement caused several years ago, when a couple of sraa,ll colonies of this species were found living at Cape Karekare and near I-Iangonui in New Zealand * It was fun just to lift some of the clean, smooth rocks and see the miriads of this species, young and old, under each rock. Most of the juvenile shells had the yellowish periostracura intact on the body whorl, but many older ones had been rubbed clean and white.. ■ A few parple, mottled crabs like our N.Z„ Lept ograpsus variegatu s , scut t led off at our approach, but othenfisD the area was poor in variety of shore life. A glance along the boulder strex-m shore area -about a chain in width - with the realisation that this stretched around a circumference of 30krao orso.^made the mind boggle at the thought of the number of Hinea there must be on the Norfolk Island plat fonn. Nerita melanotragus and Siphonaria normalis are in their thousands , but those Hinea [ They must find it a place very much to their liking - Sturdy molluscs indeed ’ • N • • A fishing, party came in after a couple of hours , of line fishing a short distance offshore and unloaded five large plastic tubs full of trumpeter, cod, smallish kingfish,trevalli and a type of gurnard. Bambora Reserve, on the South coast, is a pleasant spot with a small beach where "shells come in ",X'7e were told. Sure enough ’ but when we were there, we saw only the remains of hundreds and thousnads of Nerita melanotragus and Hinea in drifts along the tide lines, Anson Bay , reached by a Zigzag path down the cliff, has a small beach xvhere turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Shells also come in here at times. The only, good stands of native bush remaining on the Island are on the slopes of MtePitt and the adjoining Mt .Bates. The bush at first -glance seems much like ours in the Waitakeres and many Northland areas - Kawakawa,Punga,a cabbage tree etc.alorg with ferns and Nikau palms with piles of fallen fronds, 41 afford shelter for small land snails. There v^ere at least 50 specimens of about six species in many fronds. One or two species, particularly the glassy Microcystis,- occurred in groups of six or more >but the most interesting thing to mOjWas the presence of a brovm, slightly furry looking Succinea, living in the security of the fallen Nika.u fronds. Our own specie s,Succinea archoyi,as we know j lives on a dark green algae which thrives' during winter months about the roots of Spinifex and under Cass inia and Muehl enb e ckia , out on the sand dunes in northern parts of hew Zealand. ( LauriePrice made a.'trip to Norfolk Id, to do field work on the Land snails in 19 69 "i-n^ote an account of the trip in Poirieria,Vol, 5 part 2, pp 36- 38.-) Land snails collected b;^r J.Macgillivray l855san'i deposited in the British MiseumjWere recorded by Sykes. r*25/- species, Roy Bell made extensive collections ■ of- both -land .and marine molluscs on Norfolk Island. He obtain^ 40 species of snails on the main island and 5 or6 sub-fossil species wene also recorded. These -were all worked out by H.B, Preston. T,Ireda.le has written numerous papers dealing with Roy Bell’s collections, but the papers are scattered and the literature is not -always readily available, - . The following liarine species were collected or noted by J, Coles and E,N. Gardner, -between 1st. and 9fL« December occur also in New Zealand. Stomatella auricula (Lamarck) Puncturella sp. Horpetapona sp. . ..- Umbonium sp, Nerita melanotragus(E.A.Smith) , Nerita plicata Linnaeus, Bembicium sp. cf ,melaaostoma_ Merelina sp. .. I'. ■ .. Serpulorbis sp. X Hinea braziliana (Lmk) Eulima 'sp. Hipponyx conicus -Hipponyx foliaceus x' Capulus liberatus (Pease) Cypraea moneta L, X Cypraea caput serpent is L, Natipa gualtic-riana X Polinices (Beshayes) x X Agnewia trit oniformis (Blainville) Bursa granular is Roeding Bursa sp. X Pterotyphis angasi (Crosse) Brupa maorum. .Roediiag. Horula spinosa H.&A Adams. x Morula uva Roeding X Morula chaidia (Bulcos) Morula biconica Blain-ville 2 X Morula (Neothais) smith! (Brazier) Mitre 11a sp. Columbella sp. Pyrene scripta (Lamarck^ 1978, Species marked with an asterisk Thais tuberose Roeding ' ' Pym?ene f lava (Brug. ) ' Cominella 'norf olkensis ’ ' . Nassarius grandiosus (Hinds) Nassarius paupauerus (Gould) Nassarius Spiratus (A. Adams) Lj^ia _ nucleus Pcrsicula pacifica (Pease) Conus aristophanes Conus parvulus (Link) - Conus miliaris Hwass Conus flavidus_ Lamarck_ ' ... Epitonium sp, ,I^itonium sp, ‘ Triphora sp, ■ ' Bullina lineata (Gray) Aplu strum amplustra (L, ) Bulla punctulata -A.Adaras Bulla vcmicosa Gould Aplysia sp, Umbraculum sinicum (Gmelin) ? Siphonaria normalis Septifer vertagus Modiolus sp, Acar sandersonaoPowell ? . - - Lima sp, Tellina c/f vergata (L.) : Spirula spiiula (L. ) Strombus mutabilis Swainson Brilla sp, small chiton, . , - ' 42 1 . Lyria nuclous 2. Corainella norfolkensis 3. Bembiciuin 4. PGrsicula pacifica 5«Nassarius paupcrib .. 6.Siphoraria normalis 7*Capulus liberatus 5. Hinea braziliana 9«Serpulorbis sp. 10, Pyrene scripta 1 1 f Morula sn.it bi 12# Umbonium sp. / 12 > ■.v'/ i ■; } A ; V .' . . . ^ « Unfortunately 5 wh-ile we were on Norfolk Id.xre x-rere not aUlr to seo a collection. mado "by any of the local resident Sjbut from photographs taken of I4rsa Stanton's colloction^hy our morabor 1-Ir s.F, Bunco , the folloring wore noted 5 Siliquaria ponderosa/- Uinbraculum Conus moneta Cypraoa asellus Cypraoa vitellus : Janthina violacea Natica onca Roeding Natica gualti.ei.l. uaRecluz Barbatia c/f velata Tonna cerevicina Hedley Strombus luhuanus Linnaeus Conus ebraeus Conus figulinus Cypraea arabica Juvenlie Morula granulata Cantharus undosus Melina ephippium Pinctada maculata Extensive work is at present Being done at the ihistraliam Museum, Sydney; on the Marine and Land Mollusca of Norfolk Island, and I am sure it x^ll prove to he of great interest to many Conchologists, particularly to any who have had the opportunity to visit this lovely spot 9 - oOo - RISSOINA FROM NQRTHER^T BEACHES N.¥.G. At least five species of these tall spired rissoids can be found alive on the underside of low tidal rocks, or in sand drifts on some of our northern beaches. There are quite a number of deep water species, too, but it most unlikely that they would wash up onto the shore. Rissoids, as a whole, can be rather difficult to identify, but the species of Rissnida x-rlth their tall spires, round apeiiures with the shallow basal' denjj’, are readily recognisable. The largest ,Rissoina _zpnata,grows up to 12 x5mm. , which is twico the size of most other species. As a rule the shell ' is xx.itc and xh.thq;tplirti--iotd-- 'o sc '^pturci sometimes there is a brown zone encircling the body whorl. It is found occasionally living under ri cks at low tido in lo^lities from the far north down to East Cape. Odd specimens have turned up further south. 43 Rissoina cliathajnensis Finlay A iri.de spread and very conunpn little sliell, found throughout New Zealand ^ though in the north, it is prohahly not quite as numerous as elsewhere^ Usually, the shell is white, hut there nay he colour on the whorls - pale pink to a pale purple. It has a series of rather straight , raised axial rihlarfcs. around the body whorl. Size|7 •5ram.'-3: 3 mm. Rissoina anguina Finlay ilnotlier very common species -especially so, in Northland hut not found in the iouth Island, as far as I knoi;. This is an easy one to pick out, if you do not let the various colour patterns disturll you. The shell is small, not quite the size of R . Ghathamensis , smooth -without the raised axials. Colour patterns are varied ^-spiral hands narrow or wide, in various shades of hrownj iiltOr-Tupted oblique blotches or plain white, cream or brown. Size, 5*5 nim x 2.5 rnm. 44 Ris'spina achati-na Odlmer . A little larger than the previous species jX^ith a slightly more rounded body whorl. Most specimens are a plain creamy colour. Sculpture is of close, shallow spirals# Not a common species "by any means ,but odd examples can be sorted out from shell-sand drifts on some of our northern beaches# Size 5 nim x 2 mm. Rissoina l.hrochoi Finlay^ Can also be sorted out of shell sand accunulations in the North. This is a comparatively small species xri.th strong, curved, oblique axial ribs -10 per xrhorl. The surface appears smooth, but in reality, has . microscopic spirals, whitish in colour. Not common, but can be found in shell ' - sand from Spirits Bay, Size, 2. 9mm x 1,3mm, These are the five species likely to be obtained from around our shore line. Tx-ro other species, however, do occur in fairly shallow whter,and they could, on occasions, find their way ashore. 45 They are, R, fuse osa Finlay,\/liic]i is like larocIiGi,'but is larger and lieavier) ,and R«ficta Finlay, tall and rather straight sided | smooth, but vrith finely lined whorlso ■ - * - oOo - iiROUND THE COLLECTIONS iHex and lUlcie Thomson's Collection h.Lajnb ilrs.Thomson joined the Conchology Section in 1959 been a regular at tender since then. Alex saw the light fairly quickly and decided that the old adage 'if you can't beat them join 'em', was good advice. ^They have collected throughout Australia and have a very strong section of shells from "Western Australia. Mrs.Thomson' s only chance to collect in Fiji was thwarted by being 'lost' on the reef during a rain squall^ Mrs, Thomson has exchanged shells world-wide and agrees that she has been extremely fortunate with the collectors she has contacted. This is more than borne out by the collection. If one vrished to describe the collection in one vrord,that word would be 'Quality'. It has been built up on the very personal basis of what the Thomson's like, and everything in the collection is Tliere are few of the commoner species but where they appear, they are very fine specimens. The collection's strength is a general one - the 'goodies' and scarce items seem to outweigh the ordinary and commoner 46 shells. iVfestem Aust-ralia is well represented and so is the Cone family. ( l^Irs, J.Wyatt bequeathed her collection of Cones to tos.Thomson. ) The Thomson' s have a good library with' the usual guides and handbooks and they also subscribe to the Havraiian and West Australian Club magazines. Mrs.Thomson has recently commenced cataloguing the collectionj so the recent bad . weather may have been a blessing i2i -disguise]^ Because of the number of really good shells, it is only by a concious effort that this report o,voids being a simple list of shell names. Nevertheless, one ICST mention a few - so what about Fleur ot omaria hirasei , (with operculum , of c our se ) . C onus pr ometheu s (w/o) from Rio Muni, C.fulmen, C.nobilis, C.ranuncula. from Netherlaiid Antilles, C . augur from Madagascar as it was,Castriatellus, C.adamsonii -ai bleached but very nice specimen indeed, Vasum muricatum and lots and lots of lovely Murex. , Rio liAt. 47 From Richard. Willan^ On the 6th. of June^a gerillo southerly wind pemitted me to do a SCUBA dive off "Phenix Reef" on the northern side of Takatu Peninsula (the Auckland Regional Authority's Tawharanui Reserve), Normally^tho whole northern side of the Peninsula is impossible to"'dive because of its exposed position. However jit was fortuitous, because I encountered great numbers of very small horse mussels (Atrina poctinata zelandica^ in 5 “ 8 metres’ of water. All were nearly the same size, the range in shell | lengths- being from ,26 to "'Close to the reef ,_thou sands of already-doad shells were wafting- to and fro I on sandy patches with the surges. Many were broken,and this, combined- with their translucent appearance, reminded me of so many •'glass- splinters-OEi a road .iollovri-ir? an antoraobile accident. Further put many more were alive,- ..-.Singly or in clumps,! found them attached by whisps of byssus in tiny sandy hollows and benea^\ every stone on a substrate of almost complete rock, Ihe shells ef these little Atrina xTOre . so, transparent it . was easy to see the organs of their' hodies through the valves,. .themselves - even the separate plications of the gills could be' diet inguislied. Undoubt-edly, these would die too, because of •the lack of fine , undisturbed sand for burrowing into and because of the openness ‘ of- this piece of coast, . No adults were ’'seen at all, and indeed- 1 weuld-'never * have expeuted to see them here. On the second dive of the day at Home Bay, facing the South, and considerably! more sheltered, good numbers of large, adult Atrina pectinata zelandica were found many vj-ell-laden with epiphites but there were no tiny juveniles there. Such groat numbers of juvenile's, all of the same size suggests that all were spawned together. Presumably the l'c,rvae were all carried to "Phoenix Reef" together , set tied there, and were able to grow up to this size at least. This observation gives an indication of the thousands of tiny animals belonging to organisms -^rith pelagic larvae that must die daily when,by chance, they are . carried by some current into an inhospitable area. - oOo - Mrs,P,Mayhill vreites," Recently, when walking up Mt ,Maungakav:a,we chanced on some Macrocarpa trees in a grassy patch,lialfvjay up the road, with secondary growth native trees nearby. On the bark and around the base of one very large Macrocarpa, we found a number of pnails,both native and introduced| Plammulina perdita (Hutton) Charopa pseudanguicola Charopa c/f pilsbry (Sutor) Laoma cheesemani Suter Paralaoma raricostata ( Suter) Phenacohelix pilula (Reeve) Cochlicopa lubrica Vertigo pygmaea Qxychilus cellarius Laraellidea (Tornatellinops)novoseelandica(PI ; 48 I ViiRIATION IN AI4ALDA MU.CRQN.AJA( SBY. ) N.Vi.G. Nearly all gastropod shells have a tendancy to vary in shape at times- sometiraes taller or wider than they should be, or they may even be the"wrong" colour. Then too, apart from these odd ones V7hich’'"occur at random, there are areas which seem to produce a series of wayward forms. One species that comes to mind, is Amalda mucronata (Sowerby),- the ginger olive shell which lives just below low .tide on sandy substrate around our northern beaches,- out of reach of most collectors except after storms. However, the odd live specimen has been found at low-tide level, though only rarely. Subtidally,it is apparently quite common, and a ’■'.'illusc' with a considerable benthic range, for specimens have been taken in prawn trawls as deep as 5OO metres. These are tall and slender, with little of the usual callus around the aperture and spire, associated v/ith this species. Some years p,go,when the mussel boats were operating in the Firth of Thames, one of the molluscs which frequently came into the wharf amongst the 49 debris on decks was Amalda mucronata<> illl these seemed to be short-spired grossly raucrbnate,pal_e in colour and of no great size - usually about 30 mmo and really quite distinctive,’ ' " - oOo - RimiDA FCR37Tinr’, POWELL, I'l.W. Gardner To mo ^Rhytida f orsythi Powell has always boon an interesting a,nd intriguing species 5 occupying in Northland, a rather small teiritopy wliich,as yet ,has not been fully mapped. This is a small species, about half the size of R«dunniae (Gray), but not as distinctly keeled at thepcriph.cry and with a more rounded outline. Adult specimens grow to 12 -14mm, and are quite readily recognisable, TIio two : species seem to have a rather haphazard distribution - generally where one occurs, the other does not, but there arc several places where the two occur together. For this reason, it irould seem that it has every claim to be recognised as a full species , although it has boon listed as a subspecies of di nniao. One wonders, if perhaps, it is a derivative of the noidhorn block R»duplicat Suter, which it resembles more in size and shapo(having indications of a secondary keel above the peripheral one) or if it has originated on that previously isolated high countrjr at the end of the Rangiawhia Peninsula, eventually spreading onto tlie mainland and thence inland. 50 I Rhytida forsythl still occurs in the bush remnants at the end of thei peninsula^ TT has been recorded from about Taipa^the summit of Mangamuka, BroadwoodfOwhata, Herekino,MoerewajCkaihau and Waipoua. forest • Actually j several species of our smaller land snails seem to be restricted entirely to this same land-area| their evolution perhaps due to some period of isolation from the rest of Northland in past Geological times. 