Club Officers:President - Phyllis BernardVice President - Luke CooleySecretary -Paula MeyerriecksCorresponding Secretary - D. J. MooreTreasurer - Jim BrunnerMembership - Phyllis BernardLibrarian - Luke CooleyRaffle - Linda WalkerNewsletter - Linda Brunner

March - April, 2017

Upcoming Events

March meeting............March 14, A Look at Crooked Island by Vickie JacobsField Trip...............................................TBAApril meeting ........... April 11, Inclub showMay .........................Meeting on the 9thJune......................... Our 20th show, 9 - 11

President’s Message

Shell and TellThe newsletter of the Gulf Coast Shell Club

Published by the Gulf Coast Shell Club, Inc.

Argopecten irradiansconcentricus Say, 1822

Inside President’s Message...............................................1

Florida shows.........................................................1

Shelling in Panama.................................................2

An uncommon find..................................................7

On Clubs and Collectors..........................................8

I got a note from Linda saying it is time for another newsletter. I keep thinking about a vacation Ernie, our daughter(Carroll) and I took when she was about 13 years old. We stayed at home but each day we would choose a different place to go. Sometimes we went to Port St. Joe, another time to Cape San Blas and even the beaches at Tyndall AFB. This was one of the best vacations I remember taking. So, round up your family, grab a good friend or go by yourself and explore a place you have never visited. Have a great time and, who knows, maybe you will find that special shell.

I hope you are all getting ready for our Inclub Show in April. All you have to do is grab some of your favorite shells, type labels for them (or convince a friend or spouse to do the typing), put them in a case (members have extra cases, just ask), and do a backboard if you choose.

If displaying shells is not your thing, show some crafts or artistic creations OR better still, enter the snail parade with one or two of your favorite snails. There will be ribbons for the winners so, join in the fun and exhibit! Phyllis

President Phyllis Bernard

2017 Florida Shell Shows

June 10-11 Saturday and Sunday GULF COAST SHELL SHOW, Panama City Beach, Panama City

Beach Senior Center, 423 Lyndell Lane

August 15-19 - 2017 COA Convention, Key West, Florida

2

A Panama City Trip, Panama City, Panama That Is

Let’s fact it....winter, even in Florida, can get to you!Christmas and the New Year celebrations are over and you are waiting for warmer temperatures and new adven-tures. Jim and I decided to start our adventures early. We opted for a February trip to Panama with Peggy Williams. We gathered our passports, shelling gear and were off on February 8th for Tampa, Houston and, finally, The Republic of Panama.

The first leg of the trip was not without incident when we collided with a traffic cone on I-75 while passing through a construction site around midnight. We stopped and checked it and all seemed okay until we left the interstate in Tampa. Apparently the wheel well had been rear-ranged and was rubbing against the tire. But, we had a plane to catch! We parked the car at the airport parking venue, told the owners what had happened and said we would be back in a week. On to the plane!

We boarded the plane at 6:17 am and were soon in the air.Changing planes in Houston and landing in Panama City, Panama, at 2:11 MST. Three time zones and no sleep for over 24 hours. We were tired but ready to collect shells! It was only mid afternoon.

We were met by the owner of our Panama residence, Sil-vard Kool who drove us (with a short shopping trip to a grocery and a stop at McDonalds) to our lodging, Casa Caracol on Playa Corona.

The road approaching Casa Caracol in the foreground

The welcome sign was out but it was also siesta time!

Through the entrance and down the walkway and steps through tropical and arid foliage and we arrived at our abode. Our front wall was open to the Pacific Ocean with its cool breezes and beautiful scenes of waves, rocks and moonlight on the Pacific. It was never hot for the ocean breezes were always blowing.

Front of Casa Caracol

3

A good night’s sleep and we were up at 7:30 and out shelling on the rocks by 8:45. We had to wait a few min-utes for the tide to go out.

As the tide was still in we unpacked and readied our tools for the low tide. Moonlight and ocean breezes to sleep by.

And out....

to the left......

and to the right.

There were two tides the first day and we took advantage of both. We also did some night shelling and found the species different than during the day. In the morning we found Conus princeps, Cypraea cervinetta, Naticarius chemnitzii, Chama species, Vasula melones, Acanthina brevidenta, Gemo-

The line leads to our room in Panama

4

phos sanguinolenta, Leucozonia cerata (huge, dead) and Nerita funiculata. For you bivalve people we also found two arca species and freshly dead Protothaca grata. In the evening we found some repititions but also Conus purpurescens and two new cowrie species, arabicula and robertsi.

