yew YORK SHELL CLUB NOTES No. 240 March 1978 Page 7 
and skeletal muscles. Spontaneous twitches wi 
: ith amplitud 
greater than normal occur in isolated guinea-pig Btria “The Ses 
of the venom is modified by heating at 100° a : 7 
Henry D. Russell 

THE FEEDING OF CYMATIUM 
(From: Greater Miami Shell Club's THE MOLLUSK, 15(11):8, Nov. 1977.) 
Most aquarists find that Tritons, like Tuns and 
echinoderms, especially sea stars. In aquarium Ficus’ tenes bake 
shown that Cymatium nicobaricum, the Gold-mouthed Triton, is one of 
the most voracious members of this genus, eating only gastropods in 
captivity. The following genera were consumed: Turbo, Cerithium, 
Cypraea, Cymatium (2 spp.), Morula, Purpura Coralliophi a 1tra 
and Conus @ spp.). Other small cymatiids, such as C. ileare and 
C. muricinum, fed exclusively on bivalves. (Reference: Houbrick, 
J. Re and V. Fretter, 1969. Some aspects of the functional anatomy 
oe of Cymatium and Bursa, Proc. Malac. Soc. London 48, pp. 
oe George Fraga, Editor 
(AUSTROHARPA) EXQUISITA (Iredale, 1931) 
Robert Janowsky 
The family Harpidae is surely one of the most popular with collec- 
tors everywhere. Almost everyone is familiar with the beautiful 
colors and shapes of these shells which have a wide range of distri- 
bution throughout the Indo-Pacific. There is only one recent species 
in the Atlantic - Harpa doris Roding 1798 from West Africa and Ascen- 
sion Island, and only one in the Eastern Pacific - Harpa crenata 
Swainson, 1822, which ranges from West Mexico to Ecuador. 
Few people are familiar with the small 
number of Harpidae species which are 
found in Australia. Four in number, 
these have been assigned to the subgenus 
Austroharpa Finlay, 1931. All four spe- 
cies are much smaller on the average 
than their more familiar Indo-Pacific 
relatives and are not as colorful. All 
four are considered rare and few speci- 
mens have been collected. The illustra- 
ted specimen is (Austrohar a) exquisita 
(Iredale, 1931). ¢ measures 21 mm and 
was trawled off Cape Moreton, Queensland, 
Australia in 1965 at a depth of 60 to 70 
fathoms. The specimen is light coffee 
colored with strong cancellate sculpture. 
The nucleus and protoconch are dark brown 
and there are three interrupted brownish 
bands, two on the body whorl and one on 
the shoulder, which appear as reddish- 
brown blotches. While not as showy as a 
Harpva costata (Linné, 1758), Austroharpa 
Austroharpa exquisita Sxquisita Is rarer and in its own way 
Photo by Robert Janowsky just as beautiful. 
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