51 I'lEW HEBRIDES TRIP -I976 Doug# Snooko On Wednesday, 2 1st of July, ten of our nombers left Mangere Air Port at 11o55 for an overnight stop at ITcw Caledonia, our first hop. We were, Richard Willan, Derrick Crosby, Joan Coles, Joan Willan,Stan and Peggy Town,Rae Stanton, Rene Kindi ey side s,Daraaxis Hole and Myself, We left behind cold and showeiy weather, and arrived in a warm drizzle after a three hour flight. Our first night was spent at the very nice hotel 'Isle de Prance' in Houmea. and that evening we made a visit to Mrs Pierson, to see her fantastic shell collection, in her beautiful homo. The next morning,we went for a shell hunt on Anse Vata Beach, and made a visit to the Sea Aquarium, all within walking distance from the hotel.' That afternoon, we left for Vila in a U,T, A. friendship plane -a one hour flight ^and arrived about 4 p«m,,to find very dull, cloudy V7eather, A lot of rain had fallen, but before tea some of us had a quick hunt for land snails ,and several species, including the large introduced Achat ina fulica,were found. During our tltip in Vila we stayed at hotel *Sola’se' about 10 minutes!, walk from the centre of the town,' The next day we were transported by mini bus to Black Sands Beach and reef, where collecting was good. The shell o^ the day for tie ws,s , Lamb is lamb is -several live specimens. Saturday arrived bringing vjith it a beautiful hot day, ideal for our launch trip on the 'Escapade' to Pango Point, where we discovered an interesting reef area with some small bays, I found a live Mitra mitra and a specimen of the Turr id, Inquisitor with a hermit crab, and also a good variety of smaller shells| a most enjoyable day, • . On Sunday, most of us went to the Port Vila Presbyterian Church where we found a large cro-vfd of New Hebrideans in casual dress, meeting for worship. The men all sat on one side of the cliurch,the womenfolk on the other, with pidgeon English being the major language spoken. -truly an interesting experience. In the afternoon, a short trip was made to La Laggon,where snorkel and flippers were popular to inspect the coral in the calm water. Derrick found a very beautiful Casmaria,here. My most' interesting find was a sea egg, Monday turned out another beautiful day. As the shops open early, and close for a period in the middle day, I did some shopping before our trip to Tourist Pango, Here, we obtained permission from the village chief to go to one of his privai?e beaches and reef, a delightful spot and an excellent place to hunt. Here we saw an example of the exquisite nudibrahch, Spanish Dancer, My best finds to-day included two live Mitra stictica and a freshly dead Cypraea argus. We also bought some shells in the village. The next day ,we had our longest trip when we drove completely around the island of Efate," The highlight of the day was our visit to Siviri Village, on the north coast. The teacher had lost an uncle, and as is the custom, the relatives meet five days following the death, hold a feast and discuss the the alocation of the property. Preparations were being made the day we called in to the village. The teacher, who spoke good English,was able to answer all our many and varied questions. He also showed us, with skill, how to pick and 52 NEW HEBRIDES Shel! Club Trip 1976 A ■few of the sl^ells colleded are skeiched here, — (Hide-away Is.) Charoma tritonls 2io (TouKist Pan^o) Cypraea drcjus (Tu+uba Is.) Sfrot-iobus bulla ,^>v rtirr) Mippopus hippopus 2,50 fnm ( Moso Is.) Cohus /iW'feraf'us SO mrr\ Murex fribulus 100 ( Santo Is. ) yy\ Kirt ; t : I I • ■ open a coconuts ¥e took many photographs and then had a good shell hunt off their village heach* Derrick and Richard found Conus tulipa -one of the more poisonous species and Joan Willanja Conus rotifer. There 'were numerous Cones, Cowries, Lamhis and I-Iitras with hermit crahs. I scored a very nice, large Tutufa buho and found several shells for the fir^t time|a Plouroploca filament osa, a Vezillum -rugosum an-d a Conus striatus. The children in the village were., shy but friendly and came to help with collecting and sang for us, ¥e also bought some shells. " f - Early V^ednesday morning, at about a«m. ,many of us wore woken by a -strong earth tremor- news... of. which even reached Rew. Zealand. Apparently, earthquakes here-. are -of reasonably common occurrence, and happen without much local attention or damage. Our trip to-day, was to Mele Bay and later to Hide- away Island. At Mele Bay there vrere some lovely little v:ashup shells, I found a .juvenile Nautilus macr omphalus about 30mm, Joan Coles' choice find was a Conus nimbosus. Hide-away Island has a large reef surrounding it ,v;here we experienced good hunting.. Beautiful native style accomodation is available in a lovely setting.' My find bf the trip was here, -about mid tide, in a rock pool, a lovely Charonia tritonis. Joan Coles picked up a Conus imperialis and"' Derrick, a Co:-.u.s_ geographus. - ' . Next day some of our group took a trip to the south coast, which was ekposed and rocky. On the exposed platform was the orange mouthed Diupa grbssularia and Vasum ceramicum - largr specimens. ' . Early on Friday, wo set off to Havannah Harbour, to travel by laynch' Escapade' to Moso Island, bn another glorious day. From all appearances, the island was not inhabited,at least, where wo landed -no sign of footprints or human litter, a tremendous, experience. Richard and Derrick vrent diving offshore, Huntirig was good, with a number of Cones and Cowries being found. My find of the day was a. pair of Hlppopus hippopus that had been washed up, probably in a cyclone, and was almost buried in the sand. The return trip by launch, was delightful, in the clear warm evening. Returning through Vila, we sax-7 much activity due to the visit Ox-: f he tol'.rribt ship Acadia, and the streets were full of gayly clad people in a sxuamer like scene. A veiy early start on Saturday for Stan and me for the flight to Santo - The rest of our group followed later. He xvere greeted by a group of New Hebrideans in their native dress. They were there to meet a visiting Catholic priest x7ho had travelled up vrith us on our 9 seater plane. We were then driven to Hotel Santo in the main street of luganville. It was a market day with many stalls set up along the sides of the road. Most of the shops here were general stores, many operated by the Chinese - a few stocked shells. In one • such shop I found a Very. nice, example of a tturex pecteh,with a good number to select from,probably imported from the Philippines. It was a glorious day on Sunday when we drove ourselves in the hotel mini- bus north to Hog Harbour, and then. to Champaign Beach. We had a sxrfim in the beautiful clear water. 'The sand on the beach was xfhite and clean, with the palm trees fringing the whole place.,- a truly deli^tful spot for lunch today. The shell collecting was poor, but it did not seem to matter as everything else was great. 53 Next morning jther was a genile drizzle. Today, we decided to go south- west to the end of the road, where we saw many outriggers lying on the heach. Across a small stretch of water was Tangoa Island and the Preshyterian Mission village. On the return trip we stopped at a beach where we found mainly small shells, many inhabited by hermit crabs. Rae picked up a Lamb is truncata, ■ -—The foil ox/ing. day x^’e journeyed to a spot North east, called Surunda where, after we had had lunch, we discovered a very large platform of reef, sand and stone onco the tide receded. Shell hunting here was most rewarding. I found my first Pleuroplaca trapeseum, some Strombus canarium an albino form, a Vexillum rug 0 sum, some Rhinoclavis vertagus and some St rombus gibberulus to name a fex-r. Some live Olives were also found, ■ ' Today, Wednesday ,v7e went by boat across to Tutuba Island, about one hour's run across the harbour. Her our hunting was mostly confined to small x-fash up shells on the beaches. The lox^ tide was getting much later in the day, and not receding as low, so our reef hunting was. more difficult , Ifhile we were on this island, a tropical downpour caught some of our party unawares^ some took sheltep? in the village , but the others looked like ship xm?ecked survivors as they made their x-xay back to join the rest. Fortunately the temperature was rather mild. ...CkL. the return trip, the skipper gave each one of us a piece of lovely red cor^l from deep xmter. My beat find to-day was -a. fine- example of Strombus bulla, washed up, freshly dead, A good number of small coxn?ies, different ones,xrere also picked up. No trip was planned next day, as time was'-needed to claan,pack a^ do some fihal shopping, as well as have a hunt on the beach and tidal platform, just over the rOad from our hotel. ' By the x7ay,our hotel xms a two storied building , only about txvo years old x^ith air conditioned rooms and all facilities. As most food xfas imported, the menu was limited, but service was good, Herrick and Richar-d went for a dive early in the morning, over the President Coleridge, sunk just offshore during the war, Richard was very interested in the marine groxvth and Nudibranchs and xras able to photograph them, - -I We axfoke to heavy rain falling on our final day. This delayed, our plane n nearly two hours and when x^e arrived bach at Vila, our connecting was x^aiting, Anoost before vfe could turn around, we were being x^hisked up in an Air Nauru 737 jet,off to Noumea. On arrival there wo were greeted with a glorious day, and immediately taken to the terminal restrauiit for a very nice luncheon. Being passengers in transit, we had afew hours to spend, mostly reading while we waited for our final flight back home to N.Z., after what had been a wonderful experience x-rith a great group of people. Some had even wondered whether we xrould be allowed to return xfith all our extra cases, cartons, buckets, etc, full of -guess what* ' Shells, Once home, we had the huge task of identification, completion of cleaning! and sorting them all - a big job but an enjoyable one, I then discovered that I had nearly 400 differed species, collected on our trip. This was more than I have in my entire Now Zealand collect ion, giving one the realisation of the richness of the region we visited, for marine life. ;'j - oOo- 54 RECEtlT PUBLICi\TIONS Habitat and rolationships of IpIrLtolla neozelanica (Dell) (Gagtropoda ; Ep'itoniidae) A.G.B'ou N&' ■ Zealand Geological Survey, DSIRjLowor Hutt,New Zealand N.Z. Journal of Marino & Preshvrater Resoarch. 12 (4)s391~6 Abstract Sculpt if or Beu & Clirao5l974 is synonymised with Iphit olla Thiolo,1925 (= Iphitus Jeffreys, l883?non Rafiniesque,1915)* Itie single species referred to Sculptifor,Stilifier neozelanicus Doll,1956,closoly resembles the only other two valid species of Iphit ella, the bathyal North Atlantic I. tuberata (Jeffreys, 1883) and loCancellata (Dautzonberg & Fischer ,1896). The protoconchs of all these species, are closely similar to those of Nystiolla Clench & Turner, 1952 and Ecclisoogyra Ball, 1 892, and Iphit ella is placed in Family Epitoniidae, Subfamily Nystiellinae. Iphit ella neozelanica lives deep inside calyces of the branching ahermatypic coral Goniocorella dumosa (Alcock,1902)» Bathyal Nukumaruan Mollusca from Oar o, Southern Marlborough, Now Zealand A.G.Beu No Z. Geological Survey, BSIR, Lower Hutt ,Now Zealand. N.Z, Journal og Geology and Geophysics Vol.22,No.1 (l'979) ?87-103» Abstract More than 100 species of molluscs are listed from Nukumaruan (late pliocene or early pleistocene) silt stone on the summit of the first hill south of OarojHundaloe Hills, southernl-Iarlborougho Most species are part of the living bathyal raolluscan fauna of canyons off eastern South Island, and the silt stone evidently was deposited in 600-800m of water. Falsilunati^ Penion benthicolus Pell,P»fairfieldae (Powell) ,Cominella ( The ominia ) alert ae (Bell),C.mirabilis cantuariensis (Bell) ,Euthrenopsis otagoensis Powell, and V olut omit ra ( Lat ir omit ra*) are reported as fossils for the first time. The fauna is dominated by th© buccinids Comine 11a nassoidos otakauica PQwell, an abundant living taxon, and Apnoat oi^( Aeneat or )elogans ( Sut or) , a species only recently recognised in the living fauna. The locality is probably the typo locality of Aeneat or elogans and of Falsilunatia ambigua (Sutor),tho latter an earlier name for the living F.poxfelli Bell. Now species of Fcso-ignella ( Sinuginolla) ,Paracomitas(Macrosinus ) ,Splondrilla(two) ,and Nboguralous ( Fu sigural ou s ) are named . Splendrillia armata Powell ,S« Icingmai Marwick, Soma.iorina n.sp. ,S.zoobliqua n«sp, and Paracomitas (Macrosinus)haumuria n.sp. are recorded living off eastern South Island. ■55 CONTENTS Pa;::e i . ‘ * * • *. * ■ ' ■ Actoonidac in New Zealand^ Species of the genera Pupa &, Acteon, N,G, 37 Trip to Norfolk Island j Dec emher I9780 E.N, Gardner 39 Rissoidae from Northern Beaches N.N, Gardner 43 Around the Collections- Alex and Dulcio Thomson's Collection. D.Lamh 46 Items of Interest; Large Cellana denticulata (Martyn) oB, Elliott 47 Atrina pectinata z8landica(Gray). R.Willan 48 Variation in Amalda mucronata (Sowerhy), N.N. Gardner 49 New Hebrides Trip -1976 D. Snook 52 Recent Publications; A.Beu. Land Snails on Macrocarpa Tree P.Mayhill 55 48 PO Vol.iO. ■Part U, December i 979 CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM POIRIERIA Vol. 10. Part 4* Docernber 1979 LEUCORQPSIS OBSOIETA (Hutton, 1878) FROM A Laf TIDAL HABITAT. Hajnish Spencer I'lany members >n.ll have collected species of the pulmonate family KLlohiidae from tidal situations, under large stones resting in mud such as at Rangito to, under large piles of rocks as at Maori Bay,Muriwai,or amongst rushes as in the Waiwera Estuary. Leuconopsis obsoleta is one of the smallest members of this family with an off-white animal with black tipped tentacles. I have found it on Rangitoto Id. and it also occurs around the edges of hiah-iida?. pools. I tn m» Leuconopsis obsoleta( Hutton) Little Hat Island, Whangarei Heads, 26 - 5 - 79. During May 1979 ?Ih*of.J.E. Morton and I observed L. obsoleta at low tide on Little Hat Island, Taurikura, Whangarei Hds.,(see Morton & J-Iiller,p.47 )• Large numbers of this gastropod were crawling about in shade, over the briiile lamellae and scrolls of the black cheilostomatous polyzoan (sea mat) Dakaria suboroidea (■ Water sipora cucullata) growing on vertical and 56 overhanging rock. Subsequent searching showed that Leuoonopsis was also living upon I^akaria under low tidal boulders. The specimens do not differ from those at Rangitoto, except that the shell is less yellow- stained, evidently from the absence of light - coloured raudy It is interesting to note that hakaria is a recent immigrant to New Zealand , arriving in Auckland about 1 957 , probably via shipping, while on the other hand , L. ob s olet a is endemic to Nev: Zealand<. It would seem to have taken little time for Leuconopris to have, formd.d...a.. strong preference for Dhkaria,as it vms not found on any of the neighbouring polyzoans, algae or rock. Several questions arise- fr^^• this discovery i*- ■ 'Eilobiidg are' air- breathing pulmonates, leading to the query, ’I'Hiat is Leuconopsis doing at low tide?' There is n.7 operculum that might serve to retain air in the mantle cavity. The pulmonary chamber , however , opens only by a restricted pneumostome, which might allow a bubble of air to be retained in its relatively ample space, during the high tide.' It is worth remarking too, that low tidal crevices can offer habitats to some ellobiids at . a shore - _ level receiving a good -spoil of tidal immersiono( see Morton, 1955 for- the British Leucophybia bidentata ). At times of immersion, the crevice > itself or small isolated recesses may retain air. The same may be possible with the curling and irregular sheets of Bakaria. As Bakaria dries out to a large extent in Trinter,it may be questioned whether its association -^ri-th Leuconopsis is permanent, or can last over ^djiter. Leuconopsis is unliliely to be annual, as some of the individuals were not fully groT^m, suggesting at least a two season life expectancy for this population. Other pulmonates noted on the lower shore in Nei-r Zealand include Siphonaria zelandica and Socookiana among mussels at extreme low tide, and Gadinalea conica in tidal caverns and algal holdfasts. Acknowledgement g I would like to thank ProfcMorton for his many helpful suggestions on this articla. Elliott ,B. • Siphonaria cookiana Suter" ,"Poirieria" ,9/29P*30« Miller ,M,-grey to greenish, "black colour, interrupted "by short marginal white streaks at the artremity of the primary radials. 35™i* Rather coarse rouMed radial ri"bs. ■ ' • ••• ' Also present is Cellana t orouraa wMch strikes a discordant note for this species is considered at home in the Japanese region* ■ ^ Either the full range of the species is not properly known or it is a recent migi^t, It has also been recorded from Tanna$do,Rew He"brides* Veiy large specimens of C * t estudinar ia occur in the Philippines. This is the largest species of the genus with specimens of up to 95i3m»'being - ' known. The species is not restricted to the Philippines hut has a considerable range esitending from the Ryukyu Islands -south of Japan, through Indonesia, New Guinea, Nth. Australia, Solomons, New Caledonia and New Hebrides. Japani One of the most striking species of Cellana occurs here -Cellana nigrolineata(Reeve l854)jhas a distinctive Colour pattemi externally, it is greenish blue with radial ribs of red brown -occasionally black, while inside, the rib pattern shows through, and there is an orange coloured spathula. Cellana toreuma(Reeve 1855 )?is a thin, long, oval species which grows to 40mm. A variable species, the usual colour being greenish or buff 'with blotched red-brown or ra^ed pattern showing through the thin shell* RangejJapan, Taiwan ,hongkong , China , Philippines ,6d-Iarianas . C. grata (Gould I859)>a common Japanese limpet found also in Korea. The apex is fairly high and sculpture is of prominent scaly radial ribs* Shell greyish, with dashes of .red-brown. The species mazatlandioa( Sowerbyl839 ) .is restricted to the Bonin Islands, South east of Japan. This is a distinctive limpet of good size, rather thin shelled, yellowish broivn with strong scaly radial ribs. Hawaii; Two endemic species occur in these islands. Cellana exorata (Reevel854) ,gi*ows to 85mm. The apex is central and it has strai^t radiating ribs of black on a grey or whitish ground. The second species is less common, is larger, has a hi^ arched profile with a reddish exterior and narrow rounded radials. Said to live near low tide level*( C.talcosa Gld) T'rimotu Group; The Society Islands and Pitcairn Id. have one endemic species- Cellana taitensis(R5ding1798.) . This is of small size, greenish in colour with radial streaks and blotches of daik brown. ' Ribbing consists of narrow radials and concentric growth lines. 