Lots of Cypraea tessellata tonight!...

This was after two productive night dives on O'ahu, but I'd had better dives. The 'bloom' of Checkerboard cowries was now waning from the time when more than a dozen live specimens were seen on a single night dive.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• science
• biology
• zoology
• mollusc
• mollusk
• Cypraea
• tessellata
• living
• live
• cowries
• cowrie
• cowry

[alawaiman]

Those are the indigenous Hawaiian checkered cowrie right? I'm guessing you found them on Maui? I heard you can find them there mostly. Man I collect shells too and those are beautiful. I wish i could find them. Please reply.

[makuabob]

Right, these are Hawaiian cowries, but they came from the North Shore and the northwest coast of O'ahu. The date is on the video; it was a period in time and ocean cycles when the species 'bloomed.' I could find as many as two dozen on one night dive! At the time, I told NOBODY what was happening, otherwise the "Reef Rapers" would have totally trashed the area to gobble up the 'goodies.' :-/

[ZOILAELUDENS]

Lovely shells. Awesome jevels from Hawaii. But - I am affraid - to much in one box. C.tesselata need protection today as almost all snails from cypraeidae. I think it's not good to fish many specimens in such short time. This is my opinion. But of coures firm is very interesting. Thank you for that. Michael from Poland.

[hfbusiness]

great cowries !

[nikinikinikita]

I can see live hawaian rare cowries!

astonished

beautiful

thank you

[makuabob]

It is noble of you to think I was being 'noble.' I wanted data on how fast they grew; I had a "farm" where they could feed, grow AND be recovered later. Most were probably eaten by fish, octopi, crabs or cone shells. I caught two 'tessies' trying to "escape" to the main segment of reef ! I also raised several Cyp. gaskoini there, from bare dorsum to full pattern. As mentioned above, few were found again and NONE found a third time. (Yes, I let them go even when they were mature.)

[XES119]

That is noble.

Thank you.

[makuabob]

Ignorance is a sin in my church. If you had read on at the site linked to on the video page, you'd have eventually found that all surviving juveniles were returned to the ocean to grow more. Most were never found again, a few were.

[MANILABOY6631]

Beautiful specimens. I collect Seashells. The Zoila family are fantastic. As well as new Species of cowries discovered off the coast of the island of palawan here in my country.

[XES119]

Juveniles too?

Beware: God is the silent witness.