Edward George Britton Moss

“ I believe this was the only Panopaea captured in New Zealand in situ, and was about eighteen inches below the surface of the sand at half-tide mark. If he miss gripping the syphon he will probably lose the shellfish; as it can burrow nearly as fast as a man can dig with his hand. A beginner cannot do better than take a small spade, and walk along a sandy beach at low water. As the tide begins to rise, and the buried shellfish feel the water, he will see the sand moving, or showing signs of life; and if he digs quickly enough he may unearth rare and beautiful specimens for his cabinet. ”

“ Some of these shellfish live feet below the surface of the sand; some, such as the common cockle, only a fraction of an inch. Apparently even cockles do not come to the surface, except to die. Some instinct seems to urge a shellfish, when sick unto death, to save its fellows from infection by leaving the common shelter. Cockles found on the surface are to be avoided as unhealthy, and, unless they die naturally, are soon killed by the carnivorous shellfish. It does not take one of the whelk family long to bore a hole in the centre of the cockle shell. ”

“ Found in all harbours in the Province of Auckland, even up to high water mark, this greedy little animal, seldom more than an inch long, is well worth watching. In some localities, when a cart has been driven along a beach, the track, as soon as the tide reaches it, will swarm with the Cominella lurida. They are looking for cockles or other shellfish smashed by the wheel, and will even burrow in the sand to get at them. If you lift up a broken or injured cockle, some will cling to it with their rasp-like tongues till they are lifted out of the water. ”

“ New Zealand is a maritime country, most of its inhabitants living near the sea, and there are few indeed who do not enjoy occasionally the pleasure of wandering along the sea-shore, gathering shells, seaweed, echini, and the numerous other relics of the deep. This pleasant hobby is robbed of a great deal of its interest by a lack of knowledge as regards the names, habits, and mode of preserving the various finds, and especially the finds of shells. When properly preserved and carefully classified they are much more attractive than otherwise they would be. In almost every home shells are seen ”

“ The shell of an oyster takes the place of the bones of a dog; and although it may seem strange for an animal to have its bones on the outside of its body, it is really no more strange than for a fruit, such as the strawberry or raspberry, to have its seeds on the outside. Lime is the principal ingredient of all bones; and the bones of vertebrate animals contain a large proportion of phosphate of lime, while the shells of molluscs, or shellfish (as they are popularly called) , consist almost entirely of carbonate of lime. ”

“ The colour of shells (as of insects) depends largely on environment, and is only one, and by no means the most reliable, method of deciding the species. An expert can at a glance tell whether a given shell has come from shallow or deep water, and whether from an exposed or sheltered spot. Most shellfish move about a great deal, and migrate into deeper water in summer; and on bright clear days retire into dark corners amongst, and even under, stones. On a dull day a collector is frequently more successful than on a bright, sunny day ”

“ Some live on the surface of the water, some burrow in sand or mud, and some bore holes for themselves in the softer rocks. Some live in deep water; but the better coloured shells are found near low water mark, or in shallow water; for light is as necessary to the perfecting of colour in shells as in flowers. Shells that have grown in a harbour are more fragile than those grown in the ocean, and are usually less brilliant in colour, as harbour water is not as clean as ocean water. ”

“ DOLIUM VARIEGATUM, the upper figure (from Latin dolium—a jar with a wide mouth) is a yellowish brown shell, with dark brown spots, and exceeds six inches in length. Being fragile, and having a very wide mouth, perfect specimens are rare, although numbers of broken shells are from time to time washed up on the ocean beaches in the Province of Auckland. It lives in sand, [Pg 19] but sometimes may be found crawling amongst rocks. It has no operculum. The Australian specimens are more handsome than the New Zealand ones. The Maori name is Pupuwaitai. ”