33iam* Occurs on dark volcanic rock,but apparently is not common. ■si The most easterly record of Cellaiia is that of the species ardosiaca(Hom. ' PP*153 -165, ,66 SQia NOTES ON THE GSim RITYTIM(PimiPHAI^IiAB) , Aim ITS DISTRIBUTIO^T". CoGoIawlDGr (Junior menber)o The landsnail genus Rh-yi; ida was erected by Albers in i860 to contain a specimen of what, wa® then called HeLijc greenwoodi and which had been collected by Gray some ten years earlier. 11 New Zealand species have been described since 5 along v/ith 6 subspecies|5 Nainuia are now included in the genus o Within New Zealand, distribution is quite widespread and xd.th'the recent discovery of sub- fossil varieties, the range extends from Three Kings Is o , right through and down to Stewart Island, The Rhytida snails are considered to be an ancestral form of our larger Par:>rphanta and even today distinct similarities can be noted. Generally, these snails are nocturnal, although they sometimes move about in overcast periods. They are strictly t;^;rre£rtrial, living in heaps of leaf mould and other decaying debris. Their diet consists of ea±th worms, insects and other small snails. Not only are they carnivors but also cannibalistic, often devouring’ the;Lr own offspring. A of N . Z . phantMag.- (Taker, from '*B»oseo^repl\jr ^ Scologj in N.Z. ** The Landsnail Fauna". W^nuU- JPbu^Ufhantn l^hytida U nft. r? I - CLAJSSIFIGAHOH- ’ ’ FALULY Sub Fw-J-ly Genus Sub gnnus Sub genus Sub genus Sub genus - Rhytidae (Pilsbry I893) Rhytidinae ( Pilsbry I893) - Rbytida Albers i860 - Rhytida (Rhytida)(Albersl86o) - Rhytida (Rhytidarex) Powell I848 - Rhytida (Amborhytida) Climo 1974 - Rhytida (Waimia) Powell 1930 Full List of Sneoies in 1976 Sub-genus; -Rhytida (Rhytida) Jthytida greenwood! greenwood! (Gray I850) R* greenwood! stephenonsis POwell 1930 R* greenwoodi webbi Powell 1949 Rhyiida meeson! (Suter I891) R. meeson! perampla Powell 1946 Rhytida australis (Hutton 188 3) R» ctagoensis (Hutton I883) R. citrina (Hutton) I883) and two sub- fossil varieties - Rhytida obonnori=hadfield! ’Powell 1946 R, yaldman! (Dell 195 6) Sub-genus; -Rhytida (Amborhytida ) Rhytida r; r; R. R. Sub-genus }-Rhytida Rhytida R. Sub-genus;-Rhytida ■Waimia W; w; W* W, dunniae dunniae (Gray I840) dunniae forsyth! Powell 1952,, dunniae pycrofti ’.Powell 1952 dunniae tarangaensis'Powell 1930 duplicata ’ Suter I904 (Rhytidarex) johnsoni «.Powell1948 buddlei Powelll 948 (Waimia) " ' urmla urmla (Pfeiffer 1855) urmla nasuta v^’cw®7JLi946) ■ ■ ‘ clarki Powe 111 9 36 fallai Poifell1946- edward! (Suterl899) 68 HESTHTBUTIOE of SPECIES Speci-fic Locations^ th Js. ■» ■Rhy ii dci . eenvood j woJbbi ^ R Porlula. -4 n>e Rhytjda greenvocolj atft.pheneos»$, As can "be seen from the above maT) «H *fn:een^foodi is the only species ^ ocou2?s in ‘both Noa?tli and South Islands* Species included in Piivtidarex are confined to the Three Kings Is.yV/hile those placed in Ajnb orhvt i<^ e. are xwstrioted to the north of the North Island* 69 TlCil BOJLA.;- As the Sh;ytida gems is a carnivorous one, the teeth are siriiil&i^ to those of other oamivores(Feu hut strong), and this may he seen in the following diagrams# Reproauct-ive S;yst(em.* ZEPROPUCTIVE SYSIEM;- Tle iiinhorhYtida suh-gems hat a reduced penis and the rep^'oduct ive anatomy of Rhy^idarex is intemediate between that of Rh:/t ida and AiroorI:c/tida« The diagrams show thox^ the contrasting reproduction systems . of F-h;^d:7da and it s northern sub-gen. K->yti6a (Amborh^'Li^q.j 'Eeproduc'tive TTKf ZE/Ji^lZID ]3JRI1:G TEE HLiOCEIIE EPOCH F.Guerrt discovery of petbles of South Island origin found in conglom- erates at Wanganui 7 indicate that sometime during the Pliocene period rhere a landhridge across the Cook Straight* ' The isthma.s yaccorching to geologists j dates to around 11,000 years ‘ago. This nay account for the \ridespread distribution of R.greont-foodi. 71 VlairiH a^- Hie Wainuia su~b-frenus is iirteroudiate in shell character , radula and roproductive morphology "between Rhytida and ro.i"b— species Powe~l T i yh-^nta. The shell is shiny and dark "brown(with a goldy protconch. ) ->>ist ri"bution. of Wainuia; Climo,F.M, - Biogeograph^ x hod:-.-;, in Rtaland^ ' "The landanail fauna'' (repri/rb) - ■ . ClimOjF.I-I. - /i£ew Higher Classification" of N.Z.Khytidadae. from 5 Journal Royal Soc.N^Z, ,Vol»7 jNo.1 ,1-Iarch 1977* Climo ,F.M, Records of the Dominion ^tuseum." A New sub-genus of Rh;/tida, Albers, i860. Goulstone,J ,F.& Gardner ,N,W, - A Report on the Native Landsnails of the Lake Hauroko Area of South Fiordland, Goulstone,J,F,- Father Landsnails from the Ureweras & Eastern Bay of Plenty. Powell, A,Vf,B, - Shells of New Zealand Suter,H, - Manual of New Zealand Mollusca. "Poirieria" -(Auckland Conohology Section pub.) "7ol.3>Pa3rt6,I'iarch1967» 72 CAVE SITAILS Ain) a^CH. !T.W.G. It is quite understai'jd.G.'blo that one group of tiny fluviatile noUuscs which never see the light of day, have heen long overlooked and so long in being discovered* These are the phreatic and cavemicolous snails which, rather surprisingly are well represented in New Zealand and have been fairly recently worked over and written up quite extensively by Nr. P,C lino, National Museum. Thcot these snn,ll prosobranch cavemicolous snails, v;hich are blind, can exist quite satisfactorily in cold subterranean water in total darkness wall below the surface of the ground, seens incredible - perhaps even more so in the case of the phreatic species, for these live,ojften well down, in the interstices of gravels of alluvial plains. A more unlikely and claustrophobic habitat would be hard to imagine. Yet, given oxygenated water and the availability of organic do iritis food washed down, these species exist quite successfully in the darkness* Most of the records of subterranean hydrobiids come from the Nelson area> vrhich has considerable limestone sub surfac watorvrays and caves, and also from the aluvial Waimea plains where water from bores, has been run through a screen and deposited some interesting minutae* Specimens have been taken from bores and wells within the limits of Nelson nji there are also records from Napier, North Otago and Canterbury. Apart from the Hydrobiid species referred to, we do have one rather special, freshwater snail - a pulmonate of the famijy* Punctidae, apparently the first one recorded living in freshwater as vrell as having a sub- terranean habitat. This is Nydrophroa acadomica Climo. Scientific shell names bother many collectors but there is one New Zealand subterranean species which should be cas?r ro remember and that is Herat ia nelsononsis - Just think of Trafalgar^ In all, eleven mpecies of sub- terranean freshiiater snails have been recorded from New Zealand. These belong in six genera and examples of each are illustrated. Tyoe specimen J X 1,25 mi Potamopyrgiis siibtcrraoeus __ — oou c an L c rbu y.' an 1 fforth 0ta?2:o. 73 All are minute species - loss than 2'^^rm t Herat aa nelsonensis Clime. Motueka. THE D.H.Bi'iKER COLLECTION I)»LGinb Lavid Baker was one of tLe original group of enthusiasts 17I10 joined the Club back in 1930* He was a keen colleotor until 1934 when he elected to devote more time to liis other interests. He maintained his collection^however and added to it during the intervening years until 1960 when his interest underwent a resurgence. Since then, he has been a regular attender at meetings of the Section and I remember quite vividly sitting next to him at two of the auctions when his arm got stuck in the bidding position, ‘ Still - he did go home id.th the Cassis tenuis ex Hiss Jame’s collection, HroBaker has emchenged with a few good/’contacts - one of his first geing I)r,Fred'.Baker(Pusus fredbakeri) ,no relation, but sharing the same surname got tilings off to a good start. He has bought from various dealers, generally boing favoured with excellent specimens, and he has collected quite widely. Initially, he told me he liad collected in the New Hebrides Victoria,Piji and casually in the Solomon Islands where he was working in 1938 ~ 1940, Gradually, however, as we continued to diamine the collection, I found out that he had also collected at Lord HoT/re Island, Queensland j California, Florida, Jamaica and a few other Caribbean Islands ^Acapulco, and New Zealand | The Fiji trip was organised by Mr.N.O.Cernohorsky and others in the party included Mark Tapply,Isobel and George Rigden and MaXoMarrow. Mr.Baker has had a little help from his sons and daughter v:ho have been working overseas at some time or other and have collected from odd places, though not quite often enough for father’s taste | The collection is catalogued by family, and the correspondence relating to overseas exchanges is available in support. The shells are well housed in large cabinets but more work in organising into family or generic groups is planed as a retirement project. All the shells have data slips imLth them so the reorganisation is really only a labour of love, la*. Baker claimed not to have any favourite families, although we lingered over the land snails which were well represented - both our Paryphantidae and Bulimulidae as v;ell as overseas species, including a fine range of Hawaiian Adhatonellas and a collection of Urocoptis from Cuba, which may well be quite exceptional. The story behind these can only be appreciated whilst looking at the minute and uniformally drab-coloured specimens, I'Hiat of the shells?- you may be asking, if you have read this far, I am never too sure whether to list the rare shells and the commoner but outstanding shells ,separately (and so expose my lack of knowledge by putting them in the wong grrmjp),or lump them together. In any event, I just cannot list all the interesting items and probably some of the rarest would also be small and got overlooked. The following certainly attracted my attention without the aid of any noon signs. I 74 Chit on •;oodallii (from the GalapaiROs) 9Perptrochus hirasei^Maurea hlacki, Jraaoa maf?nifica ¥/0,Cypraea aurantium , C , Iiua^erf ordi , C , sauli « C ,humplireysii (three very' spotted shells from Fiji as far removed from G.lutea as one could vrish) ,C.friendi,C«venusta,C,marginata,C.teuleri and the heautiful C«tesselata from Hawaii. Hew Zealand is represented hy Erosaria cemica tomlini from the Poor Knights Is,. My critical view of the Conidae was satisfied (whetted?) hy specimens of Corns hengalensiSoC.gloriamaris^C.hullatus.C.voluminalis^C.lynoeus^C.augur, C.portusus,C.coccineus and a large group of C.reourvus. Cassids include Cassis coarc tata from Galapagos (l recall writing for this very shell and being advised that I had been beaten by a day or two ’ ) ,two self-collected Xenophalium labiatum and Cassis tenuis. The Strombs include Strombus latissimus9S.listeri,S^gallus,S.goliath,S.taurus as well as Tibia martini .T.powisi and a lovely VariocospiraTRiinella )oancellata. The Lambis species include L. digit at a from Malagasy .and several really fine L.crocata. The beautiful tlurez alabaster was a special treat and the Volutidae are veiy well represented and include Lyria kur odai , Cymbium olla, Cymbiola aulica.Zidona angulat a , V olut oc onus gross! .V.bednalli ,Iredalina mirabilis .Ericusa papillosa, Livonia roadnightae arid a specimen of the indecent Cottonia nodiplicata ('it usually goes topless.) Others include Mitra becheri , Vesillum demIsoni.V.regina f ilaer egina , Af rivolut a pringlei , Marginalia des.jardini.M.dullata and a very interesting bivalve from Greece - Spondylus gad er opus L, Time really ran out, and towards midnight we rushed a few trays. The whole evening was most enjoyable and I continue to be amazed at the number of new species I see. One point, which may benefit members building or altering a Shell Boom, was that we were able to place the trays on a fairly high cabinet which enabled us to view them without undue strain - this was quite appreciated after three or four hours. RECENT PUBLICATIONS Additional dextral Triphorids (Mollusca? Gastropoda) from New Zealand B, A, Mar shall National J'iuseum of N.Z, New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 197 9 > Vol.,6, pp.397 - 404. Abstract; Socienna maoria Finlay and Mendax duplicarinat a Powell are referred to Metaxia onterosato. Metaxia solitaria n.sp, , Socienna cracens regia n.BUbsp, are described. Additional raiige data are provided for Metaxia exalt at a (Powell). 75 Zea-1-aJid- Mollusca - tlsirine ,~Lanc?. • ' ■■ ■ ■ >and Freswater. - • A#W,B«Powell Published ;-Williain Collins Ltdj Auckland. ' This lon^ aWaited'and monunental work is the first full treatment of New Zealand Mollu sea since the publication of Henry Suter's I'lanual of Mollusca in 1913» - long since out of print. Over 1000 species have been added to our faunal list since Suter's day and this brings the total number of recognised species -marine, land and -freshwater to 2245 jdll of which are covered in this very well printed ■ and comprehensive tbrne', . - Treatment is in systematic order ,mth each species being given a brief description and -locality data etc. - all this under one cover,makes - • it especially invaluable. * -- Illustrations are escelleat , covering in all some 1550 of the listed . species. There are 16 full page colour plates, sixtysix in monochrome as well as .1,20 text figures. - ■ ■ This book is a must for all students of the ITevr Zealand Molluscan Fauna . Sdit-orsj N,ic N. Gardner, 6 Tui Glen Rd. , Birkenhead , /»uckland,10. New Zealand. 76 . V. . ► i. -’ - ,-.'4. CO II TENTS Page Leuconopsis oN sol eta (Hutton l878)5froin a low tidal haMtat, H, Spencer ^6 Distribution of Turbo cepoides Smith I88O0 R.C, Grange 58 The Doug. Snook Gollectioiio D.Lanb 59 The First Record of Segmantina complanata (L.),from N.Z, B. Hazelwood 60 The Pacific Species of the Genus Collam H, Adams. (Pat ellidae) .N„¥, Gardner 61 ■ Pseudoverrais hancocki Challis. N.¥.G, 66 Some Notes on the Genus PuhTtida (Paryphantidae) ^and its Distridution. (Junior member)- Chris.Dawber 67 Cave Snails and Such. N.W.G, 73 The Baker Collection. D.Lamb 74 Recent Publications? Additional daxtral Triphorids(Mollusca? Gastropoda) from New Zealand. B. A, Marshall 75 Now Zealand Mollusca - Marine, Land and Freshwater, 7i.«¥,B. Powell 7 6 ^ 4 ’t f < i \ r ) 1 AMNH LIBRARY 020 09 ) C 0 II T E N T S Page 1 Leuconopsis obsoleta (Hutton l878)jfroin a low tidal liaMtato H, Spencer ^6 DistriHution of TurHo cepoides Smith l880o R.C, Grange 58 The Doug. Snook Collection. D.Lanh 59 The Eirst Record of Segmantina complanata (L,),from II.Z, B, Hazelwood 60 The Pacific Species of the Genus Collana H. Adams. (Pat ellidae) .Ho¥, Gardner 61 ■ Pseudovermis hancocki Challis. II.W.G, 66 Some llotes on the Genus Pih;»d;ida (Paryphantidae) jand its Mstridution, (Junior member)- Cliris.Dav/ber 67 Cave Snails and Such. H.W.G. 73 The Baker Collection. D.Lamb 74 Recent Publications? Additional dextral Triphorids(Mollusca; Gastropoda) from New Zealand. B, A, Marshall 75 Hew Zealand Mollusca - I'Iarine,Land and Ere shwat er « A « ¥.B. Powell 76 !P^ I Vol* iO, Part 5- ‘NTay 1 r'N'' . V CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM v;>: V- ' p Q a I E. E I A Vol, iO« Part 5* 1980® TRIVIROSTEIA. QtYZA (Lamarck) - Another New Record* It is now some time since x^-e have "been able to report the finding of a previously unrecorded xmrm water species cf mollusc from around our shores. Howeverjwe can novr do this with the finding of a specimen of another species of Trivia. A freshly dead specimen of the little xfhito Trivir ostra oryza( ^jamarck ) , was found on a sand patch at about 12 metres, by Kevin Burch while diving at Poor Knights Islanda^recently. The specimen, a little over 1 c^m.,has the usual quite -strong traverse ribs and central area not particularly well defined. It is mt’.ch smaller than Trivia merces(lredale) ,x^ith which we are more familiar and is purewhite in colour, without any colour blotches at all# According to Hunter Seelye,who has seen a number of live specimens of T , oryza on the" Great Barrier Reef , Queensland, the animal is a dirty grey or black in colour. 77 A DAY’S TRIP TO ST5¥/JIT ISLi\DD, Coral S, Bis sett On the 2nd,January5 1980^1117 son ah’d'I caught the M.V.'lfairua" from Bluff to Stewart Island, After a few oinutes at sea, our Captain advised us that it would he a hit rough and wet for twenty minutes, hut nothing to worry about. lie were in the glassed in cahin at the fore of the hoat and it was quite' o'-. - ' exciting ’watching the mast huck up arid dovm with the hr'eakef s "f (Dr 'a while”- "' until it was "abandon stomach", as we succumbed to mal de merj lifter a tv/o hour trip we airived at Half moon Bay arid the township of Oban, It was still pouring with rain and as we had only four hours on the Island before the ferry departed at 1.45P»ni9,we first climbed up a steep road set among native bush to Observation Rock, where we had a marvellous view of Paterson Inlet and the island of Ulva, Golden Bay, Thule Bay and Iona Island rain or no rain’ On the way back^vre; visited; the Stevrart Island Museum. This is a Conchologistfe paradise ■ as Li'erc* is a very comprehensive display of Stewart Island shells, all well set out and clearly labelled. The, scallops and brachiopods were especially interesting. Then we went to the nearby, beach of Lonnekers Bay, and found washed up on the golden sand 5 Astrea heliotropium,Mytilus edulis aot eanus ,Aulacomya maoriana ,Modiolarca impact a , Pect en novae zelandiae r akiur a , Tawerg spissa, Ostrea angasi , Cellana strigilis redimiculum ,Zethalia zelandica,Zoacolpus s:/mmet r icu s , and brachiopodsWalt onia inconspicua .and Notosaria nigricans. The rain stopped so we went on another short , steep, up and dovm climb to Bathing Beach, whore we had a s^fim in the clear water iirith breakers and clean golden sand. On this small jewel of a beach ,v/e foundj Gari lineolata., Tawmra spissa, Enarginula striatula,a small lialiotis australis ,Dilodont a globus 1 Halt onia inconspicua and also some Notosaria nigracans, : ' Wk pressed on for another kilometre to the golden sanded, larger Butterfields ■*) Beach, but the only interesting shell there was a Gari st anger i - and then realised that wo ivould have to move smartly if we v7oro to catch the ferry, HS just made it,;pLth five minutes to spare. In August 19793301^0 friends of mine brought me back some shells from Stovrart Island - from Horseshoe Bay and Maori Bay,furthor round than Butter- fields . These included ; Cantharidus opalus,Gari linnolata,Kaliotis australis Zeacolpus symmotricusga large number of Struthdolaria papulosa gigas and the Stewart Island form of Alcithoe swains oni. This is a slender, thin shelled and long spired form, pinkish in colour ’.fith a faint trace of brown linos. ’'Ihilo wo wore on the island, wo were able to purchase from the H.Z, Forest Headquarters a set of nine booklets on Stovrart Is.