David-
 I am sure that you have already been swamped, but if you have "extras"
after you have ID'd your catches, I would be interested in trading. Let me
know if and when you are ready!  Karen
-----Original Message-----
From: David Kirsh <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sunday, November 21, 1999 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: trip to India, Sri Lanka, Kuwait


>Hi Eduard,
>I will be trying to identify my catch in the near future. I suspect they
>are all common especially given how easily they were obtained. I'm sure
>most people on the list-serv will be better at identifying Cypraea species
>than I. My helvola from Sri Lanka looks like my helvola from Hawaii but is
>it helvola?
>
>Here's a technical question: Since I had to keep my live shells in formalin
>temporarily, is it sufficient that I dipped them in water? Cypraea soft
>parts are hard to extract, so will any retained formalin keep eating at the
>shell?
>
>Also, note to all: my Terebra from Varkala appears not to be a Terebra. It
>seems likely to be Bullia tranquebarica Roding. I found them in abundance
>where the waves were splashing up on the sand. Like Donax variablis, they
>have many different color patterns within the same area of beach and are
>covered and uncovered with each passing wave. Strange to think such
>dissimilar shells might occupy a similar ecological niche. I can't tell
>what they were eating. There are some small Donax species in the same place
>but the sand bugs (don't know the Latin name, but the rounded crustaceans
>that dig backwards in the sand) were numerous enough to be eligible to be
>prey for the Bullias.
>
>--David Kirsh
>Durham, NC
>
>>Dear David Kirsh
>>I note you collected several Cypraea species during your interesting trip
to
>>India/Sri Lanka. Could you please let me know which species of Cypraea you
>>found. The place you visited is very interesting because several rather
>>confusing species of Cypraea may be found there and any bit of information
>>may be usefull.
>>Best regards
>>Eduard Heiman
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: David Kirsh <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>>Date: Sunday, November 21, 1999 3:08 AM
>>Subject: trip to India, Sri Lanka, Kuwait
>>
>>
>>>Fellow shellers,
>>>
>>>I'm back from my 2 week trip. I'll be glad to fill people in on some of
the
>>>travel details if anyone wants.
>>>
>>>As for shelling, now I know why no one knew about Southwest India: there
>>>are apparently no accessible reefs. Shells are mostly pounded to bits on
>>>the beaches; not even any shell grit for micros. However, there are
shells
>>>in Kerala. Where I stayed in Varkala, Kerala, the locals told me that
after
>>>the monsoons have passed for a month or so, the visibility clears so that
>>>it is possible to snorkel over the offshore rocks and find plenty of
>>>sealife. Usual means to get there are the three logs lashed together that
>>>most fisherman use. There were beached shells in good numbers south of
>>>Varkala in a spot where the "backwaters" (lagoon) open to the sea. In an
>>>hour jaunt, found Murex, Sinum, Terebras and other goodies. There are
also
>>>some shells on the rocks at low tide. Couldn't leave India without a
chank
>>>shell, so I bought one from a local fisherman who said he got it in four
>>>meters of water off the beach. NB: bring your own methyl alcohol because
it
>>>is prohibited in Kerala. I had to obtain formalin for my small live
shells.
>>>I was lucky that customs didn't insist on opening my shell pack and get a
>>>whiff on the way back home.
>>>
>>>I found out that the airfare from Trivandrum (capital of Kerala) to
>>>Colombo, Sri Lanka is about $110 round trip. So I took a four day stint
to
>>>a recommended resort town of Hikkaduwa, three hours bus ride south of
>>>Colombo. As I had been told, there were shells. Yes, well, I was a virgin
>>>to the Indo-Pacific faunal region. I'd been to many spots in the
Caribbean
>>>and to Gulf of California but nothing like this. I didn't even get to
>>>explore the reef (too rough). Just in the place where the edge of the
reef
>>>meets the beach, there was a staggering number of shells. Every time I
>>>looked there was something else I had never seen. Maybe some of you have
>>>gotten jaded about this, but I never saw a place where there were six or
>>>more species of live Cypraea in inch-deep water. No to mention plenty of
>>>other types of mollusks.
>>>
>>>And the shell grit under magnification was kind of like looking at a
>>>treasure chest of jewels with a multitude of pastel colors and
sculpturing.
>>>Something new each time I scanned a different place in the drift. I don't
>>>know if any of it is unusual but it was quite an experience for me.
>>>
>>>On the way back through Kuwait, I stayed at a hotel that wasn't the
airport
>>>hotel for transit passengers. That took some extraordinary gyrations and
>>>considerable expense for me. (My advice is to get your Kuwaiti visa in
>>>advance of a visit, perhaps through a 3-star-or-less hotel). The beach
near
>>>the Hotel Safir International, right by Applebee's and Chili's, has
plenty
>>>of shells.
>>>
>>>Some of my immediate questions from the trip are:
>>>1) What books are going to identify the micros from Sri Lanka? Any?
>>>
>>>2) What is a 1/2 inch long mollusk whose shell looks like a fat taco open
>>>on one side and pointed on the other? The animal is light orange with a
>>>bright orange and a black stripe. Lives around green algae in tide pool.
>>>
>>>3) Is Seashells of Eastern Arabia likely to be useful for Kerala (on the
>>>Arabian Sea) and Kuwait (Persian Gulf)? Is that the same book as Shells
of
>>>Muscat and Oman?
>>>
>>>4) Does anyone have a count of the known sinistral chank shells in
>>existence?
>>>
>>>5) Anyone venture a guess about the one live shell very abundant on the
>>>beach at Varkala? (It's their version of the Coquina). It's a Terebra
about
>>>1 and 1/4 inches long. Subsutural axial wrinkles tend to fade out toward
>>>the body whorl. Extremely variable colors: from pure white to deep wine
and
>>>black, some are orange or rose, or those colors with white bands. Animal
is
>>>off-white and very active.
>>>
>>>More questions are bound to come up.
>>>
>>>David Kirsh
>>>Durham, NC
>>>