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The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club, Inc.

The Junonia April 2019

Last Meeting of the Season – April 14

Have you ever wanted to know more about those elusive Junonias that sometimes wash up on our beaches? What do these mollusks look like when alive? What do they eat? The program at the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club’s last meeting of the season will answer many of the questions about them. Our guest speaker will be Rebecca Mensch, marine biologist at The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. "Search for the Live Junonia" will a fun and eye-catching presentation that documents the lengths (and depths) to which one must go to find a live specimen of this renowned mollusk. You will see photos and videos of these amazing animals and find out what research has been done and is still underway at the museum. The meeting will be held at the Sanibel Community House and will begin at 2:00 PM with refreshments and socialization. The presentation will begin at 2:15.

The President’s Corner by Tom Annesley

Welcome to April 2019, the time when things start to slowly wind down a little on the island. It is also time for the formal activities of the club to wind down until next Fall. Over the last seven months a lot has occurred for us shellers. We have had speakers who covered deep water mollusks, biogeochemistry to study human impacts on shelled organisms, artificial oyster reefs created from hockey sticks,

the red tide and blue-green algae story, and the hunt for the elusive junonia. Our big event, the Sanibel Shell Show, was a rousing success, with record numbers attending and records sales and donations to the club. As in the past, the proceeds from the show will be used for grants and scholarships to universities and non-profits throughout the state. Yet, even as the shell club season winds down, we have one more event we will be supporting, the 2019

Conchologists of America Convention on Captiva (June 17-23, 2019). While the event is not one of our “official” activities, we are the host club this year and encourage members to register to attend or volunteer to help the convention run smoothly. Two of our own members are invited expert speakers. Information about the convention can be found on the COA web site: (http://www.conchologistsofamerica.org). I hope to see you on April 14 at the Sanibel Community House. If not, have a great summer and I will see you next October.

Welcome New Members

Welcome, new Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club members! We hope you will be able to join us at our October through April monthly meetings. One of the benefits of belonging to the Shell Club is that you may visit the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum without charge. This is because of the financial support the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club gives the Museum. You will also receive a 20% discount on any purchases you make at the Museum Store. Please feel free to contact any of our Board members or committee chairs if you have any questions about our club or our club activities.

Barbara, Bill & Caroline Busch; Cape Coral Patrick Coppens & Suzanne Hungerford; Morrisonville, NY Dennis & Eileen Dirlam; Sanibel Rebecca Dodds & Brian Marshall; Cape Coral Dave & Becky Dolph; Fort Myers Bev Dolezal; Palm Beach Gardens Ann Fossum; Fort Myers Beach John & Ruth Gray; Fort Myers David & Linda Green; Missouri City, TX Richard Herzog; Williston, NY Marina Huebner & Don Greenglass; Estero Paul Jones; St. Augustine Megan & Peter Ihrig; Sanibel Julie & Clifford Marlatt; Rushville, IN Kathi McNeil; Centreville, Ontario Betty Moubray & Lou DeMott; Fort Myers & Norwich, NY Annette Pali; Islamorada, FL & Paupack, PA Kristi & Dennis Paxton; Cedar Falls, IA Lissa Terese; Sugarloaf Key, FL Karen Thereau; Robbinsdale, MN We look forward to sharing our enthusiasm about shells with you.

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A Thank You To Our Host and Hostess Volunteers

by Stacy & Linda Edinburg

As always, Stacy and I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who worked at the 2019 Shell Show as hosts and hostesses. We wish we had the space here to list all 130 of you! Your “police” efforts were clearly successful, and we had no major moments of panic over the fate of any exhibits (although the kicking baby legs gave that hostess moments of concern). Each year we are amazed at those visitors who continue to touch the exhibits even after they have been told not to once, or twice, or more! This year Jill & John Wahlfeld get the superstar award for walking up and down those rows for three shifts, as well as working at other venues during the show. We would also like to thank our great cashiers, who not only scoop up the money for us, but also act as our ambassadors to the public. And scoop they did – our entrant count was 3,801, up 317 from 2018 and up 787 from 2017. We did have a few last-minute cancellations, but thankfully zero “no shows.” Everything went very smoothly, and that’s because all of our volunteers are THE BEST.

Are you ready for a party?