^ild life and also a 78 booklet entitled "Day Track and General Inf ormat ion" , which we foimd most useful. One can take a small plane from Invercargill airport to Stewart Island and return the same day. Tliis gives more time than our four hours on the Island, For the Geologists and fossil hunters, Stewart Island is a 'granitic intrusion. ' On the "way back to Bluff, wo took the advice of a friend who lives on Stewart Island, regarding sea sickness. We went down below and lay flat on our backs on the couches. This worked admirably and we arrived at Bluff looking and fooling much better than when we had arrived at Stewart Island. - OoO - ITEMS OF IMTEREST The .Anthropology Dept . Auckland University, has for some little while, boon conducting a midden excavation at Wiri, south of ihickland. ikmongst the material obtained frem those diggings are a number of small native snails. At the present time there is ,of course, no native bush about but judging from the list of species found there must have been at least some scrubby ground cover, some time ago. Wot all the specimens are oldj-somc still retain traces of colour markings and ribbing sculpture. Tliis suggests that they were not laid down at the time of the formation of the midden, but accumulated later. Some specimens are, however, undoubtedly'. very old and are now powdery and fragile. Species present include §- Charopa (Mocolla) eta Pfr, Phonacoholix pilula Reeve Delos jeffreysiana (Pfr. ) Charopa ochra Webster Phrixgnathus fulgurata Suter Phrixgnathus grabrisculus (Pfr. ) Thalassohelix ziezhg Gould Eggs of Rhytida( ,nfroonw'oodi? ) Subfoctola caput spinulae Reeve . Introduced species 5- Hyalinia cellaria (Mull. ) Vallonia ^centrica (St Others 5- Potamopyrgus antipodura (Gray). Sutorilla 3oozelanica(Murdoch) The carnivorous species , Delos , seems to bo quite plentiful in the material. Perhaps this indicat os, a sizable snail population flourished there, for this species to food on. It would also suggest that the habitat would not have boon dry and barren as it is today. 79 TIL'ilS CRBITA( Gmelin , 1? 9 1 ) Synonyr.s - N# succinct a Martyn k II. sc alar is Menke) Oui* large rockshell , Thais or'bita( Gia&lin) , is a very common mollusc around the rocky shores of the North Island and northern part of the South Island. It occurs elsewhere in South /iustralia? Tasmania, up to the I'l.S. VI, Coast and also at Norfolk Island, iilong our rocky shores ,T, orhita frequently congregates thickly in crevices and^rocky clefts from vrhich it can relatively easily emerge to feed on mussels, the harnacle' UlLiinlus plicatus and even the cat’s eye shell ,T , smaragd As a rule, the shell of Thais orhita is white with a yellowish colour within the aperture, hut in one or two places ,espe»ially at Muriwai,the shells are often attractively mottled in shades tf hrown. This common shell is no douht taken for granted, hut close examination shows that it decs- exhibit considerable variation in its sculpture , ranging from fine,rather even incised spirals to a few coarse ,raised spiral cords- - the latter resulting in a. quite attractive shell. There does not seOm to he any particular pattern in the occurr-’hce of either of these two forms, for they can occur in nearby areas of coastline hut apparently not together. For instance,the weaker sculptured specimens oacur at Narrovr-'NeckjWaiheke. Id. , VIliangaparoa,l‘Iuriwai,Three Kings Islands - the first two being comparatively smooth water situations while the two last are rugged coastline liahitats. OO Those showing very strongly raised rihhing occur at Russell jPakiri,Pukenui, Laings Beach, Castlepoint and Westland - again, Both sheltered and rough water situations. Of the examples examined, those from Pakiri, are hy far the most grossly corrugated, . The rihs are contracted Below forming a very deep channel around tho xdiorls. - OcO — Pi'iXILLOSTIUM NAMJM Gardner B.W, Gardner Even in the most unlikely situations , there are usually some molluscs X'fhich have adapted to what would appear to Be a rather uninviting liaBitat, One of these is Paxillostium nanum,a small freshwater HydroBiid,so far recorded only in Northland. Tho first specimens of P.nanum were, strangely enough,found in a sample of leaf litter collected up for subsequent sorti2ng - tiny dead wliite shells looking nothing like land snails as we expect them to Be,and in an area which did not seem to have any fresh water streams either. Further visits to the sllc- showed that this mollusc was living in a wet x-reather seepage area which was previously fairly dry,x7ith only a fex^ dead leaves on a little thick mud. Over much of the year, there x-rould no douBt Be a trickle of water along this course, . This was up on a Bushclad hillside and checks in water courses Below, in more open situations, showed that tliis freshwater species .preferred forest situations. Even our prolific and hardy Potamopyrgus is not very keen on such a Bush habitat. 8'1 So far this spocios lias not- boon roportod south of Dargaville ,but its Icnoi-m distribution extends as far north as Herekino and l^Iangamuka. ■ It is by no means restricted to minor seepage areas, but has now also been collected from the edges of those horrid rusty si'ramps that wc come across in the bush, sometimes. The following are some of the stations where this mollusc has been founds 5 miles south of Parakao (type locality) -I-69. near.- Ruahuia Viaduct llaimatonui -5-69. 'Pane I‘Iahuta' ,Waipoua -5-69 • Mangamulea Gorge ~5“69 Herekino gorge -1-74* The chief distinguishing cliaracter of Pazi 11 ostium is the unusual operculum. This has a raised peg on the inner side, a feature not present in any other of our How Zealand hydrobiids. The genus Hemistomia, which occurs in New Caledonia ,has a somewhat similar opercular arrangement. Incident ly, the name Baxillestium means 'pegged door 'and nanum-, ' small or dwarf. ' - OoO - iH-IPHIDOLil CREHATA (Gmelin 1791 )• N.H.G. In New Zealand, mudflats and mud snails are practically synonymous as you will seldom see a mudflat without its sizeable population of ..'\mphibola crenata scattered over its length and breadth j A mudsnail so commonplace, is most likely to be poorly represented in many of our member collections - almost disregarded. Only on one occasion, can I remember this mollusc creating any great interest and that was during a visit here some years ago, of the noted Malacologist Yoshio Kondo,of the Bishop Itiseum, He was being taken on a local collecting trip, and as \tq drove past a, typical mangrove mudflat , became quite excited. " Amphibolal " ,he shouted -"thousands of thera^ Stop the car^ Not all of us are so enthusiastic about mud snails,! fe'-r,ncveri:hclcGC they do have some special features. iimongst the of Pulmonatos members of the iimohibolidae are of note in that they have all retained their operculum. In this respect, they arc said to reflect archaic development from true marine gastropods. They arc air breathing molluscs which are quite at home on tidal mudflats, whore they have to endure being covered by 82 water frr an hour or two on oach. tido. The mantle ca,vity lias boon utilised as a lun^. Araphihola cronata flourishes tln-oughout Net: Zealand jXdiero it litres on soft organic mud of tidal flat s, especially near mangroves in the North. Sometimes, it is found up in brackish streams ,but those specimens are always small and scattered in such a situation. This mollusc is virtually an unsolsctivc deposit feeder ^ pas sing much soft mud tlirough the gut with only a very small amount of food being extracted. The mud faeces are much in evidence on mudflats ,ahd are of considerable length. Tlio animal is hermaphrodite 5 the spawn is contained in a tyre - like rim of mud and said to contain about 8 to 10 thousand eggs. Very large specimens of this snail occur on the Neat Coast of the South Island and at Stewart Island. - OoO - PACIFIC PATELUN/iE ? SCUTELL^lSTR/i and ANCISTROIVIESNS. In a recent issue o^ 'Poirieria’ ,wo discussed the Cellana group of limpets which occurs within the Pacific Basin - a group that is. very well . represented in this area. This article deals with the other line of limpets which are perhaps more directly related to the typical Patella of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and to the large handsome species of South Africa, which are grouped in several closely related subgonora. The subgenu SjWhioh is represent od somexfhat sparsely in the Pacific, is Scutcllastra - being also present along the South African Coast and in the Indian Ocean, Scutollastra limpets,for the most part have heavy, oven massive shells xirith a porcellaneous interior and not much in the way of external colour pattern. Often, the ribbing is very pronounced with the even marginal outline of 83 shell interrupted by extended radial folds - unlike the genus Ce liana , she 11s of which have fairly evenly rounded outlines. Although not strongly represented over much of the Pacific are a, they do seen to have a good' hold ' oJong the southern parts of the /mstralian coastline j whore several species occur. The two which are included in tliis article ^arei Patella (Scutellastra)poronii Blainville Occurs quite plentifully around Tasmania, Victoria and N.S.l‘I.(as well as extending as far as ¥, Australia) , The shell is generally quite strongly ribbed vALth the apex almost central and outline oval. Grows up to 48 mm. Colour yellowish brown. Patella (Scutellastra) chapmani Ten#.¥oods. The baby of the group, a more 20 - 30mm » ,but one that is quite readily recognised,! or it is a white shell wliich is typically'' strongly lobed, often like an 8 pointed star. Frequently, there is a narrow reddish brown lino on the crest of each of the radial ribs. Interior, porcellaneous white. Lives in the littoral zone on rock platforms and boulders. Occurs in Tasmania, South ihistraliasVictoria and New South Wales. Patella (Scutellastra) kermadeconsis Pilsbry A species sought by collectors as it is the second Ir-rgost limpet recorded. Reaches 174 mm, (7 inches). The shell is heavy, broadly ovate but slightly narrowed in front. Radial ribs rather narrow and not particularly prominent. External colour orange, interior porcellaneous xdiite with an orange border to the sliell. This species is restricted to the Kemadec Islands and is therefore not easy to obtain, ( The subgems is not represented around our shorcs though the Kermadec Is, are only 400 miles north of New Zealand.) Patella ( Scut ellastr a ) tucopiana Powell Another quite large species Icnown -only from T ikopia , one of the Santa Cruz Islands, north of the Now Hebrides. It is not unlike kermadeconsis but smaller ,92mm. In shape, it is more ovate. The exterior is black and interior creamy white jspatula flesh coloured,with a narrow border of amber colour. The two type specimens are the only knom examples. 84 Patella (Scutellastra) flexuosa Q»& G, This lias quite a widespread distribution and is reasonably common in the Islands to the north of New Zea|.and. It is a smaller species and as a rule has a flattish shell frequently covered with cor aline growths when living on dead coral blocks in shallow water. The margin of the limpet is deeply scalloped j of irregular shape with 8 or 9 strong radiating ribs. Grows to 42 mm. Interior pDrcllaneous,whitej spatula generally white but sometimes yellowish j brown or grey. Patella ( Scutellastra) flexuosa opt ima Powell Tliis subspecies occurs around Japan and Ryuk^'u Islands, and is larger than the typical 6pccies,grovring to 94mm. In outline it is strongly lobod wdth nine or ton brown radial folds. Ekterior grey to pale orange , interior poroellaneous white j spatula \n.th some orange or brown and the edge of the shell has a narrow brown margin. S\i,b genus /me i st r ome au s contains but a single species which is to be found from the ^ilf of California to Peru, Tliis is Ancistromosus mexicana Srod.&Sby. which is the largest of all known limpets, attaining a size of 350 mm, ( 14 inches ) Smaller specimens have reasonably good sculpture showing rather distinct radialsjbut the large heavy examples are usually eroded, encrusted or xiith borer holes and minus sculpture. Externally, dull whitejprcellaneous white within. A unique feature is the black animal. OoO ' ITSIS OF IlITIEEST Bev.Elliott ^Kaikoura xrrites 5 "I wonder if I have a southern record for Nerita melanotrafrus ? A perfect live specimen 28mmoat South Bay,Kaikoura on December 11th. 1979* 7 could hardly believe my oyes,as I have not found one in the South Island before, although I know of two records from N.W. Nelson, " 85 Turritriton labiosus Wood - — A ver5'- fine dead specinen of 2,5 cm, was picked up iDy a diver at Poor Kniglits - Must be the largest ozajnplc we have seen from H.Z, Jin Goulstono reports finding on the sandy beach of ]\lason Bay, Stewart Island, a dozen large specimens of I-Iargarella antipoda rosea which had no trace of colour pattern, being uniform grey in colour. These were on a kelp holdfast, which was washed ashore and could -have cone some distance. Small sub adult specimens from shell sand gathered up at--the end of - ■ tiason Bay, had bright red spiral lines. Coral Bissett \n?ites," Last month (Gotober),! was out at Qreti beach and there vrere about two hundred live, fully grovm Astrea heliotropium washed up on the beach, just in one place, With then were a number of Argobuccinum tumudum,also alive. Some were very high and dry and Becoming dehydrated so I nursed these back to the water hoping that they would recover,” Jin Rumbal, exploring our Worthem beaches found much of interest 5-”! began with a few days at Waiheke Id, and although I did not 'find an Alcithoe fusus .aaurakiensi s , I did find some interesting Alcithoe arabica at Oneroa, Wading at low water, I found three* sets' of A,rarabica together , each with a typical nodulod specimen and the other shell in each case slimmer and indistinctly noduled. Some families have differing shapes betvfoen male and female shells and I wonder if this applies to the Alcithoe genus,? Other beach specimens of A, arabica at Oneroa wore very pale - fawn buff with thin lines, in an irregular pattern - not banded as with most specimens of a, arabica that I have seen, I'lind you, down here in Taranaki, we are rather starved of shells of this type and sonewhat restricted as to what- we are -able to find locally. The shells w?re smallish but freshly dead and had perfect protoconchs. At Man of War Bay, I picked up a good Offadesma angasi, quite a treasure* Setting out for the north|WC called at Te iirai Point -(this, after readirg the most interesting artical in the Newsletter), Tliis must certainly be a great place after a-washup -hundreds of scallops ,Penions, Volutes etc, but unfortunately no fresh washup j however , on walking along, I was pleased to pick up my first two Alcithoe fusus haurakiensis , one in excellent condition. The remains of Xenophora neozoalanica were teasing us,but one good small Astrea heliotropium ,made our walk well worth while. 06 To tlie Far North. | - I koenly sought a ’Ifewn Mures:’ aPtorotyphis eos eos hut to no avail. I tried at ' Raidiiti ,I3ay of Islands and at Matauri Bay. TurnahlE rocks are difficult to find up North - not like the Taranaki coast- line at all, hut at Rawhiti,! found dead shells of Maurea tigris and one small Maurea oshorneit • .ilong the coast "W - .o many small shells of interest and also several per f ect , well coloured Longimactra elongatao Tlie odd specimen of Charonia lampas capes: and C . 