Dear Alan,
On the supposition that this issue is of general interest, let me relate
some experiences eith ex molluscivorace (using the construct molluscivorax
as a third declension irregular meaning mollusk-eating one) shells. Firstly
let me add that echinoderms, fish, and even mollusks themselves, e. g.
Euglandina rosea (Ferussac, 1821), a local (NE Florida) carnivore with over
a dozen species to its credit ex speciemens collected in my backyard.
Among local collectors, the late June Dawley had the most experience with
Heart Urchins. In an essay in the Shell-O-Gram which she entitled "Open
heart surgery," she repoted a number of tiny shells, including several
Caecum spp., she removed from the (rotting I guess) digestive tracts of the
echinoderms taken as Calico Scallop bycatch in the early 1980's off
Jacksonville. I think she carefully crushed the ventrum of the urchins to
extract the gut and its contents.
The stuff I took from (two species of) batfish were remarkably
well-preserved. Cowries, although few in number, varied from shiny to
modereately dull - and some could have been "crabbed" at the time of
consumption. The most impressive characteristic was the intactness of the
fragile bubble shels and their calcium-challenged cephalaspid relatives.
From 1000 fish in various states of decay I took over 200 species (median
size by species 5 mm.; champion specimen 25 mm.), many of which have been
found by no other method in the waters off Northeast Florida by mey and my
Jackonville Shell Club colleagues. Some of these finds, including taxa
unique to the batfish dissection technique, involved many dozens of perfect
specimens.
The "dissections" were gross (in both senses). The first step was to be
sure human codenizens of the home were asleep or physically absent from the
premises. Next Playtex dishwashing grade gloves were donned. The fish,
rancid after several days dead on the deck of the local scallop-boats and
later my hermetically-sealed buckets, were slit open with the standard belly
incision employed by us anglers. The stomach and intestines were manually
pulled out and the semi-liquid slop was "milked" for particulate matter.
That gritty stuff, along with adherent rotting fish guts, was placed in a
boiling cauldron to which I had added some Dry Vermouth and pepper to cover
the nasty aroma (albeit incompletely). The boiling reduced the fish remains
to a soupy mass which could be poured off without loss of the shells, which
were generally free of glop on the bottom of the pot. Rinsing and drying
produced one of the finest assortments of speciemns I have ever beheld.
The only adverse consequences were several puncture wounds from batfish
fins, the disaffection of returning or awakening confamilial relatives with
more sensitive olfaction, and the countless hours of frustration with
hard-to-identify (many un-named) species of shelled mollusks comprising the
harvest.
The technique and productivity with Musselcracker (Southeast Africa),
Pacamao (Northeast Brasil), Haddock (New England), etc. may not be very
different from the above (except that Batfish are smaller with even smaller
(propotionately) mouths. Perhaps we can hear from Conch-L'ers with
experience in this collection method applied to other species of molluscivores.
Harry
At 09:52 PM 8/17/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Dear shellers:
>
>I have been curious about shells found 'ex pisce' or in the case of Dr.
>Harry Lee of finding shells 'ex echinodermata'. Do you cut open the
>gut, are shells in various stages of decomposition, how do you go about
>doing this? Are shells like Cypraea fultoni with good color just lucky
>finds of freshly eaten shells from recently caught musselcracker fish,
>and are there lots more shells which the stomach acid of the fish have
>badly decomposed? Harry, please let us know a little about item 2 . . .
>
>Alan.
>
>
>Harry G. Lee, MD wrote:
>
>>
>> At least some heart urchins [including one which I identified as Meoma
>> ventricosa ventricosa (Lamarck, 1816), apparently not Moira atropos
>> (Lamarck, 1816) of Alan Gettleman, which was said to be one half its size]
>> have an voracious appetite for mollusks. In Jacksonville, as a resource for
>> micromollusks, their digestive tracts are more provident than those of
>> seastars, and can approach the productivity of batfish. We have gotten many
>> dozens of species by dissecting M. v. v. trawled as Calico Scallop bycatch.
>>
>> Harry
>
Harry G. Lee
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Suite 500, 1801 Barrs Street
Jacksonville, FL 32204
U. S. A. 904-384-6419
Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page at:
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/wfrank/jacksonv.htm
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