The next day we were up very early (I learned how to set my phone alarm, thanks Peggy) and off to Hicaco. The drive was long, about 255 kilometers from our base and we missed the super low tide. We did get to do some shelling as the tide was coming in. We found Conus patri-cius, Conus purpurescens and 2 small unidentified cones. There were Naticidae and large Acanthina brevidentata on the rocks. No night shelling as we were too tired after the long trip.

The alarm sounded early the next morning for our trip to Punta Este. We shelled two locations, each different with different specimens. The first was a broad beach with dunes and turtle nests that were protected by stakes. On the way from the car to the beach I managed to catch my foot in a very strong vine which afforded me a close view of the sand. Jim’s laughter would come back to haunt him about an hour and a half later. The young life guards/beach patrol were very interested in what we were finding. When I showed them the Olivellas I had located they were mystified. I think their puzzlement was as to why I would come to their country to collect these tiny shells. Along with the Olivella semistriata we also found Donax panamensis, a Ficus ventricosa and a Tonna ringens. The Fig and Tun were dead collected.

On to nearby site two, Bahia de Chame. While this site also had a sandy bottom the shore was lined with large rocks where we found Thais kiosquiformis, Cerithium ster-cusmuscarum, Rhinocoryne humboldti, Theodoxus luteofasciatus, Arca grandis, Martesia striata in the wood on a rotting boat, Mactra vanattae, more donax, periwinkles, Protothaca gratis, and Nassarius.

It was about this time that Jim made an error in judg-ment. As he was leaving the rocky area to check out an exposed sand bar He stepped in sand and went up to his knee. Thinking his next step looked firm, he now had both legs in deep, wet sand. My advice to lie down was finally taken and he crawled out. Needless to say he found a different route back to the car. All that was lost was his dive gloves and collecting container. He labeled this afternoon the “Muck March”.

Arriving back at Casa Caracol our host presented us with some of his finds of the day from Ensenada Beach. This was a new site for him and he was gracious to share. He presented us with a large Cypraea cervinetta, Bursa corregata, Cypraea robertsi and arabicula, Turbo fluctosus, Neorapana muri-cata, Vitularia salebrosa and an unidentified cone. We never found a Neorapana nor a Vitularia on our own. Jim noted that the point of this gift proved that people in their fif-ties can turn over much larger rocks than people in their seventies.

We left at 8AM the next morning for Venado Beach made famous by all the data slips from Al Johnson. This beach is west of Panama City and about 80 kilometers away. There is a small domelike island about 1/4 mile offshore that is accessable by a rock sand causeway at low tide. The advice we received was to walk all the way out and shell on the way back.

Here we found Bursa corrugata, Cypraea robertsi, Parametria species, Protothaca gratis, Cypraea arabicula, Linatella wie-manni, live worm shells, and doves. The tide started com-ing in and we were not sure how fast it would move so we headed back. An exhuberant Golden Retriever bypassed Jim in favor of greeting me with a jump. We had an ap-pointment in Panama City after this and I was trying to stay neat, forget that! Had I known that I would have this encounter I would have brought a change of clothes.

We had lunch at a very nice restaurant nearby. When we were entering the restaurand there was a waiter exiting with a beautiful array of fruit cut into bite size pieces.

Venado

5

Yum! We asked our waitress about getting the same and were told that that was for the animals. Actually it was for their toucan.

After lunch it was time to continue on to Panama City. I rushed to to take a picture of Venado with the tide in while Peggy talked with our host, Jim Ernst.

The pathways were underwater and we were off to do some box shelling.

We snapped a few pictures of Panama City which is a sprawling modern city. I was fascinated by some of the unusual (to me) palms. When we arrived at our destina-tion we were greeted by Jim’s canine buddy who was very glad to see him and was accepting of us.

The toucan with his tray of fruit.

Panama City in the distance and, below, one of the un-usual palms. Bottom the bridge we traveled over 4 times

within an hour. Roads are not well marked in Panama.

6

L to R: Peggy, Jim Ernst, Linda and Jim Brunner

Dry land shelling at Jim Ernst’s.

We grabbed a pizza on the way home and slept well after a very long and tiring day.

The next day was our last chance to shell. We spent it in front of our lodging. While the rocks may look like grav-el in the previous pictures, I can assure that they are not gravel. My loving husband managed to get some shots of me doing what I love.

