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Mon, 13 Oct 2003 22:42:36 +0000 |
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Nancy;
The famous "golden cowrie" has been over-valued for a number of
years now, although high quality specimens are still uncommon (as a
species it leads a pretty rough and tumble life!!). It lives in "rocky
crevices and caves from 15 to 45 meters: pretty easy pickings for SCUBA
divers. About 6 or 7 years ago, divers in the Philippines became very
good at finding them, and SCUBA equipment became more readily available
there. As a result, the supply has been exploding, as eager
entrepeneurs continue to bet that collectors will continue to "shell
out" inflated amounts for the species. F+ specimens can be had for a
song if one has a good supplier, although TRUE F++ and above specimens
are still not found in any great numbers. // The population is probably
not in any great danger of extreme over-collection, since there will
always be parts of the cracks and caves these beasties call home, which
divers can't reach. That said, we may be reaching a "production peak"
for the more easily collected populations.
From the great, very Wet North,
Ross M.
Subject: Cypraea aurantium abundance?
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 15:42:13 -0700
From: Nancy Smith <[log in to unmask]>
Fellow conch-ler's:
I often watch the thoroughfare of shells on Ebay mostly out of
curiosity. Lately I've noticed an abundance of Cypraea aurantium
available from the Philippine suppliers. Some are even being sold in
large lots of up to 15 specimens! So I was curious, do you think this
represents over-collection of the species or over-abundance of the
population? (or neither?)
Thanks for your thoughts.
Nancy Smith
www.nansaidh.us/operc
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