1 . ruhicunda wore about in shallow water at low tide. • Tokerau Beach proved worth a visit. Excellent and numerous es:amples of Alcithoe arahica were tho'rc,somo largo specimens and also a variation with a short spire, like the depressa form hut much larger and with a broadly flared aperture. All the specimens washed up had very indistinct nodules and were marked with hands of brown over cream to fawn background. I picked up some of the attractive pink to mauve sea urchins, Trypneustes grat ilia g several small Astrea heliotropium and many damaged Xenophora, along with some large Xenophalium pyrumc Kaimaumau and East Beach -a long stretch of sand indeed, and we had to walk a very long way to find anything, as it had been well picked over from each end but the distant middle section was a delight with good specimens of Penion sulcatus adust a, one good . s . raandar inoide s and Monoplez pathenopous from small hairy specimens to largo (,4p-inchos) -smooth haii'less specimens with good aperture and enameled colours. These were up to lOOyards into the sand hills from the beach, Charonia capex wore there and also many broken Tonna cerevisina ,but to our delight we found an almost whole (one small hole in the top) T^inch specimen, the nearest wo have been to finding a complete Tonna, yet . Unfortunately, my holidays are o,t the time of year (Parch/April ) vdien few washups occur, Rarawa Beach cind Paxton Point — Shells - three feet deep in the gutters between the rocks | I picked up a small Alcithoe .jaculoides, another A.fusus haurakiensis , some Muricopsis oct ogonus ,tho spiny Murex,Poirioria zolandica and the first valves of Cleidothaerus albidusi had seen- Cantharidus opalus C«purpur-:'us wore everyi/hcreo There wore masses of juvenile Alcithoe arabica with beautiful markings^ some were completely creamy yellow to buff and devoid of any markings -very pretty shells. One oven had orange bands, I was following another fossicker round the Point, as the piles of shells had boon well sorted through. We hiked out to Cape Llaria van Dieman and found several beach specimens of Monodilepas diemanensis. At Ruakaka,On the way homo - ,a stop at morning tea time and 'a walk albng the beach, produced a Maurea pollucida,a' ' smallish tallspired form, possibly spirata. Unfortunately, we did. not have time to explore the 90 mile beach and Te Hapua and Paua areas, -next time porlmps, That 'Dawn. Mur ex' is plusiveybut I may have been looking in the wrong places and will have to explore further afield another time. 87 CYTORA Jovrell This is the largert species of the landsnail genus Cytora -operculate snails i-rhich are dispersed quite prolifically through the Hortii Island hush and more sparsely over the South and Stewart Islands. The attractive and distinctive Cytora hirsutissiDa9hovrever ,is restricted to one snail area of Great Island of the Three Kings Groupjso must surely qualify as oho of our rarest species and for a place on the endangered species listens well* Ir.F.ClinojOn the National tlusoun Expedition of 1970? found that this snail- is restricted to a snail area of about two square netres on the South Nest coastal slope where it lives under a few large rocks well covered by the fern ..''rthoptoris tenella —and all under a solitary Paratropliis tree. The body vrhorl of the shell is biangulate,one angle at the niddle of the whorl and the other below the suture. Both angles bear long;;hirsute processes those on the niddle angle being longer and more erects Colour jgolden broim^ processes darker* Cyt ora hir sut i ss ina is without eyes and it is thought that the long liair like processes nay compensate for lack of visionjacting as 'thignotactic tilt reoeptorsi 88 K.W.G. A AT H/iHKL.CCROM/^lDKL. Mo Proffitt In January I980,our fanily sot off for Halioi and uitli the dingy on the ca,r roof and caravan behind jwo st niggled over the hills from Thames to the coast on the other side with a few stops to cool the engine and refill the water tanko By the tine we reached Ha heijwc had left behind the drizzly rainjand the weather improved. This beach has beautiful white sand and a number of off- shore islands 5 making it very picturesque. The fishing is usually excellent as the Motor Camp has a special place for cleaning fish and the area is nearly always in use with 3-6 families filleting their catch by large cratesful at a, _ -Sk?Ln divert arc very about the rocks out in the Bay, Whi-ic- cut ■ fishing jWo had to cut our a'hchor free and it now lies on the bottom. ¥o found out later that most people 'drift fish' in that area to avoid fouling their anchor, -(Always wiser after the event \ ) In the rock pools sworo hundreds of hermit crabs and in the sandy shallows a great variety of brightly coloured shells scurried in all directions to shelter under the clumps of seaweed. The crabs' homos consisted of Littnrina tmifasciata Gant har id o 1 1 a tesselata 9wifh very brightly coloured patterns from green and yellow through to grey and pinks, Micrelenchus dilatatua - multi pinks with white specks and iridescent interior ,I^licrolcnchus sanguineus similarly colour ed,Horpotopoma bella,Thoristella oppressa, Juv. Cirsotroma zclobori, Zoacumantus subcarinatus,Juv«Cominolla virgata with exquisite colour patterns also fresh, well coloured Neogualous Sinclair i ,Rissoina zonata our largest of this genus ,R , anguina andR, cKathamcnsis ,t iny Iht oniella olivacea on a clump of Ho vast oa lamellosa and also two shells of the freshwater Melanopsis trifasciata which had probably washed down from the creek, along with Ophicardelus cost ellaiis from the bases of the rushes lining the creek edges. On the splash zone, the rocks wore littered with thousands of the black Herita meIanotragus,Littorina unifasciata,and further down Melagraphia aethiops, Lepsiella scobina and a number of Hot oacmea pilaopsis sturnus with the brown interior. This species,! had not seen before. Over at Cathedral Cove, in a small cave, the more common Hotoaemoa pileopsis pileopsis were living on the cave roof and being sheltered were quite unblemished. For the first time, I came across Atalacmea fragilis under smooth stones in a shallow’’ pool. There were a large number of juveniles here with the adults. Each day we collected along the washupswhere a great number of sea eggs and jelly fish lay amongst the kolp^ shells here were Haliotis virginoa crispata numerous colours and sizes of Chlamys zolandiae,Paphies ventricosa (^eryone dug for these to eat.),Tawera spissa,Protothaca crassicosta,Cellan8 radians Cellana stellifera^-C, omata,Diloma bicanaliculata,Trochus viridis,Umbonium Paratrophon quoyi.Cookia sulcata and Trichosirius inornatus,to name a few. 89 V/g also picked up a valve of the deep water Notocallista nultistr'-ata and our daughter ,Gail had a prize find in a live Astrea heliotropiun with operculum lying on the soft white sand where, wo presumed, it had hecn dropped by a skin diver. At the other end of the beach many boulders had dropped do^n over the years, and although the shell life seamed more sparco,we saw many very large crabs basking in the sun on top of the boulders — eyes forever watchful for the slightest movement, at which they would sciirry back to the dark crevices. - oOo - HBLIX ..jSPERSA Mu11<, This old friend? -or foe \ , is still making good progress in its colonization of Nevr Zealand. ¥e heard recently that it has appeared on the Chatham Islands and is apparently becoioing well established. The occurrence does not seem to have been recorded, previously. — — oOo - Inc i dent iy,vre' had' an inquiry, recently, as to whether we. thought that the large succulent European land snail, Helix pomatia, could be imported and bred hero for the tabloi We a,ssured the caller that such a pla,n would be axed immediately, but we did suggest that he might try Helix aspersa wbick' is used for'food elsewhere and abounds in some areas in Hew Zealand, I remember, at day-break, one Nevr Year’s bay, after a wakeful night's camping at Houhora Heads among myriads of hungry mosquitoes,! took, a walk “down through the sand dunes to East Beach. The dew- was heavy a,nd crawling amongst the Spinifex and other gmall. plants were thousands of superb specimens of Helix aspersa . So, you Gormets,why not try those and so help to keep one pest in check at the same - time, [ . oOo - Specito L'ti jL^„n3 j.*. the Coi’oniex.iei Rarjge. J, Goulstone. Therasiella meozelkntca (Ctaibcr) Tliift will P'i('<&ably be the *taa( Adaas ard TThittea. cc3mu(Si, Tapu2.5x1.5 ^siell^serrata (Cuaber), Surprisirg<^^\ 5y widespread throagh the Corosia*dels yet I havea»t sees it at all Ik the Hunuao • JLz f LvitUyjiOtd oni H4 VA. V«U IX’ il' lU MU -*.^nu *4jH*r ' ^ ->f *'it: (jA: r*to» , I i edit t - ,1<:4 BQKGOTHOPHOIT BHIHLTilYI Coi'nohorsky (See iVby+raccs of New Papers at Back of this issue.) Recent pra.'vm trawls in the Bay of Plenty jbetween Mayor a Nliite Islands ^rosultea in the discovery of this newly described specie s» 'Tlie find is of considerable interest in that it represents a nov: /generic i-ccord for New Zealand, Species of Icrool-irophon are better known fron s'ub - antarctic waters, and Northern Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans c Cne species of the perns occurs off Soutb A" T.ie typo spcciren of 52nin»X22o 3-cni is uniforml-iy white ,sonicwhat chalky in tenefuLO and vdth the aperture and coibcjnella piossj* white. Taken in 36-6 - 47 metres on mud bottom. \ \ \ \ \ 91 RECEIPT PUBLICATIONS The systematic status of some land snails mistakenly assigned to the New Zealand Fauna. F.M.Climo National Museum of N«Z. Wellington o N.Z. Journal of Zoology Vol.6 ( 1 979 ); 407-41 0. Abstract . Helix regularis , Laoma (Ihrixgnathus) lucida var. elevata, L. elegans , and Lagochilus studeri , described from "New Zealand'' or "Whangarei", have proved to be referable to extralimital species, and should 'therefore be deleted from the New Zealand fauna. Helix regularis Pfeiffer, 1855 is shown to be a species of Coneuplecta Moellendorff , 1893 (Helicarionidae) closely related to or synonymous v;ith Nanina microconus Mousson, 1865 for which a neotype is selected. Laoma (ihrixgnathus) lucida var, elevata Suter, 1896 is based on juveniles of Euconulus fulvus (Muller , 1 774 ) ; Laoma elegans Suter, 1896 is Strobilops labyrinthica ( Say ,1817); and Lagochilus studeri Suter, 1896 is Amnicola limosa (Say, 1 81 7 ) » The last three' are all common in eastern North Am.erica. New Species of Bathyal Gastropods form Australia and New Zealand. W . 0 . C ernohor sky Auckland Institute &, Museum. Rec, Auckland Inst.Mus. 16: 105-108. Abstract . A species of Peculator (Parvimitra) , family Volutimitridae, from South Australia and a species of Boreotrophon, faniily Muricidae, from the North Island of New Zealand are described as new to science. The systematic position of Triforis Deshaves (Mollusca; Gastropoda) B. A. Marshall . National Museum of N.Z, iVellington. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, Vol.7 (1980)85-88 Abstract . The taxononiic history of the genus-group taxa Triforis Deshayes and Triphora Blainville id discussed. Triforis is transferred from Triphoroidea (Hamiglossa) to Cerithio'^oidea ' (Mesogastropoda) on the basis of the occurrence of taenioglossate dentition in Triforis blacki Marshall, Cerithiellidae Golikov & Starobogatov and Sherborniid'ae Iredale are reduced "to” subfamily rank in Triforidae. 92 The Trochidae and Turbinidae of the Kermadec Ridg;e (Mollusc^ Gastropoda) . B .A .Marshall National Museum of N.Z. Wellington. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, (1979) Vol.6, 521 -552. Abstract . Twenty-four trochids and 6 turbinids are recorded from the Kermadec Ridge, north-east of NewZealand. Additional data and new illustrations are provided for certain previously recorded species. The following species are newly recorded: Euchelus (Herpetopoma ) foveolata A.Adam.s, Calliotropis ( Solaricida) infundibulum (Watson) , Clanculus (Euclanculus? ) persica Babe 8r. Shikaina, Calliostoma~TTristichotrochus) sp.cf. .. tosaensis (Kuroda & Habe) , and C . (T . ) sp.cf. simplex Schepman. The following new species are described: Euchelus (Herpetopoma) pruinosa , Calliotropis blacki , C . eucheloides , C . delli , C . pov/elli , C . acherontis , C . cr.ystalophorus , Solariella (Microyaza) 'alabida, S. (M. ) dawsoni S. (M. ) hufleyi Calliostomia (Trisfiehotrochus ) gendalli , Leptothyra kermadec ensi s , L.benthicola , and Cantrainea inexpectata . Subfamily.. Angariinae Ts transferred from Trochidae to Turbinidae. Calliotropis Seguenza and Solariella Wood. are discussed in some detail. The following genus-group taxa are considered synonymous: Mazastele Iredale and Adamsenida Habe with Calliotropis ; Ethaliopsis Schepman and Archiminolia Iredale with Microgaza Dali; and Talopena Iredale with Monilea Swainson. Preliminary remarks pertain to zoogeography, fossils, and the environment. Blitors^ - - N.& N, Gardner 6 Tui Glen Rd. , Birkenhead Auckland, 10, New Zealand 93 AMNH LIBRARY 002011 1 CONTENTS Page Trivirostra oryza (Lamark)-xjiotlier New Record for N,Z, 77 A Nay's Trip to Stewart Island » Coral Biss'tt 78 Items of Interest 79 Ttiais orbita (Gmelin 1791) 80 Pasillostiiim nanum Gardner N.N, Gardner 81 7jnph.ib o la or enat a (Gmelin 1 7 9 1 ) 82 Pacific Patellidae - Scutellastra 6: 7-mcistromesus N.N.G. 83 Items of Interests Nerita melanotragus Bev. Elliott 85 Tarritriton labiosus 86 Margarolla antipoda rosea Jim Goul stone 86 Wasliup at Oreii Beach Coral Bissott 86 Northern Beaches Jim Rumbal 86 C:,’tora hirsutissima Powell N,¥.G. 88 A Nook at Hahei -Coromandel M. Proffitt 89 Helix aspersa Mull, N.G. 90 Plat e - Therasiella J.Goulst one Borootrophon dhirleyi Cernohorsky 1980 - a note on - N.G. 91 Recent Publications 5 Land snails P.Clirno 92 Bathyal gastropods ¥ , 0, Cernohorsky 92 Triforis Noshayos B. A. Mar shall 92 QL^oi Voliune 10, Part 6, November 1980, ISSN 0023-2377. CONCHOLOGY SECTION AUCKLAND INSTITUTE & MUSEUM poiri^:ria Vol.10 Part '6 " ■■ November I98O THE PTEROTYPHIS BOS EOS (Hutton) WASH-UP AT PAIHIA IN I969. R. A. Cumber A number of us will recall vividly tbe welcome wasb-up of P,eos eos, which occurred at Paihia in the Bay of Islands in 1969* For me it was particularly interestingjfor in the early 1930’s I spent many hours on the Islands which face Paihia, looking for this rare pinic Muricid# My total bag, after about three years of intermittent searchings was seven specimens* Tv7o of these were in reasonable shape, and they undoubtedly took pride of place in my collectionc IXiring the school holidays in May 1 969, we were rtaying at our bach in •’ the Bay, and enjoying trips' to the Isla-^ds as weather permitted. Obviously there had been fairly rough weather prior to our arrival, for most beaches showed considerably more shell and seaweed than was usual. I landed Baph. and our son Martin on the Island nearest Waitangi so that they could fossick. I remained on our nmabout to fiddle, as boaties are inclined to do when they feel lazy. About half an hour later, they returned - Baph had a number of shells, and greeted me with" Is this the pink shell you used to look for?" That put an end to the lazing about i Needless to say, ye collected "Pteronotus" whenever the opportunities allowed during the rest of I9690 Ihe original numbers which we encountered dwindled quickly, but as the beach shell moved, odd specimens continued to appear for quite a long whiloo Collecting at one stage became a scoring game, and Martin assures me that on one occasion the score was 66 to 65 for the after- noon’s catch. Many of the specimens were worn, and there were many broken pieces. The complete range in size was present, but of course,in the early days one collected the obvious specimens. To this day jhowever, despite searchings at very low tides, a living shell? or even one with a trace of animal vrithir. it, has not been seen in this area. The numbers of PterotypM.s to be found now have returned almost to that which I know back in 1935* My collection has understandably been depleted somewhat since 1969,but Ma-w.^'n’s remains as a"random" sample from this once-in-a-life- time experience. 94 On many occasions we have pondered this strange wash-up. I am not certain of the interval between the storm and our finding of the shells ,but as already mentioned^ there must have been some very severe weather. It is true that the fresh-water dilution of the waters in the Bay vms becoming more severe over the years due to the rcr.bval-..Gf' land cover in the surrounding ^ . country. Increasingly,the prolonged heavy rains were being followed by considerable death of species such as Scutus, so we may have witnessed the breach of tolerance in Fterotypliis. There is however , another possible factor which could throw some light on the wash-up. Apparently, the channel to Opua was dredged some time previouly,and the spoil may have been dumped out- near the •Brampton Reef "The exact dates and site of the dumpings have not been determined, but it is possible tliat sediments destroyed colonies of Ptorotypis and attendant species, and that the subsequent rough weather brought the shells ashore. ' It is 'hoped!, of course, that a freak set of storm conditions caused only a temporary reduction in their numbers, but it may be straining optimism somewhat* - oOo - BUCCIICflUT^ COLEITSOI ( Sut er ) G • A« Foreman This small' member of the genus Eucoinulum is restricted to the East Coast of the Forth Island from Te Araroa,1 Sian. west of East Cape, south, to the Wairarapa The northern limit is well defined at Te Araroa, with the first sign of Buccimliun eolensoi (Suter) , being on the papa reef to the east of the town- ship. To the west of the town a long beach separates the East Coast papa rock Prom the volcanic rock of Matalcaeo and Lot tin Point where Buccinulum vitt atum vittatum (Quoy & Gaimard) now takes the place of E. eolensoi of wloich there is no sigTi, The southern boundary is more difficult to define, I have found B. eolensoi .plentiful at Uhareama 20km. south of Castlepoint, but not a sign of it at I'lliite Rock, 20 km. north of Cape Palliser, where Buccinulum vittatum littorinoides (Rcove) can now be seen. B. eolensoi is quite easy to find tliroughout its range, living under rocks in the region of low water and below. Empty shells are a favourite home of ' hermit crabs and dozens may sometimes be seen scuttling across_ the flat reef surface ;7hen covered by only a fev; inches of water, or huddled together under the large flat rocks which are left high and dry when the tide receeds. I 95 BucC/hUjLUf^ CoLENZOI (SuteR) Loftny “Tk Brafoa Cap' wahia FsQ.t^i East C( k- Pakarae 6. & Hohia Cof^ 7. S? Wh n rr> n . > ‘ •• . > t y t I V, /) , *j( jirr. o\»'i ; >■ . .OMid' r \ TliouGh variable in sculpture, size and colour ,B,colencoi is usually an easy shell to distinguish tloroughout its range. In the TeAraroa - East Cape