Early in the morning when the tide was out we could see and hear the local people tapping on the rocks looking for these oysters.

We visited local markets for food and gifts to bring home.

I could go on and on, show more pictures and tell about more adventures but, all good things must end and this was a good thing. We found over a hundred species of marine shells, some we have been unable it identify and some we have not collected previously. We worked dili-gently every day and came home tired and happy. So on February 15 we were up at 3AM to leave for the airport. We said goodbye to the moon and Casa Caracol vowing to return next year? Interested?

The car saga continued when we landed in Tampa. We had made a tool to use in turning rocks. It came in handy to use to pry the wheel well away from the tire. We changed our hotel reservation to a hotel that was closer to the airport, got their last room, had dinner and went to the car dealership the next morning. The dealer took the wheel well apart, gave me a plastic bag with the parts and assured us we could drive hope safely. My dealer has ordered new parts to repair the damage, so, instead or a new tire for hundreds we get a new wheel well for less that one hundred. Beware of cones, traffic and marine.

*****

Look what Charles Found!

*****As we prepare for our June show, let me know if you need a copy of the handout on labels. It is not too early to get started on your exhibit.

*****We left Casa Caracol at 4:40 AM but our last sunset was

the night before.

Charles Gibb sent this photo of his find on Dog Island last month. Do you know what it is? To find out look on page 33 of the club’s book. Great find, Charles.

7

On Clubs and Collectors.by G Thomas Watters

Random thoughts:

1. I wish I had a shell club here incentral Ohio, USA. I do not see how a shellclub is anything but beneficial to molluscs.How can even the most inactive clubpossibly be better than nothing at all interms of educating the public?

2. The idea that collecting forcollecting’s sake is wrong,… is wrong. Ourmuseums are based, in large part, on theaccumulation of “natural history cabinets,”people who regarded shells (and anythingelse of a natural history nature) as acuriosity to be acquired. They acquiredthem before anyone else and placed theminto their Curiosity Cabinets, where atsome point they were described by laterscholars. Had they not amassed them, forwhatever reason, they may not have beenrecognized.

3. The idea that fulfilling a list, the“postage stamp” approach, is wrong,… isalso wrong. I collect Muricidae. I attempt tocollect ALL of them. I would be a happycamper if I had EVERY species. Send meyour Muricidae! I would suggest that thesecollectors know every bit as much abouttheir respective groups as do theprofessionals and probably supply theprofessionals with fodder to describe. Howcan you toss aside such knowledge?

4. The idea that professionalmalacologists, or at least “seriouscollectors,” should be able to collect shellsrather than amateurs is often implied inrelated arguments. There is nothingmagical about modern malacologists. Most“amateurs” have forgotten more than“professional” malacologists will everknow, particularly geneticists. The field ofmalacology would be destitute without theinput of amateurs, a fact that some of theYoung Turks seem to have forgotten intheir hegemony.

5. I work (and am paid to deal) withfreshwater molluscs. I have studied themfor decades. I am often asked to commentor even testify on their behalf. The ideathat col lectors are responsible fordecimating a species is, in my opinion,ridiculous. No species has been driven toextinction by collectors, that I am aware of.Pollution, habitat loss, impoundment, andexotics are responsible for the demise ofmost species. But it is much easier toarrest a shell collector than it is to arrest ahuge company. And a shell collector ismuch easier to show to a TV camera asthe bad guy than a multi-million dollarfaceless company. The same is true ofcollectors in Sanibel or wherever... it is justnot cool to collect living animals as ahobby... or a science. But the beachdredgings continue, the dams continue, thepollution continues...

6. We live in an uncomfortable timefor biologists. Animal rights’ advocateshave put our science under our ownmicroscopes. In my lab we infest fish withparasitic mussel larvae in an effort to savethese endangered species, but the fishhave more protection and surveillance thanmy own kids! It is not cool to collect livinganimals, even for the sake of science.I guess my summary of thoughts onthis matter is:a) The more clubs the better. Anydissemination of knowledge is better thannothing.b) Collectors, even those for nonscience,are NOT the problem. They are afart in the wind compared to the industrializationand commercialization that isravaging molluscan habitats.

G.Thomas Watters, PhDCurator of MolluscsDepartment of Evolution, Ecology &Organismal BiologyThe Ohio State University

( Taken from The Beaui)

8