“ The male is an insignificant-looking octopus, about an inch long. The female grows many times larger, as can be imagined from a glance at the shell in the plate, which measured nine inches across, and was found at Mayor Island, in the Bay of Plenty, and is now in the possession of Mr. C. Spencer.
In the shell the female lays her eggs, and in it the young are hatched. Unlike all other shells, the Nautilus is not moulded on the animal, nor is she even attached to her shell by muscles. When washed ashore she can wriggle out of her shell and swim away. ”

“ The Patella stellifera is usually found in caves or sheltered places amongst rocks exposed to the ocean swell. It is always covered with a coraline growth, usually of a pinkish tint, which growth has to be removed before the markings can be seen. Stars of all shapes, regular and irregular, will be found on the spire of the Patella stellifera. There is a reputation yet to be made by the man who can classify our New Zealand limpets. The Maori name for the limpet is Ngakihi, or Ngakahi, which name is also used for the Crepidula family. ”

“ Besides those necessary for digesting food, most shellfish have organs equivalent to those of vertebrate animals, such as feet, arms, eyes, head, heart, and tongue. Although bearing the same names, these organs rarely have a similar shape to those of the vertebrates, being necessarily adapted to the different mode of living. The foot of a cockle, shaped like an animal’s tongue, enables it to move slowly from place to place, as well as to burrow in a sandy beach with the comical jerks so well known to observers. ”

“ We have them of every shape, and from three inches in width down to microscopic specimens. The limpet resides on one spot, but moves about with the rising tide in search of the vegetation on which it lives. This it mows down with its long scythe-like tongue, and, when satisfied, it returns to rest in its favourite spot. Limpets have the reputation of being indigestible, if not poisonous, but this is due to the head not being removed before the mollusc is eaten. If the head be removed carefully, the tongue, or radula, which is usually the length of the shell itself, will come with it. ”

“ New Zealand's specimen, the Argonauta nodosa, also known as Argonauta argo, the most beautiful of the four known species, is depicted on Plate I. Being a floating shell, and found even hundreds of miles from land, our Nautilus is not peculiar to New Zealand. Its beautiful white, horny-looking shell can be obtained from most parts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but in no part of the world can finer specimens than ours be found. ”

“ Alive, it is found in great numbers at low water on marine grass banks in harbours, and seems to be very active, as the anchors and cables of boats, moored for a few hours over one of their favourite haunts, will be liberally sprinkled with them.
CANTHARIDUS PURPURATUS (Plate VII.) .—Fig. 8 is a heavier and rougher shell than the Iris, and of a rose-pink colour. Sometimes the whole shell is of this colour, but frequently only the top of the spire. It also lives amongst seaweed and rocks; but when living on grassy banks in harbours seems to lose its pink colour and become a pale grey. ”

“ All bivalves that live in the sand have shells which gape more or less, apparently to enable them to push their syphons through the sand to the water. The deeper in the sand the shellfish lives, the longer and stronger the syphon must be. ”

“ In some shells the operculum is small, in others large, and progressing step by step we find some, such as the scallop and oyster, [Pg 9] with one side round, and the other (really an operculum) flat and as large as the shell; until we come to the perfect type with each valve the same shape and size. Then the operculum disappears, as in the limpet, and the covering shell becomes smaller and smaller, till in the Scutum ambiguum (Plate IX., Fig. 23) the shell bears about the same proportion to the animal that the little bonnet, fashionable a few years ago, bore to the lady that wore it. ”

“ When a shell is found that fully answers this description you will know it is an Auckland rock oyster. Errors and omissions will, I trust, be charitably dealt with, as the inevitable mistakes of a man who is blazing a track. I have endeavoured to give the Maori names also, but, unfortunately, in different parts of New Zealand the same name is frequently used for different shells. ”

“ The broad band in the centre is usually dark chestnut or brownish purple, the points of the shell being tipped with darker shades of the same colour. The interior is purplish. Large numbers are found on the edges of channels in harbours, buried in the sand; but their presence is easily located by the oval-shaped mound under which they conceal themselves. When washed up on ocean beaches, they are frequently bleached to a brown or chocolate colour. The Maoris sometimes use them for buttons, and very pretty buttons the medium-sized ones make. The largest I have seen were two inches long. ”