region,! have found a numher of shells wliich resomhlo B. vittatuin in some faat res, Tlioy are shells with a tall" spire, with wcalc and narrow spirals and colour handing similar to B.vittatum, The grey Background colouring of the shell, white aperture and ape rtural features are as found in typical B* colensoi and the closely related B.vittatum which does occur nearhy. It certainly helps to make tliis an interesting little shell. oOo SUN,SM AIR, and SIIETJIITG Recollections of Aitutaki and Rarotonga - Sept. 21 -• 0ct.6,198Q« C, Grange. " The deep and abiding appeal of the Cook Islands is unique. For here is to he found a wonderfully rewarding holiday experience, a special kind of unspoiled and unhurried pleasure and contentment " This is what the travel brochure promised, and this indeed is what was found by the ten Club members who set out from Auckland on September 2 1st, for Rarotonga. The group ranged from firot time flyers to somewhat- acre seasoned travellers and all banded together extremely well with the common goal of hunting for, and finding some good shells to bring home, ¥o arrived at Rarotonga Air Port to blue skies and steamy hot coriditions- a welcome cliange from the prevailing wet of Auckland. Bustled immediately onto the tiny Britten - Norman Islander plane, we were soon approacliing the beautiful "turquoise lagoon, dotted with its 15 Motus (Small islands) and surrounded by a thin' line of white surf. This was Aitutaki - our home for the next twelve days, Nithin minutes, it seemed, we had been transported from the airport to the Rapae Motel and were soon all wading around in the shallows of the lagoon and beachcombing for any available treasures. Rhinoclavis asper was immediately seen to be the most predomimnt species - along with the black holothurian Leucospilota. Strombus gibberulus were crawling on the sand among the green weed at low tide mark but as most of us were still waiting for our baggage x^ith our shelling gear to arrive from Rarotonga, we 'were unable to fossick father out onto the coral, until next day. However , Derek Lamb returned from his walk with 96 a ■na^jnificent live . specimen of Polinices melanostomoid.es. All in all, it was an afternoon fall of promises of wliat was to come# At a quick count later tliat evenin^^sWe reckoned on 31 different species havin^^ been seen by the group* Pay 2 da;-med witb heavy rain and temperatures far below those expected on a tropical coral atoll. Ho^^ever ,vriLth raincoats and hats being the order of the day, off we set. With the low tide occurring later in the afternoon, the morning was spent exploring the shallows at the edge of the lagoon. Tiny coral fisli, brilliant in colours and shape, darted in and out of the coral out- crops,each of these being aglow with the varied mantles of the small clams (Tridacna maxima), in colours ranging from pale beige, through orange ,pinlc, green, blue and black,- very spectacular. These coral outcrops, we discovered, were the homes of Latirus nodat us, somewhat encrusted but specimens collected have been cleaned up to expose beautiful shells with fine pink apertures. The morning also provided the first live examples of Conus and Cypraea -Conus ebragus C , ohaldaeus , C , f lavidus and Cypraea moneta , C annulus, and _C, caput serpent is, ~l;y the afternoon,the rain had disappeared' and we eagerly set off towards the outer reef. Witht!-i$.!tide not dropping as low as we had hoped, and a strong wind rippling the water, collecting was indeed difficult - but fine examples of Conus f lavidus, Coralliophila violaoea, Turbo arg/rostomus to name but a few, were found. That ovening,we wore treated to a beach barbecue a la Rapae Motel, -our first opportunity to sample some of the local fruits 5 Pawpaw, pineapple, banana, breadfruit yam, taro and coconut wore on the menu along with barbecued fish and steak. A pleasant end to* any day, Tlie remainder of our 10 days on ^’uLtutaki was spent in a similar way, working our main collecting around the lo\7 tides and passing the rest of the time exploring the Island, Aitutaki is part volcanic and part at oil, covering some 4j46l acres, vri.th a population of abeut 2,500,-much of which is, in fact, in New Zealand, It is moderately flat, rising to 390 feet at its highest point- a walk to the top of which, provides an excellent view over the 9 mile long lagoon and its I4 other Motus. The main Island is extremely fertile, and large plantations of banana^, oranges, breadfruit, mangoes, arrowroot and coconuts are thriving well. The walk from the Motel into the main village of iirutanga is along a coral- stone road lined with frangipani, hibiscus and gardens full of plants we delicately nurse indoors hero in New Zealand, Tlie majority of our collecting was done within walking distance of the Motel, but two good afternoons wore spent around on the eastern side of the Airport. This is the more exposed side and the point where the outer reef is closest to the shore. This was where we were told the shells would be - and we weren’t disappointed. A large amount of material was found washed up, but once again,the tide did not allow us to got out as far as we would have liked to enable us to see these specimens alive jhovrever, among the more exciting live species were, Cypraea maculifora and C.ca]xitserpentis,Tectarius grandinatus and frupina grossularia, o^ly on our last day when we. were at the Airport for o\ir 97 flight hack to Rarotonga , did we see tlie tide vrell out to expose tlie reef we load so hoped to explore - maybe next time . On two separate days,x7e hired the seivices of local boat aimer ’Sam’,xfho transported us out over the lagoon to the outer Motus in Ms 16 foot fibreglass boat’,, On the first day^vre visited Ropata^a tinj' Motu, uninhabited as are they all, and waded'from the boat through absolutely crystal clear water to see what we could find. The marine life was amasingly barren, but Doug« Snook discovered not one, but two beautiful large specimens of Cypraea tigris. From here we wove our way through the coral outcrops to the beautiful island of Tapuaetai One Foot Island, as it is called by the locals, TMs held promise of good collecting on large sand flats -but these were found to be the home of ceriths, deriths and more ceriths - with very little else-* However a hunt around the rocky ground and a wallc right to the outer reef uncovered many fine species including Conus pulicarius ,I4itra stictica,Cymatium nicobari>~^"m and a huge encrusted tube worm Vormetus maximus. Vfe also found 'washed up Tonna pordix Terebra maculata,Janthina violacea and Melampus flavuso On auiother day we visited the island of iHcaiarai,onco used as a stopover by tlie flying boats. The notable find here was the abundant communities of Tectarius grandinatus,particularly fine, large, we 11- spined specimens. Olive Snook waw lucky enough to find a beautiful C:/praea tigris, not on the reef as one would expect, but up in a tree where it had obviously been forgotten by some previous visit orl Rays passed by so quickly - each providing its ovm treasure for each one of us. Perhaps the most favoured pastime became the searching for, and investigation of trails in the sand - the hunt for the elusive Terebra subulata first uncovered by our President , Bob Grange, I'4uch searching, digging, disappointed sighs and delighted squeals later - and a total of four beautiful examples were in the possession of the proud oimers. All too quickly, our departure morning arrived, and we said our farewells to the management and staff of the Rapae Motel, The friendliness, he Ipfuliiess and general hospitality of the . people of idtutold. will be remembered always. Rarotonga /lirport ,busy traffic and Duty Free shops, meant a sudden’Back to Civilization’ awakening call! Once moved into our new accomodation at the Aorangi Beach Motels, it wasn't long before the beach in front of our units had been scoured by 10 pairs of intent eyes. Hot exactly a fruitless pastime either „ After two days we had established a sizeable list of beach collected species including Vanikoro cancellata,Polinices me lanostomoides, Conus catus, C.rat .■ PMlippia radiata,./istraea rlioSost oma,Hatica gualthoriana, Tonna por'lix and a fine j^litra papalis found by iteno Kindleysidea, One morning was spent turning rocks on the exposed reef aear "the Airport where wew found live Conus catus ,C,ratus , Vanikoro cancellata and the large bivalve Periglypta peurpura,to name a few, October 5th dawned and it vo.':. home to Auckland for all of us, armed idth a good variety of species - some rare, some not -but each idth a special appeal to its collector, A total of about 150 species was found by the group, (A full list of species will be available shortly;, 98 OlIEROA.VJAIHEKE id« MoMorley Auckland skelling entkusiasts usually head to their favourite heaohes ' in the North, More locally jNaiheke can prove rewarding j if less spectacular, Oneroa loas a half kilometre of sa.ndjWhere northerly winds can produce a considerahle surf. The eastern end is separated from Little Oneroa by a rocky area, while the western end has a sheltered hook with fine sand and sediment. I have collected in this area for the last five years. /ifter strong north oast vrindSjthe following shells can he found( sometimes i ) Alcithoe arahica Longimactra elongate Gari hodgi Tellina buttoni - in pairs Poiricria zelandica. -1 PliBnatoma rosea - alive Alcithoe fusus haurakiensis Penioh sulcatus Scalpomactra scalpellum -1 pair,alivo_ Pivaricella Imttbniana -in pairs Pupa kirki Phenatoma zelandica ^Lntimelatoma huchan-ani maorum - alive The intertidal rocky area supports Limatula orientalis,Soutus hreviculus, and Cahestana spengleri. The latter’ are few in number and in a restricted area, Tliey are for vievring only «».o. At low tides,a fluctuating population of hermit crabs, is exposed. Ninety per cent of the shells are Umbonium zelandic-m’l'rt a careful house > inspection reveals , " Triohosirius inornatus X:/mene gouldi Cirsotrema zelebori ■ ' I-Iaurea pellucida Nashups at the sheltered end are unpredictable. Frequently, the beach is devoid of shells, though a Tui provider a consolation solo. In Spring, the gold of Kowhai trees is drama against the dark bush. At other times, there several rows of small shells necessitating what my children term a"grain by grain" search. These washups can pro’v'ide,- Siliquaria weldii Tanea zelandica Spitoniura minora Lamellaria ophione Offadesma angasi Bassina yatei -good specimens, in pairs Epiton •'um tenell'um Janthina exigua Myllita stowei I'laurea selecta -1 battered specimen Dosinia maoriana A surprise find v;as Phytida greenwoodJ. greenwood! - presumably, there is a colony up in the bush area nearby, . - In 1975 heav;^’’ rains washed away 1-|raetres depth of sand to reveal a substrate with fossils. There are also fossil areas to the west at VJ.Bay. 99 ime^lofoma buchanani mao rum V, and Church Bay, VI, Bay at low tide is interesting with a variety of fine nudihranchs. It also has sea cucumbers Stichopus mollis, wandering sea anemonea -Phlyct enact is tub eixyjilosa, cushion star fish Stegnaster inflatus in vivid hues of orange, green, purple and pillar hoz red. The large purple and wliite anemones Isocradactus ' magna and cup corals Flab e Hum ruguiosum add to the rich display of colours. Occasionally, squid, octopuses and sea horses have been seen^ For the sea-food gourmets, Oner oa offers Pecten novaezelandiae ,Bogiinia anus,Paphies subtriangulatum,P,australe or Chi one stutchburyi. Shortly,! hope to improve ray collection by obtaining dredged materal. So, when the oil runs out , you could consider a trip to Waiheke Island!, - oOo - DIVING AT POOR KBIGHTS ISLABBS T , Cunningham Queen's Birthday Weekend -and it was 'up early' , after travelling by night- to Tutukaka, about 25 km, from Ti^hangarei, We were soon off for the two hour boat ride in the Lady Jess, to the Poor Knights Is,-y the Middle Arch, where wo had our first dive, Decending to a depth of 70ft,, we found the visibility to be an incredible 100ft, plus. The water was at firpt cool but soon warmed in the thick wetsuit. After 45 minqtes,! had collected only one shell, -a broken Xenophaliiun royanum, found loose on a boulder bottom at the base of a cliff. Although missing its spire the length is 110mm, and width 93mm, . The next stop was Kahawai Pointy for a 30. minute dive to 50 ft, and here my only success was a Turritriton tabulatus exaratus -again, a worn shell. The final dive of the day was at the Sugarloaf,a large rock emerging from 400 ft. The treeless outcrop is covered with the droppings from a large ^,nne1i colony ^hence the naraeo There was a heavy swell running and the surge at 50ft, was bad^ I found no shells but succeeded in catching two crayfish. Looking for shells is a difficult thing to do at this island;the sponges, algae, seaweeds and corals cover every inch of rock so that amid the biasing colours, shells are lost. The next day saw the first dive at Aorangaia Is. The only shells seen here were heavily encrusted Morula chaidea. The second dive was planned for Serpent Pock but along th© way we encountered a school of hundreds of dolphins, so it was a quick scramble over the side to get an undersea view of 100 these incredible creatures* For over an hour wo strain jdivod and played with the dolphins, managing to got about four feet from them before they would turn. After the dolphin’ ' finally moved on, a tired boatload of happy divers cdLambered aboard* Having seen the bottom from the top( surface) , we asked the Captain for a depth sounding^ the rep,ly_ was- ar> -incredible ’240ft . I ~ T4 O'’ The third ^d final dive of the day was at the Northern ibrch for a 50mira_,d^ivqtto..40ftl . Tlie only two shells to' be' seen alive were tvro Morula, one chaidea and one palmeri both in excellent condition* It was a fun trip back to the mainland i’ri.th the Captain falling asleep at the \7h'-Ql, three times _ Arc K Davm of, the final day was clear in contrast to the previCTUs two days* The first dive was at the Pinnacles. I had roanhed the conclusion that after two days of such good luck Trith shells,! would come away empty handed but fortunately I was xvrong. After being distracted for • ' some time by a Morey eol,I looked across to ray buddy who was now about 60fteaway,so I sTrram quickly to catch up with him wliilo glancing inr-o cracks and caves for shells or crayfish, small hole w; To my astonishment , sitting in a CvO Cw co*>rrio-'iyncina vitollus-. I plucked it out and having caught up to my buddy,put the shell into a glovy for safe keeping. NocdJLcss to say 5 1 looked into every other crack I could find»nothjing was to be found until I came across a hole b^’istling xfith feelers - crayfish,- big ones-. After a long struggle,! had bagged throe and my air was getting lov^jso it was time to surface. Back on board the boat ! showed my buddy what ! had found and. ho said, " Oh ,1^ those are quite rare, ! have found only 11 since ! have boon diving hcrc'[.. On further questioning,! learned that once 'ho* had soon six live and five freshly dead Lyncina ^/itel?-us in one cave. Ho' ’took only the dead specimens. Since then, ho had taken six others, from different locations around the Poor Knights - three alive,. No stayed at the same location for the next dive and tliis was ’ the only one during the v^ookend when ! came up empty liandod. The final dive for the weekend was back at the Sugar loaf, j'igain, there x-j-as a bad surge and apart from getting myself temporarily s'ijuok in a holegihilo looking for crayfish, the only interesting things to bo found v/ere two shells of Naimat e a ob s r. ira. , one br-exm and one orange, both complete xzith pinlc protoccnchs - a nice way to end the ■ , ^ highly interesting x^eekend. loT " T • ^ N POOR KNIG.Ht'S ISLANDS . \ s ITBIS of I1']TEREST Living Cyclomactra tristis;:. at Foxton - IT, Douglas In the afternoon of 26th, April, I98O, George Rigden and I walked along the hi^i tide line for about half a mile northward at Foxton Seach, Some of the shells we saw cast ashore were as follows § tuatua^both the southern form and the northern,but the southern larger and more plentiful. One whole Toheroa vras ashore and both Dosinis anus and Spisula aequilateralis were there in hundreds. Both Mactra disc or s and Mactra murchisoni were xfaBhed up and, a big surprise, Cyclomactra tristis in good ccndition (valves joined). The question then arose - where had these come from ? ¥ere they living in the ocean beach and in the surf ? It seemed most unlikely, yet here they were, and fresh. After giving the matter some thought, we desided to back track and investigate the ifejiawatu River which discharges into the sea at about one mile south of our position. On the west side of the boat ramp in the river, a black mud area vras noted. Here we found that the recent flood had vrashed avray the river bank and with it,thr Cyclomactra tristis. Wo found them there in good numbers, both dead and alive. The shells measured up to TOmmein lengtho The Vanisliing Sea Anemones - Jacqui Forbes (junior member) One day Mrs. Douglas put us off at Kariotahi Gap,a party of four -Mirni, Michcll , Mr .Douglas and mo. We vralked about x km.to the Sea ilndmone's cave There were large green, white, and purple sae anemones. When Mr, Douglas went back to have a look three weeks later, the anemoB&Sw had vanished. Some time later a storm came and covered the area where the anemoiiocJ had boon but about a month later the sand was washed away again and the sea anemones had appeared again. Thais orbit a - from Gv^enda Henderson These shells have always interested me but I have not been able to get very much information on them, probably because they are so common. As far as I can see, the round smooth ones and the tall' coarse ones do 1 Hit together ( TutukaJea ,'\Thangaruru Harbour and Coopers Beach),’ ' h r-*- ; but the spiral cords may not be as ooarso as the coarsest ones. It seeras,themore brovm colour the smoother the sculp'trure and the smaller the adult shell, but even this does not always apply# In April 1978,1 vras shell collecting north of TThangaruru South, on the Whangaruru Harbour and came across a large colony of Thais orb it a. There were hundreds all crowded on the rocks for about I5 to 20 metres .As I vrent further up harbour they dvrindled out to an average of half a dozen, mostly full adults under ledges etc. The colony contained juveniles of 20mm. to adults 80mm,of the coarse sculptvired tall form, pure white in colour, and 102 juveniles of 20min,to adults 5Qnun of the rounded fonnj smooth sculptured and chocolate hrovm in colour along with all the in "between sizes and shades of "brown to golden cream , including some mottled and speckled, , Only the coarse white (no "brown^even on protoconch) were larger than 50mm. and the majority of the smaller specimen's had some "brox-m in them, I do not know if they are there permanently as I had not searched that area "before nor have I "been back again. Tliiis was the first time I had over seen a colony of brown T, orbit a like this before - enly. she 11s washed. up on ocean beaches. There were barnacles on the rocks. but no .cign of mussels. The rocks were fairly bare and shells very clean. The area is exposed to the north;. I collected 30 shells to cover as wide a range of colour ^ sculpture and size as possible. It did not seem that environment or food could be responsible for the different sizes, sculpture or colour in this one colony, ( Large colonies of brown and mottled examples occur at Maori Bay,Ihiriwai Meet Coast ,Auckland| Perhaps members could let I-trs. Render son know of theiro;m observations on this species, Ed.) A "^isit to Rat Tail Reef ,Suva;Fiji Is.' - Joan Burgess My friend, Heather Roylance,of the Fiji Shell Club, invited me to join the club members on a visit to Joske’s Reef, We ar river at Tradevn.nds Hot el, our departure point, just before 11. 