Just thought i'd pass on a relevant communication from our dearly
departed compadre  Mike Tove.  i hope it inspires or instructs at least
a few of you as much as it did me!
                                                                                        R. Mayhew
                                        (From the land of ice,more ice, and every so often, snow:  about
10% of Canada has been, or still is "freezing  in the dark" for the past
few days, due to the "ice storm of the century".  For those of you in
gentler climes, this happens when rain freezes as soon as it hits
anything.  If this goes on for several days, use your imagination to
figure out what can happen, and how many ways a few inches of ice can
trash electricity distribution systems!!)
 


Subject: Re: monster mashed
Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 07:06:16 -0500 (EST)
From: [log in to unmask] (Michael Tove)
To: ross mayhew <[log in to unmask]>
 
Ross,
 
If you are talking about collecting by hand - ie SCUBA diving at night, I
can advise. It's rather easy.
 
Cones are predominently sand-dwelling predators. During the day they live in
the sand; ie buried, sometimes under rocks or loose pieces of coral. A
number of species also live ON the rocky coral rubble, particularly if
covered with coral or eel grass (very shallow) where they can "hide." At
night, they come out in search of food, but remember that there are 3
classes of cones. Piscivores (fish-eaters) will be found crawling over the
stony corals in search of bottom-dwelling fish. Remember, they can't move as
fast as a fish so they must use stealth and get a fish resting on the sand
or hiding in the bottom rubble. Since they have to make physical contact to
kill, you can imagine what is involved. Molluscovores (tented cones) eat
other molluscs - primarily sand-dwelling gastorpods because the gastropods
that live solidly attached to the rocks (limpits, etc.) are pretty much
protected unless the cone can get in a pinpoint shot on the foot when the
shell is "up." Textile, bandanus, marmoreus and omaria cones (the only
tented cones I've found live) are ALWAYS in sand around or under rocks where
other molluscs live. Vermivores (worm-eaters) which constitute easily 2/3 of
all cones are  sand-dwellers. Species such as arenatus, pulicarius, eburneus
are found IN the sand at low tide - recognized by sand trails. Many of the
larger species (vexillum, virgo, distans, litteratus) are found crawling
along sandy "gaps" in the coral. Capitanus, miles, and especially lividus,
flavidus, emaciatus, (and others) live among and on coral-encrusted rocks,
particularly if they are also covered with eel grass.
 
The best way to look for live cones is to search carefully around the rocks,
in the sand trails and turn over rocks, fanning away the sand beneath. Check
all sand trails (great for geting other species too).
 
In my expereince, anything that can be found by diving at 80 feet, can also
be found at 20-30 feet, but at least in the Philippines, the shallow water
(reef edge) was a lot more productive and allowed a lot more bottom time.
 
I've self-collected about 40 species of cone; of which most were
live-collected. What I have described above accounts for virtually all of my
collecting experience. However, I have never found a rarity on my own,
although I have seen a couple of rarities self-collected: 2 Conus
gloriamaris taken in about 30 feet of water. At least one was on an old net
at the outflow of a rivermouth (siltier than reef), and a Conus thailandis
taken at I think about 80 feet but I don't know the details (it was at a
shell show).
 
Mike
 
>Thanks!  Do you know someone who has good general expertise in
>collecting  tropical cones, such as via night diving?  I need to tell a
>promising new contact in Borneo some of the tricks of the trade!
>                                                                                               Take care,
>                                                                                               Ross.
>
>