II] WHERE PEARLS ARE FOUND 13 



maxima, Jameson, which occurs on the north coast 

 of Australia. Its distribution extends also down the 

 west and east coasts for some distance. These shells 

 are the " Port Darwin " shells, the " Queensland " 

 shells, and "West Australia" shells of commerce. 

 This species is also found off the coasts of New 

 Guinea (where it is called the "New Guinea" shell), 

 in the Malay Archipelago, and at the Philippines ; 

 these Philippine shells being known as "Manila" 

 shells. 



Another very important species is Margaritifera 

 margaritifera which occurs with several varieties in 

 the trade. One variety is found off the north coast 

 of Australia with extensions down the east and west 

 coasts of that continent. This is the variety known 

 as the Australian " Black-lip." It also occurs in the 

 Malay Archipelago with extensions to Ceylon and 

 the Maldives. Another variety is fished at Zanzibar 

 arid Madagascar, and is known for trade purposes as 

 the " Zanzibar shell." The variety persica, fished in 

 the Persian Gulf and shipped from Bombay, is the 

 "Bombay shell" of commerce. The variety erg- 

 thraeensis, Jameson, is the " Egyptian shell " of the 

 trade, and is fished at Aden and other places. From 

 Panama comes the "Panama" shell, which is the 

 variety harhata. Other varieties include the " Poly- 

 nesian shells," " Gambler shells," " Tahite Black-lip," 

 and the "New Guinea Black-lip." 