30am .and boarded the J Sundowner' ,a 27ft .high speed diesil launch used mostly for diving groups. Joske'-s Reef, the venue for the day is known as the best ' Coin?ie'reof close to Suva but high winds the night before made the conditions outside the reef too rough, so it w as doeided to go to Rat Tail reef instead. This lies outside the harbour entrance and after eating a hurried lunch and denning our shelling gear, we reached our destinationj-the assembled company dressed in the latest slieller's fashion gear -reef boots, long socks, short shorts, hats and sunglasses and clutching buckets , crowbars, prodders, knives etcjwere ferried to the reef in a punt in relays. We stopped about I5 yds, from the shore and then it was 'over the side' ,up to our vraists in water and a wade through the coral to the shore. Heather, our leader set up the flag close to the boat and announced that leaving time was 3P«m, Everyone hurried away to search, keeping as far as possible from each other in order not to turn the same rock over tvrice. My progress was very slowolwas fascinated by the bright little fish in the sandy pools, the water gusliing through the channels in the reef , the many coloured coral forms and above all, the glorious peace of the reef vrith the warm wind sun bathing us all. Heather was knee deep in water searching for tiny elusive ' Cowies' which 103 roquiros good eyesight and patience. She was rewarded hy finding several :•*' species s,new to her collection. The hours passed only too quickly and soon we heard the whistle recalling us to the flag marker. Plodding figures vrLth buckets and plastic hags of ' Goodies* 5 ooiiverged on the flag and in a short time the punt ferried us all hack to the boat, I had found about a dozen Cypraea -carneola^cribraria^teres and one Isabella, I picked up a number of Cones ^mostly tulipa, textile and raarmoreus. My nicest find was a beautiful fluted clam,Tridacna maxima 9 only 4 inches long and a delicate clear yellow in colour. This was voted the 'shell of the day*. On the trip back we ate the rest of our foodjravenously,! must confess and then showed off our treasures to each otherc Although I did not find my elusive 'Golden Cowrie* (Cypraea auriantium) ,I have a wonderful few hours to remember when I return home to New Zealando How often are the beaches of the far North quite bare 1 Andrew Spurgeon ,a Junior member from VJhangarei had sharp eyes when he was up Noorth during the May holidays and sent in the following list of shells collected^ Spirits Bay? Agnewia trit oniformis Morula smithi Cominella virgata brookesi Jfnthlna globosa Latia neritoidos . Succin^a archeyi /inadara trapezia Tsub fossil) To Huka^west of Tom Bowling Bay| Maurea punctulata Jantliina violacea A exigua Muricopsis espinosus marian Melanopsis trifasciata Capo Maria Van Diomong Monodilopas diemononsis Sigapatella surpostos Astroa heliotropium Gadinalia oonira Gomphina maorum Acar sariiorsonao Tawera spissa Rliytida duplicate Jantliina globosa A violaoea Zegalerus terraenovae Notoacmea pileopsis cellanoides Buplicaria floxicostata Vonericardia reinga Cardita brookesi A aoteana Talabrica bellula (4 half valves) Survlllo Cliffs? (Land snails) Delos Cordelia Liarea aupouria tara Cytora pallida Mt ,Unuwliao; (Land snails) Sorpho kivi Cytora ampla Liarea aupouria aupouria I also found a few species of Placost;/lus snails and some other shells that I liavo not identified, yet « Phenacohelix liholoidea 1C4 NOTES FROM KIJKOJRil Bo Elliott Having covered Kaikoura's two most interesting groups of shells jtho Limpets and the Chit 621s, in previous articles,! now turn to some of the other species that can he' found in this area. First of all, Land Snails, Kaikoura is the home of Nainuia fallai, which is widespread in this district and heyond. If ¥ , edwardi ( Sut er ) and ¥, fallai Povrell are the same (and I cannot tell the difference) , they range at least from Ashley Gorge in the ''=*uth,to Ward in the north, a distance of about 140 miles, with Mt«Pyffe at Kaikoura being the most well known locality for them Roughly speaking, W,f '^wardi ::fcs:_;.£oiuiid.mor&3o the south and .gr^gws , t o- ,a larger, -size ,buk^in ^r^Iity yji's^-oga :^p my • ¥ard in 'the h6’rth(35™i) jwi'th several es;amples from i'it /Pyffe 'dnly ‘‘a liLlIimetre or two smaller, while my largest one from Ashley Gorge in the south, is a more 25mm, Mt,Pyffe,type locality for the ' smaller' fallai, gets the prize for the largest specimen of all, a magnificent 39ram» snail picked up by friends of mine - talk about beginner's luck., Nainuia fallai is found on Mt.Pyffo from the lower bushlin . about 700ft, to above Mt,Pyffe Hut at 4OOOFT, Rhytida c,f ,stephenenj3isPowell ,is found on the Kaikoura coast from Blue Buck C'-’''- k to Naipapa Bay, but Rgmeesoni ( porampla? ) is rare in this area, two specimens being found along vrith Nainuias on Mt.Fyffe,and several at Ilason River on the road from ICailcoura to ¥aiau,some 35n'iilGS from Kaikoura, Hero on Kaikoura peninsula , our old enemy Helix aspersa is common, along with the smaller introduced Helioella caperata « With native bush limited to throe tiny remnants at the tip of the Peninsula, it is not- surprising that small native snails are scarce, and extensive searching has revealed only a dozen of so species,-- Shell-sand gathered on 'the Peninsula has yielded, among other species, Nozeba emarginata,Zacl:n; sarisse ,Bolicrossea vesaa( one) , Margins 11a cairoma, Liraoraea epentroma ,Chemnitzia zelandica,Austrosarepta trapezina,Costokidderia lyallensiSj'V'ertioipronus mytilus and Notolepton sanguineura? also numerous Lcuconopsis obsolete and Suterilla neozolanica ,two.kj.gh. tidal species which should be easy to find alive, but have proved annoyingly elusive. Under low tidal rocks arc Thoristella chathamensis cookiana,Herpetapoma bella,and pure white Buccinulum ,kaikouraons o , Two larger Buccinulum species inhabit rock crevices at extreme low tide, the whitish pallidum, and striped sufflatum doc or at urn. Mele^ ~‘aphia aethiops are common on intertidal rocks, fine, large specimens often groi-Jing to 30nim? A single Nerita molanotragus found alive on the south side of the Peninsula, is probably a southern record for this species , For the collector who likes a good meal after a hard day's shelling, there are magnificent Haliotis pjris up to 6-^nches in length, at extreme low tide in rocky areaso At least, there used to be. Nowadays, the over - 105 _g£NIQM nOMPt^i WATFR OFF Kaikouba, South kfi;&0L.’3A i , ^ ^ \^ A^y'- .-f , . •- * • V . Jr T * -f f ir..' '^ ' -•■./''It ^.V ■^' v-’y, t. f‘»'ji ftwi *y ' *':i' 14; 1^ A*’ /■^ A ^>f * t. A- i Lu ^ , - 'iiv'-J ife*- .'■* XI ’'SSs'* if *- % »A* , ¥ S-- Oit^C » ' ■ - U, ^‘r •'5 »,„i < »v yii V f" ; •i f .** ■ « f ^ •rr*l i *. % * ,>j^ ■ f ^ '■ I ;■ iV..-^ii>- jati- f . - ;ut ^ j* * ^c«* « • iUftf'iSCt JBuiv^ji^.’*■l- *»♦ ^ . 4ite ;; , " *1 '.■^ ! ■ '* ■ «* . ■^‘’VV,>-c. -*'.#*• • /' 1 .L ; ■ /'t O'. ■ > 4.m ^ ;■ ^ r?5 .U ‘ CJ 4;^i if. increasing mmlDer of commercial paua divers ^are taking a toll of this species# Another species that suffers at their hands is the common SeaUrchin^Evochinus chloroticus. One sometimes finds piles of these smashed to pieces on the rocks « However I have managed to find two beautiful specimens fully seven inches across, which I have preserved for my collection. The smaller and rarer Pseudochinus sp, found occasionally in rock crevices at low tide ,grows to only two inches and is not likely to ho disturhed# My know lodge of deepwater shells from Kaikoura is limited, I have had some very promising contacts among the local fishermen hut nothing came of it. Deep water shells from off Kaikoura(not all represented in ray ovm collection)includo Ostrea angasi,Tahunanuia alta,Chlamys delicatula,Astraea holiotropium ,]\Iaurea tigris ,M.pellucida ,Xenophalium pyrum ^Stmthiolaria papulosa , Austrofusus glanSjA.chathamehsiSjPusitriton laudandumjColuzoa spiralis, Poirioria zelandica ,Ponion ormosi ,Alcithoo' arahica ,A,calva ,Iredalina aurantia ,Phenatoma rosea. Recently one of the fishermen did keep his promise, and presented me with a hag of 16 live token Fusitrit on and a magnificent /mtlcred Crah, Latreillopsis potterdi. After four years of disappointment s,I was overvrhelmed that this new contact should he so generous. And that crah measures 25inches across \iith its legs outspread. Other deep water crahs found off Kaikoura are Leptomithrag longimanus,Naxia huttoni and Petalomera 'VTilsonrl Bits of these sometimes wash ashore, Occasional small juveniles of L,longimanus are found uMer low tidal rocks, hut in deep water, they grow to a large size - the one I have vfould he I5 inches if its legs were fully extended. Among the two dozen or so species of crahs found around the Peninnul:. are the tliree species of half-crah ,Petrolisthes ,wliich have only tliree pairs of legs instead of four as in other crahs, P.elongatus ' is common under interdidal rocks, as it is throughout New Zealand, and the rare P.spinosus and tiny P.novaezelandiao can he found under extreme low tidal rocks. The lobster krill ,tlunida r.,rogaria washes ashore from time to time, sometimes in quantities. Sometimes the sea takes on a pinkish hue, when viewed from our home on top of the Peninsula and we believe that this ray he because vast quantities of Krill are present. Exploring under a boat- shed, south of Kaikoura,! thrilled to find that a fisherman had dumped a very large siciraming crah , Ovalipes xunctatus ,4-|~ inches across the carapace. As I have a broken nipper off one even larger, it would he . interesting to know just how big this species grows. Two species of star-fish are moderately common around Kaikoura - the seven armed star ,Ast rest ole scahra,and the attractive brooch star,Astorodonc- dilatatus. Pour species of brittle stars are sometimes found under low tidal rocks - Ophionereis fasciata,Pectinuragracilis,Opliiomyxa hrovirima and Qphiocoma hollonsi. Occasionally found, arethe reef star,Stichaster australis, the dividing stars ,A1 lost ichaster, polyplax and A.insignis, the common cushion star Patriolla regularis,and a single specimen of the rarer cushion star Stegnaster inflatus, c TTJLs last one is a source of some frustration, as it lives 12 or 15 inches below lov: tide in a very narrow orovice, where I have seen it many times hut have not been able to figure out a way of procuring it for my collection 106 VHiGn I oaxae to Kaikoura four years agOjI was iraprossod "by the profusion of Sea slugs living around the Peninsula. Now^however very seldom see any ^ Orie rarity that I thought was going to ho quite common herejis Lamollaiia cerehroides. Within the first few months 5I found four or five of these, the largest containing a beautiful shell 2-5 mm. across, but since then, I have seen no more. Other Sea slugs seen here inclulde the large brovm Sea Hare Trthys brunnea,Bouvioria ornata ,Archidoris wollingtonensis,Pleurobranchaea novae: zelandiae , P.h.granulosa,Aphelodoris luctuosa,Dendrodoris c it r ina , At agema carinata (one only^Aeolid-a ;:racilis,Aeolidia leptosoma,and what may have been Phidiana milit aria, discussed in a previous ar.tical.' 'Poirieria' ,Vol.8 ,Pt .6,Pg.97< Bivalves at Kaikoura are generally poor, both in size and variety, but one specimen, safe in the shelter of a kelp holdfast , grew to an exceptional size and remained in excellent condition. This was a Modiolus areolatus f found washed up at South Bay in September 19T7* ( The drawing of the open valves is a little larger than natural size,due to the angle on which it is drawn. ‘but the other illustration is accurate,) Kaikoura is an interesting place for birds, It is not easy to combine the tvro hobbies - to look doim by your feet for shells, and at the same time to be looking away into the distance for lirds. Expensive binoculars are quite . a handicap when one wants to squeeze into an awkward crevice half full of surging sea water ,to look for shells. The nesting colonies of Red Billed Gulls and IHiite Fronted Terns on the Peninsula , are an attraction during November and December , likewise nesting BlacldBillod Gulls in the nearby Kowhai River. It was the numerous groups of Turnstones on the Peninsula( erroneously identitied as Black Fronted Dotterals in a previous article - Poirieria Vol.8,Pt.6,Page 97) which first stimulated my interest in birds. They can be seen almost any time, even during the winter when they are supposed to have migrated to Siberia. Other migrants sometimes seen here are Asiatic VJliimbrel and Siberian Tattler, while local residents include Cape Pigeons, Giant Petrels and vast flocks of liitton's Sheart'rat er . On nearby Lake Roroiti and Rotorua, the commoner birds include nesting colonies of Pied, Black and Little Shags, while the rarer birds seen there include Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and Marsh Cralce, Seals can always be seen on the Peninsula, ranging from a scattered few in the summer to many hundreds in the colder months. One can often approach very closely to those fascinating animals, but I found it does not pay to be too casual in their presenco. Ihore is always the occasional grumpy old male who is not gowing to give way to you, and you had better not argae with him for the right of wayl I One day, among the ordinary dark brown seals, there was one wliich was a light golden-brovrn,with pinkish-brown nose, eyes and ears. Only once have I seen a Sea Leopard on the Peninsula , and twice, a small Sea Elephant, Last,but certainly not least jan enormous male Sea Elephant, 18 or 20 feet in length, and with a big bulbous nose. I always had a feeling I might bump into one while I was going along with my head down, looking for shells. Fortunately, on this occasion,! was going along vrith my head up, looking for birds, and so I saw him first - and what a magnificent sight he was. 107 I JLAM£LLA\LA CER£SRQiPgy_ (AlKOURA^jS^tilNSVLA^.^.^ s >?