Page 6 Apri 1. 1.978 No. 241 NEW YORK SHELL CLUB Noms 
Pace 6 —_sApril 19/8 NO. See 
: dark bluish purp] 
i in New England." The fact: The very purple 
cee at ihe Pees was used for the "black" wampum; the coly- 
i hite wampum. An inter. 
mella of, the Busycon was fashioned into the w : er 
esting eyewitness account was written by Roger Williams in 1643: 
"Th Narragansett) Indians are ignorant of Buropes Coyne; yet they 
tae Cie : name ss ours, and call it Moneash from the English 
money. Their owne is of two sorts; one white, which they make of 
the stem or stocke of the Periwincle, which they call Mateauhock, 
when all the shell is broken off; and of this sort six of their 
small Beads (which they make with holes to string the bracelets) are 
currant with the English for a Peny. The second is black, inclining 
to blew, which is made of the shell of a fish, which some English 
call Hens, Poquathock, and of this sort three make an #nglish peny, 
They that live upon the Sea side generally make of it, and as many 
make as will." The Penn Wampum Belts, Leaflet #4, Museum of the 
American Indian, New York.) 
(Hens = Poquathock = quahog = Mercenaria mercenaria. Roger Willians 
use of the term "Periwincle" here denotes ‘gastropod.") 
The second item appears on page 55 of Dangerous Sea Creatures, by 
Thomas Helm, Funk & Wagnalls, N.Y. 1976: "When moving about in 
search of worms and other forms of food the cone's shell is almost 
completely covered by the extended mantle. It is often so covered 
as to resemble nothing more than a small glob of living flesh. At 
rest, with the mantle withdrawn, even an amateur collector would 
recognize it as a prize find." 
Conus does not extend its mantle to cover its shell. We suggest 
mae those of you who have the book Simply delete the above three 
sentences, 

SOME NOTES ON A RARE SPECIES: CYPRAEA VALENTIA Perry, 1811 
Robert Janowsky 
There Ls little doubt in my mind that the shells comprising the fan- 
ily Cypraeidae are the favorites with the greatest number of shell 
eopehbe Gi as Paani a of the most interesting and rarest memn- 
i amily 1s Cypraea valentia Perr 1811. This view is 
Shared by C. M. Burgess, author of the most Trine recent mono- 
graph of this family, "The Living Cowries," who states, "I think 
Cypraea valentia Perry is the most magnificent cbwrie. Its large 
Size and startling markings, plus its rarity, make it outstanding 
in bee genus." One may or may not agree with Dr. Burgess, and most 
Gith Gone ls Hs of the Cypraeidae can compare favorably 
a. Owever i i j 
The species has always been and Still is a. very’ ft lvill 
as late as 1880 States that the species is ce PE otk hori shee spec 
ma ak oe specimens were collected after that date, and for 
is y years the only known specimen of Cypraea valentia in the Unites 
ates was in the collection of Phil Clover. Last year the America! 
: rtunate to obtain a specimen for its 
ih ee it the only institution in the United States to 
“iar an : em of Cypraea Valentia in its study collection. I als? 
fe) Our members of the New York Shell Club who are lucky 
