NEW YORK SHELL CLUB NOTES No. 256 November 1979 Page 1 
The NEW YORK SHELL CLUB meets on the 
September through June, in second Sunday of each month, 
ROOM 426, AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 
NEXT MEETING: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1979, at 2:00 pm 
PROGRAM: MOLLUSKS OF MANHATTAN 
by Bruce Einsohn 

CONTENTS 
Page 
Notes on the Distribution of Lambis , 
arthritica, chiragra, crocata, rugosa R. Plotkin 1 
Of Cymbium cucumis Réding, 1798 Yves Rouget 2 
New Field Guide announced 2 
A Collector of Miniatures (batfish) Jax SHELL-0-GRAM 3 
Catching Mollusks on Hook and Line John Root 4 
C.0.A. Winners New Members | 
Cypraea barclayi Reeve, 1857 Robert H. Janowsky 6 
Thalasopsammophiles Editor R 
LS 
NOTES ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF 
LAMBIS ARTHRITICA, CHIRAGRA, CROCATA and RUGOSA 
R. Plotkin 
(A letter dated 29th May, 1979 from Dr. Ronald Plotkin of Johannes- 
burg, South Africa, to Dottie and Bob Janowsky .) 
I have been working my way through the shells that I brought back 
with me from my diving holiday, and I have come across one other 
very interesting situation which you might care to add to the let- 
ter that you are going to publish in your shell club news. (See: 
NYSC NOTES No. 254, p.5; 255, p.1 -Hd.) In fact, I might even 
write a short article for Hawaiian Shell News on this, as it must 
be of some interest to Lambis collectors. 
In Indo-Pacific Mollusca, Abbott states that there are three forms 
of Lambis chiragra: the western Indian Ocean form, arthritica, be- 
ing uncommon, which is certainly not my experience. I have collect- 
ed it in fair numbers in Mogambique, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. 
Whereas the Lambis crocata is regarded by him as being common, and 
which I have found only once. Also, judging from fish markets, 
curio shops and the like, one sees arthritica much more commonly 
than one sees crocata being offered. However, that is a small point. 
More important is that he considers arthritica to occupy an area as 
far east as the Maldive Islands, and rugosa, he other variety 
(apart from chiragra itself) being at no further west than the 
Bay of Bengal. e does admit that E. A. Smith reports chiragra 
from the Maldives, but believes this to be a T eisectitlentnee: 
I collected quite a number of chiragra in four to six feet of water 
on sand amongst coral rubble, and saw quite a few offered by native 
fishermen and in the curio shops. Of those that I collected per- 
