Beautiful Shells of New Zealand / An Illustrated Work for Amateur Collectors of New Zealand Marine Shells, with Directions for Collecting and Cleaning them

by Edward George Britton Moss

COMINELLA NASSOIDES (Plate IV.).—Fig. 14 is a pinkish-yellow shell, with very pronounced ridges on the exterior. The interior is brownish. So far, I have heard of its being found only in the South Island and the Chathams.

LOTORIUM OLEARIUM (Plate V.).—Fig. 1 (late Triton olearium) is a mottled brown and white shell, similar in its habits to the Lotorium rubicundum (Plate III.), but usually found on grassy banks in harbours at or below low water mark. The second figure on the plate is a good specimen of this shell, with its epidermis untouched, while the first figure has had the epidermis removed. To such shells as this and the Solenomya parkinsoni (Plate IX., Fig. 18) the epidermis adds an additional beauty, and to preserve it I have used a preparation of glycerine and chloride of calcium, being careful to put it on before the epidermis has time to dry or crack.

APOLLO ARGUS (Plate V.).—Fig. 2 (late Ranella argus) is a white or light grey shell, covered with a thin chestnut-brown epidermis. The lines that show so distinctly on the figure are dark chestnut. It is found on ocean beaches in both Islands, and attains a length of four inches.

APOLLO AUSTRALASIA (Plate V.).—Fig. 3 (late Ranella leucostoma) is a reddish-brown shell, covered with a fine hairy epidermis. The interior is purple. It is found amongst rocks in the open sea around the North Island. The edge of the lip is very deeply grooved. It attains a length of 4 inches.

LOTORIUM SPENGLERI (Plate V.).—Fig. 4 (late Triton spengleri) is a yellowish-white shell, covered with a pale brown transparent epidermis. The lines shown on the plate mark the grooves which cross the shell, and are slightly darker in shade than the ridges. It attains a length of five inches, and is found on the grass banks in sheltered places.

SEMI-CASSIS PYRUM (Plate V.).—Fig. 5, the helmet shell, from the Latin cassis, a helmet, is familiar to residents on the seaside, both in Australia and New Zealand, as it is a handsome shell, sometimes upwards of four inches in length. The colour varies a good deal, but is usually pinkish-white or pale chestnut, the wavy spots arranged in bands round the shell being usually dark brown. Sometimes the shell is nearly white. After heavy gales numbers are washed up on ocean beaches from the sandy banks on which they live.

SEMI-CASSIS LABIATA (Plate V.).—Fig. 6 (late Cassis achatina) is a smaller and narrower shell than the former, and somewhat rare. The dark markings are splashed, and not arranged in bands, thereby giving the shell a mottled appearance. The interior is brown or purplish.

LOTORIUM CORNUTUM (Plate V.).—Fig. 7 is a bright reddish-yellow shell, covered with a very long epidermis, which makes the shell appear more than double its real size. I have found a dozen or more of them on the ocean beaches in the Bay of Plenty. They were all dead shells, about one and a-half inches long, and the epidermis was wanting. The uneven, blunt-pointed lumps, with which this shell is covered, make it easily recognised. I have not heard of its being found anywhere in New Zealand, except in the Bay of Plenty, but it is fairly common in Sydney.

CALLIOSTOMA TIGRIS (Plate VI.).—Fig. 1 (late Zizyphinus tigris) is a whitish shell, striped or dotted in rows with red. Although sometimes over two inches across, the shell is thin and light. Its glistening interior, and shapely lines, make it one of our most handsome shells. These shells are sometimes found at low water mark, under and amongst rocks in harbours, as well as amongst kelp in the surf. When once a rock, or small patch of rocks, frequented by them is found, subsequent visits in the spring or early summer will nearly always be successful. It is common to both Islands. During the hot weather of summer, they apparently move to below low-water mark, and remain there in the deeper water until the winter. I obtained a considerable number of excellent specimens from a strip of rocks near the water tank at the entrance to Tauranga Harbour, but never found them except in spring or early summer. The Maori name is Mata-ngo-ngore, which name is also used for the Cantharidus family, on Plate VII.

CALLIOSTOMA SELECTUM (Plate VI.).—Fig. 2 (late Zizyphinus cunninghamii) is about the same width, but not the same height as the Tigris. The colour is white, with pale red spots arranged in rows around the spire.