> V/^ffv|tJiA PALLAi_ MT. F^rFE^_JCAlKQl>RA^ Hat-upal size — ^JC2±tlt ZTMIS of IIJTIEEST P;araplianta; Trevor Worthy ■writes - "On looking at the literature I find that the' rcosiana’ series has a patchy distribution through Southland and up the West Coast to reach its northernmost point on the Millerton Plateau north of Westport. Last Christmas I was on the Speleological Society' s Xmas expedition to Mt .Arthur, At 4000kd; , , just above the bushline in the headt-faters of the Leslie River (above the Pearce River Resergence)on the East slope of Mt./irthur, I found two recently dead Paryphanta. These had strong colour radials and faint spiral striae on the dorsal surface. They were 34 and 36mm, in greatest diameter and have been identified as P.rossiana patrickensis. In the same locality, at a lower altitude, typical P, (Powelliphanta) hochstetteri v;ere found* 108 WELLINGT01I» S HTTROHJCE]) PULI-IONATES R.C.Willan I resided in Wellington for eleven months during 1979 I98O, Over the last seven months of that time, I surveyed the distribution of the introduced pulmonates,hoth snails and slugs, around the city and suburbs. I'To similar surveys have been undertalcen in the other major cities of New Zealand. One could expect differences between cities according to their location, size, pat terns of development , climate and vegetation types, b^ellington is a good starting place because the urban area is small, there are numerous suburbs, each separated by geographic barriers and the climate is (notoriously)wct and cool. About 20 species of terrestrial pulmonates have been introduced to New Zea landfall are of European origin. Most are confined to disturbed areas of grassland. Nowadays so much of New Zealand has been converted to pasture, these habitats comprise the bulk of the country. And the cities and farms ar*e still expanding. Only the introduced snail Cochlicopa lubrica and slug ^'irion interraedius seem capable of penetrating the indigenous forests and living -alongside native species. The tiger slug (Limax maximus) is able to penetrate into bush remnants and forest margins. The accompanying figjre illustrates all the species of snails and slugs I have found in Wellington. The identitio of the slugs have recently been clarified by Barker (1979)* MET HODS This survey obtained information on species’ presence and alxindance, I usually visited gardens of friends (Table l),to do my searching. One hour was spent hunting for snails and slugs. Usually, my friends did not object to the disruption, or rather destruction of their gardens but most ware reluctant to actually look with me so this time represents one man hour's searching. Most locations examined vrere bcfi/aen 0.5 hectares in area. All the slugs and snails located were collected, and they vrere counted at the end of the hour, A quantitative scale of abundance was applied so that the number found at any one site could be related to densities in other a?ea,s. The scale used is as follows^ Abundant (A) Comr:*on (C) Frequent (f) Occasional(O) Rare (R) more than 50 found per hour Or- ' n 10-24 5-9 Less than 4 found Represent it ive specimens x^e re preserved and have been deposited in the National Museum’s molluscan collection. 109 RESULTS Seven species of introduced pulmonates were found, tliree were snails and four were slugs. The species are listed belowi Helix aspersa (l^Iuller, 1774) Helicella caperata (Montagu, I803) Cxychilus cellarius (Muller ,1774) Arion intermedius Hormand ,1852 MilaK gagates (Lraparnaud,l801 ) Per oc eras panormitanum (Lossoma A Pollonera,--^882) Small marsh slug Per PC eras reticulatum (l/[Liller5l774) Netted slug Garden snail Wrinkled snail Cellar snail Hedgehog slug Black keelhack slug TABLE 1 5 Locations sam^^led for introduced pulmonates. Localities are numbered from north to south. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8 Heist on Rd, ,Paparangi,Johnsonville. I2/4/8O 34 Brooker Grove jNewlands, I9/4/8O 5 Imlay Crescent ,Ngaio. 8/6/8O 52 Hobson Street jThomd on 7/8/8O ■177 Thorndon Quay, Thomdon, 7/6/8O 11 Eancourt Street, Karori. 3/5/8O Footpath beside Cliinese Embassy, Kelbum -/12/79 3 Konini Rd, ,Hataitai, 22/3/8O and 13/4/80 56 Calibar Rd, ,Rongotai I/6/8O 88 Sidlaw St , ,Stratlimoreo 3/5/8O .229 Marine Parade ,Worsor Bay, Seat oun. I/6/8O Foreshore ,rocks at western end of Houghton Bay, 28/5/8O Island Bay Marine Research Laboratory, I/6/8O 110 TiiBLE 2 ? Density data for introduced pulraonates in areas surveyed at . "‘■i.. to Wellington, X = species not found at that site. Areas 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Species Helix aspersa il C F A X A A XL A A A • C . li Helicella caperata X X X X X X •\r A X X e X 0(5) X Cxychilus cellarius Tr V JV X R(2)R(1) X A X X X - X X F i\r i on int erraediu s E(4)H(2) X C X X X X A X- X X X Hilax gagates TT A c X X 0(6) X 0(8) X ■X X X X F Deroceras panorrait anum X X X X CR(1) c A E(1) A X C Deroceras reticulatura E(2) X X X R(1 )r(1 ) F c X-: E(1) X X X at horac ophor ids R(4) X X X X E(1) E(2)0(5) X E(2) X X X — — — . . . . — . . . . The densities of these pulraonates in the areas surveyed are given in Table 2, I have included the actual nuraher found, in brackets where a species was designated as occasional or rare, I have also included data on the c . occr of native athoroacophorid slugs (probably Athor ac ophorus bitentaculatus) since they were frequently found in the sarae habitats as the introduced pulraonates. DiSCUSSIOW Most of the species of introduced pulraonates found by me around Wellington are widespread tlu?oughout ITew Zealand (Helix aspersayQsychilus cellariu5,Deroceras panormitanura,D(,reticulatum,i'irion interraedius and Mlax gagates) , Helicella caperata is patchily distributed in the Worth Island only, and then mainly in coastal locations, I did not find Liraax raaximus on this survey but the species does exist in Wellington as there are specimens in the national I'hiseum from Waenae , Tliorndon and Netrtown, Barker (lS'7h ) bas not included any Wellington locations for L, raaximus, yet he does record Lehmamia flava» In the absence of specimens of Lehmamia flava from the Wellington region, in either this survey or. the, national Museum,! wonder if Barker misidentified Limax raaximus as Lelraiamia flava ? 111 Wellirigton*s Introduced PulmonateB» FIGURES ; 1 Helix aspersa (from Smith & Kershaw 1979) 2 Oxychllue cel lari us (from Janus 1965) ^ Helicella cape rata (from Janus 1965) 4 Ml lax gagates (from Janus 1965) 5 Umax maximus (from Barker 1979) 6 Arion intermedius (from Janus 1965) 7 Deroceraa reticula turn (from Barker 1979) 8 f)pi'r.r#»'rao rtitnormi tanum (from Smith & Kershaw 1979) \ . . {^^1 vBffaYsJ^ A v‘' - ;. ^ 5ri«^V* “ foard'#:ib;T ‘ ‘^'V - ij^l- •' 'j,t^*^.. -A'*' • *»• -V'[. V L:r-' . ■^'•< '•■' J^' '•• • ■ ... 7 ■* V ^-^5 »? I JT'^I vV-A;^. :^iiCir-. -iSik . .7^ ’.- (• , ftiei vBrfals’i ^ .rfi hKif- at«l) 4UiAa:tisrtcr-?« A*. .’ ;,. ,^~V , . ...-■-' fj ■•<’ .- : • V- ;et»« .U(*« ' i ^ihii J^ti) •*USHSiisS « ", . .'* # X* -' * I “ . "••'*1, ;^4r*^' ^ ’g, V wp- 1 j. A j ctf^JLtlg . C ^ ‘ i n\ Li5sl*'*™*#f at: ; ■ - ...~: — - ! ••WI I^JC 4^1 "*385Jp®5?t. f '^iMi — '•- »♦ •'^I -: m%t my^X) 1^<:a1s ^ t ‘ V ■' ' '"^’ »'.w.«3»> 1 Jltr^ a^rtt) axj **■»•• »/i d Three introduced pulmonates that are'conmon elsewhere in the North Island do not appear to he present jet in ITellington, They are the slug /xTion ' ^ hortensis , and the snails Cochlioopa luhrica and rallonia excentrica^ Neither did I find Lauria cylindracea ncr Vertigo spp. , both of which have been reported on one or two occasions from the Auckland province. I was surprised at- the paucity of species and individuals of these puLmonatos. At no locality was every species present. Five was the greatest number of species found together (at Strathmore). The average number of species per locality was only 2.85. At the site at Ng-aio,a thorough search of a likely garden by two investigators revealed only Hellg aspersa. From my experience, it would appear that species diversity and density are higher in Auckland, By contrast, in Sydney recent ly,I found nine species of introduced pulmonates in one garden at Engadinojthat was at the end of a warm wet autumn. These were| Helix aspersa, Cncychilus alliarius,Vallonia pulchella, Cochlioella acuta, Hilax gagates ,Beroceras panormit anum , B. ret iculatum , Limax maximus, Lehmamia f lava, and L.nyctelia. To consider the distribution of the individual species of slugs and snails within Nellington itself,! have grouped my sampling sites into four general geographical areasc Sites 1to3 constitute the "northern suburbs", sites 4 to 7 constitute the "Central city" areajsites 8 to 11 constitute . "Miramar Peninsula" ^aiid-v .sites 12 and 13 constitute the "south coast "suburbs. Helix aspersa- was the most vridespread and consistently found species, and it occurred in the greatest range of habitats. Helicella caperata occurred in patches on Miramar peninsula and the south coast, CXychilus cellar ius had a patchy distribution too, being found in the central city and south coast, but not in the northern suburbs or Miramar peninsula. Aribn intermedius vras present in the northern suburbs and Miramar Peninsula. Milax gagates was -id.de spread, but never numerous jit was apparently absent from Miramar Peninsula, Derocera.s panormit anum was ubiquitous, like H. aspersa but appeared to be absent from, the northern suburbs, Deroceras ret iculatum was widespread, and again never numerous, and was not found on the south ooast. Native athoracophorid slugs were vddespreadj they probally do occur on the south coast in suitable habitats even though I did not find them there. There is little doubt tliat the distribution of some of these species in Nellington is more extensive than that suggested by my survey. In fact. Helix aspersa, Deroceras panormitanum and D. ret iculatum are probably ubiquitous. My survy did reveal the tremendous importance of miorohabitats in the distribution of the species. For exam pie, consider the differences between two neighboiiring sections of land, - . - • . • ■ . - * L ■■^ite "4 was a mature , extensively planted gardenf while site 5 on the side of one ot the city's busiest roads. It consisted of a wasteland of grave 1, off cut s of wood, scraps of cardboard and fabric and herbicide- resistant weeds surrounding a factory. These two areas were contiguous and not 112 separated "by any physical harriers. ITo slugs could he found at site 4? and Ilclio: aspersa was classed as frequent. At site 5 three species, of slugs were found and Helix aspersa as abundant. It would appear that the densities of these introduced pulmonateSjand hence likelihood of the species heing found, is more related to the type of nicrohahitat than the geographical location of the area. The' first species to colonise very frequently disturbed rural, or newly-created urban habitats are Helix aspersa, Deroceras panormitanum,!). retioulatum ,llilax gagat es and probably Cxycliilus cellarius. More stable areas with growing vegetation that is producing considerable shade, are likely to suit /irion int ermedius , Umax majiims and Qxychilus cellarius as well as Helix aspersa, Deroceras panoriaitamm and D.reticulatum. Mature sections • ere ofland covered by scrub and reverting to forest , appear inimical to most of these "tramp" species (although Helix aspersa persists) and favour instead re-: v establishment of indigenous pulmonates (particularly athoracopliids). It is pleasing to notethe presence of these native slugs, I found athoracophorids- in man^ modified habitats (even in establishrb; gardens right in the centre- af- the city). However, they do require shede, moisture and • undisturbed decaying wood. On several occasions I found -species of small*, native snails (endodontids) as Vfell,in similar, and sometimes more disturbed, habit at s , showing that they too are persisting successfully in Wellington city.- ACK2I0WLEIGMEI1TS Most people were -only too willing to invite me into their gardens to rid them' of slugs and snails. To these friends I an most grateful^ Df ,P,M,C?-lm'* Mr,CaPaulinj Mr„J,Paynter; hr.JoH.Hichardson^ Mrs.P.Stonham; Mr.M.Wicks, REFERHl'ICES Darker, G.M, 1972* The introduced slugs of Nevr Zealand (Pulmonat as Gastropoda; N.Z, Journal of Zoology 6 | 41 1-437 » JAilUS, H. 19^5* A Young Specialist Loolcs at Land and Freshwater Molluscs. Burke Publ, Co, , -London. 180 pp. SMITH, L.J. . Field Guide to the Non-Marine Molluscs of South Eastern Australia. Australian national University Press, Canberra. 285pp* 113 rrSE.IS of MEREST E*rr*Gaxdner 5 - Tlie Cook Is lands, lying as tiiej'- do towards tlie outer edge of the eastern distributional ra2f]ge of many Indo Pacific molluscs, has a somewhat megre fauna, but a few species occur in large colonies e.g«5^itliium asper, Strombus gibberulus andS e mut ab i lis . Hermit crabs make good use of the empty shells and miriads of these species housing attractive red and white hermits, ^;ere seen congregating under stones between tides on Aitutaki, Locally, Cypraea annulus characteristic of the area, was quite common and there were numbers of Conus miliar is,Irifga grossularia,Tectarius grandi-:;.t.^-as: ^ Ekgina aidorea (Reeve) ,usually an uncommon shell, was plentiful on Rarotongao) One species of Patella was seen on Aitutaki, Patella flezuosa Q & G. , living on rugged mid tidal rocks. With the molluscs seated neatly dovm, often half an inch below the surrounding rock surf ace, it was quite difficult to remove a specimen intact, but where the animal had been in contact mth the rocky surface, a smooth pale greenish area was left. As most limpets forage for food, these must have had a rather rough passage if they attempted to go far from their own particular ’home’ ,even though the surrounding water would give some bouyancy. It would seem that these specimens might just raise themselves up when the tide covered them and obtain small amounts of algae from the water. Night collecting in the Tropics is often full of surprises and even a walk along the sandy coast one evening, proved quite interesting. l>lid tidal rocks which, during daylight harboured little besides Nerita. plicata,Iiad - numbers of large mottled, grey Nerita polita perched up on top and around the bases. All the shells had a little cap of sand on top, just as we had seen them in Queensland , but there it was a common and variously coloured shell among rocks in broad daylight.. The shells of two Pyramadellids , Ot Opleura mitralis(A.Adams) and P;^/ramidella sulcata ( A, Adams ), were washed up along the tideline near the Mot el, but it was only at night they could be found crawling on the sand- flat at low tide. The Ot opleura were in pairs -male and female perhaps?. Both these molluscs have ho radula and feed by suclcing the juices of marine creatures , probably worms ,in this case, A few slim black and white sea snakes were seen during the day and when disturbed in ali£iibvr water, shot into the sandy mud and wriggled along just beneath the surface leaving a trail, so we thought twice before investigating the ends of any likely looking trails at night . The most plentiful mollusc li-'/ing on the local reef was 'Trochus niloticus in all stages of growth. Over ten years ago two 40 gallon drums of this species had been brought over from Fiji Is, and released onto the reefs. While vre were there, some local families had made the first harvest of adult shells and had to remove the animals and clean all growths off the shells - quite an undertakingl First class shells were to bring 300 dollars a tonne, ■ 114— and the villagers aimed at dealing mth 30 tonnes. The adult shells in this area were heavily enciu^ed with a lime deposit which had to he chipped off with a hammer and chisel, hut amazingly enough,it usually came off in chunks, leaving a perfect shell beneath. On the opposite side of the main island the shells did not seem to he of quite such high quality, as the spires of many shells had heen hbibed hy horers. Many, very ^ young specimens of Troclius niloticus were seen under stones" on the reefs of the small islands (Motus) ,xdiich dotted the outer reef of ' the large and heautiful lagoon at Aitutaki. The few large specimens that we saw had fine clean shells covered i-d.th light hrown periostracura wMch gave good protection to the hriglrfc- pink and white layer of siiell beneath it, - ■ Ilamish Spencer 5 -Schizhglossa from Great Barrier Island',' In the third week of November I9OO, I made a short visit to I’Jliangaparapara on the 'West coast of Great Barrier Id,, and made several searches for land snails « The ’hush' around Ifhangaparapara has heen severely modified, first ly,hy the logging of all the Kauri and since then hy goats wlaich have eaten much of the regenerating vegetation. The resulting lack of undergrowth allows the wind to blow straight through the hush, even some distance inland and up valleys. It is thus very dry - not the best for snails. However, in places where it vras damp, under logs and in fallen Nikau frmnds, I did fin^. some snails, Surprisingly,one of the commonest was Schizoglossa novoseelandica harrierensis Powell, the carnivorous paua slug endemic to great Barrier, Usually, Schizoglossa does not occur in any great numbers where it is found - perhaps the more open hush suits it better? It is also unusual to find a carnivore so common, when its supposed prey, other snails, is less common than usual. The individuals showed a great range in size - shell size ranged from 51™ •‘to 20ram. ,the latter vrithaa 50i™»a'nimal when extended. One specimen was noted with a group of 7 or 8 white eggs under a fallen ponga. ‘The shells o^ dead animals often got stuck under clumps of a cutty grass,Galmia,so it was not necessary to take any lining animals. One question that arises is, 'why sliould harrierensis he a subspecies of S, novoseelandica rather than the geographically closer S.worthyae? (see Gardner, 1977 ^Bor a map showing their distributions). Great Barrier Id, grid the Coromandel Peninsula were once linked and it is S,worthyae wliich occurs on the Coramandels, not S, novoseelandica. Reference; Gardner,N.G, 1977 ' ■ j S.worthyae Coromandel Peninsula -13mm. - 'Schizoglossa -Our Paua Slug",'Poirioria"Vol,8 , S,rl,harrierensis Ngangaparapara, -l8mm, 115 Part 6,pp1 12-114* • .A \ S,n« novoseelandica Waikato -12mm, liitA'i in i; .•63P * vo(i;r.^t^ - :. J- 1 O ;• AMNH LIBRARY 0020 12 CONTENTS Page The Pterotyphis eos eos (Hutton) wash-up at Paihia in 1969» R*A» Cumber 94 Buccinulun colens oi (Suter) G, A, Foreman 95 Sun, Sea. Air, and Shelling. Recolections of Aitutaki and Rarot onga. Sept ember 21st- October 6th,1980. C, Grange 96 Oneroa,Nailceke Island M.Morley 99 Diving at Poor Knights Islands T • Cunningham 100 Items Of Interest? Iiactra( Cyclomactra)ovata tristisRid^e N. Douglas 102 Vanishing Sea ilnemones J, Forbes 102 Thais t rhita (Gmelin) G. Henderson 102 A Visit to Rat Tail Reef J, Burgess 103 Northern Collectirg S, Spurgeon 104 Notes Prom Kaikoura B. Elliott 105 Item of interest? Paryphanta T.Hortl'jy 108 Nellington's Introduced Pulmonates R, Nil Ian 109 Notes of Interest? Cook Islands A Some Molluscs E,N* Gardner 114 Schizoglossa from Great Barrier Id. H, Spencer 115 Edit ors^ N.OC N, Gardner 6 Tui Glen Rd« , Birkenliead 5 ’ Auckland, 10 New Zealand.