“ It is a clean, bright little shell, upwards of an inch across. Those in the ocean are lighter in colour, and larger and more solid than those found in harbours. As the tide falls in harbours, they conceal themselves near low water mark, especially in the vicinity of marine grass banks. When the tide is rising on a warm, sunny day, they spring out of the sand, dropping sometimes two or three inches from where they had been concealed. The operculum is horny, with a shelly outer layer ”

“ The animal is like a big black slug, and, in comparison with the size of the slug, the shell is very small. A slug the size of a man's fist would have a shell about an inch long. Most shell-hunters would pass by a Scutum abiguum, not thinking it had a shell embedded in its folds. The shell is found amongst rocks in sheltered places on ocean beaches. ”

“ Live shells are those found with the animal enclosed, and are more likely to be perfect in form and colour than dead shells. Dead shells found amongst rocks are nearly always battered and worn, and useless from the collector’s point of view. Live shells are found below high water mark, among rocks, or in the sand, or amongst seaweed and marine grasses. ”

“ MUREX ZELANDICUS (Plate II.) .— Fig. 1 is known as the spider shell, from the spines, which look like spider’s legs. It is a white or greyish shell, about two inches in length. The long spines would interfere with the growth of this Murex if it had not the power of dissolving them as the outside of one whorl becomes the inside of the next. The removal is supposed to be assisted by chemical action, as the saliva of some shellfish is known to contain a small percentage of muriatic acid. ”

“ The young of most shellfish are active little things, and are usually so different from their parents as to be unrecognisable. Some swim, or frisk about, and travel even long distances in search of suitable quarters to settle in. Others float on the surface, and are driven where the winds and currents list. Some, like mussels, are distributed all over the world, others again are found, perhaps, on one rock, or on one small sandbank in a large district. Many shells are rare, because we do not know where to look for them ”

“ Then rub the shell with a mixture of sewing machine oil and chloroform in equal parts. The machine oil, being fish oil, will replace the oil the shell has lost, and chloroform is the best restorer of colour we have. For very delicate shells poppy oil is sometimes used; but it is expensive and difficult to obtain. [Pg 11]
The greatest trouble is getting the animal out of live shells. Anthills are few and small in New Zealand, so the lazy man's method of putting shells on an anthill, and letting the insects do the work, is impracticable. ”

“ Marine shellfish live in all kinds of places below high water mark; and some of the semi-amphibious ones thrive even above ordinary high water mark, where for days at a time nothing but the tops of the waves could reach them. ”

“ Then the sand or gravel moves, and crabs appear. The shrimps, crabs, and hermit crabs run off with the smaller morsels; but the molluscs gather round the remnants and pull and haul and roll over one another until the feast is ended, when some, being satiated, contentedly burrow into the sand; while others, with their appetites only sharpened, will wander away in search of fresh prey.
In many shells, such as the Triton, or Lotorium as it is now called (Plate III.) , every increase in growth can be traced in the thick lip formed by the animal when it has increased the size of its shell. ”

“ Wherever animals or vegetables are crowded, disease appears. This is true of molluscs, and it is seldom worth while looking for a specimen fit for a collection where any particular kind of shellfish lives in great numbers. Animal and vegetable parasites will be found wherever shellfish are crowded together. For instance, a perfect cockle, or one good enough for a collection, will not be found on a cockle bank, but solitary ones must be looked for elsewhere. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The univalves were shells in one piece, such as the whelk; the bivalves those in two pieces, such as the mussel or oyster; and the multivalves those in more than two pieces, such as barnacles or chitons, barnacles, however, being no longer classed with shells.
The highest of the five types, or natural divisions, of animals are the Vertebrata, the Mollusca, and the Annulosa. The vertebrates usually have vertebrae, or jointed backbones, and from this the highest division takes its name; but the real test is the colour of the blood, which in the vertebrates is always red. ”