You probably already know the theme for the 2019 Conchologists of America Convention is going to be a celebration of R. Tucker Abbott’s 100th birthday. Anne Joffe and her committee are going out of their way to make this convention a very memorable one. The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club will act as hosts for the convention. The venue for the convention could not be better. The South Seas Resort, located on the north end of Captiva Island, is known as one of Florida’s most desirable vacation destinations, and the prices of the rooms have been markedly reduced for our convention. The pre-convention field trips are on Monday, June 17 and Tuesday, June 18. With the exception of one, all are based on Sanibel or Captiva. Carpooling to these nearby field trips, when possible, will help us keep the field trip costs as low as possible. Sanibel Shell Club members have also offered to help with transportation. Detailed descriptions of the field trips can be found in the convention registration packet. The first social event of the convention will be a Welcome Reception held at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. The Shell Museum will open its doors to COA attendees Tuesday at 6:00 PM for appetizers and beverages. The museum is undergoing a major renovation and those in attendance will get a sneak preview of the museum's new aquarium project. The aquarium will feature pop up tanks. Children will be able to “pop up” in the middle of doughnut-shaped tanks and be surrounded by the mollusks that occupy them. Be sure to bring your shell shirt to wear to the Wednesday evening COA Welcome Party - Tucker’s Birthday Reception. Shell shirts are the dress code! Be prepared for surprises and lots of fun.

Throughout the convention there will be great speakers and fantastic silent auctions. The Oral Auction is certain to include some incredible shells you will want to add to your collection. Bidding on them helps fund COA’s scholarship fund. Don’t forget to bring your favorite snails to compete in the “Snail Parade.” Enter as many categories as you like. Your registration packet has all the details. The final social event will be Tucker’s Birthday Party, the Friday evening banquet. This birthday party, complete with birthday cake, will honor the man who unquestionably impacted our “shell world.” Saturday noon, the much-awaited Shell Bourse will begin. It will be open again Sunday morning and will close at 5:00 PM. If you have never attended this mega shell sale before, be prepared to be amazed by the number shell dealers who have come from around the world for this event. The Bourse is open to the public so invite your friends. If you have any questions regarding the convention, just contact me at joycematthys1@gmail.com or call 503-871-0182.

From the Shell Show Kitchen

by Connie Jump

The Shell Show kitchen runs behind the scenes to provide coffee, lunch, snacks, and a much-needed rest area for the exhibitors, judges, authors, vendors, committee chairs, and full-day volunteers. If you’ve had one of these roles, you know how valuable this kitchen benefit is compared to going to a restaurant in March on Sanibel! Our “tip jar” at the kitchen serving line served as a reminder that the food is not free. We couldn’t provide the unlimited beverages and food without the generous donations from club members, grocery stores, and other contributors. Thank you sincerely to these people and the others who donated anonymously: Jerry’s Foods, Publix, Tom & Linda Annesley, Donna Smith, Kathleen Helge, Heather & Bill O’Keefe, Stacy & Linda Edinburg, Phyllis Sharp, Gail Geibel, Penny & Scott Chrysler, Sue Schoenherr, Ramona Novitski, Jennifer Schiff, Diane Thomas, Carol Periard, Alice and Bob Pace, Mary Burton, Clair Beckmann, Angie Marsland, John & Jill Wahlfeld, Doug Thompson. Also, we are grateful for these two Sanibel restaurants who proved their loyalty and generosity especially after a bad year of slumping sales due to the red tide: Great White Grill (pizzas) and Sanibel Deli & Coffee Factory (platter of sandwiches). In addition to requesting donations to pay for groceries, we rely on members to contribute pot-luck dishes so everyone can enjoy a hot lunch. Many thanks to these wonderful food angels and others who may have contributed without my recording it: Jill Wahlfeld, Joyce Ross, Judi Bashore, Faye Cox, Diane Thomas, Dotty Dion, Kim Short, Joyce Matthys, Mary Burton, Linda & Stacy Edinburg, Kelle Covington, Rick Batt, Robin Harris,

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Linda Sutherland, Liz Lisaius, Mindy Pierce, Anne Joffe, Bobby McGlynn, Irene Longley, Connie Miller, Shanti Moore, Debi McBroom. And certainly not least, I am sincerely grateful to my wonderful kitchen team who stepped up to help out so much-- from preparing, cooking, serving, cleaning up, moral support, and making it fun: Paul Tobias, Chape Whitman, Linda Sutherland, Faye Cox, Judi Bashore, Ramona Novitski, Karen Turner, and Tom Annesley (pizza delivery man).

(L-R) Paul Tobias, Connie Jump, Chape Whitman)

Minutes of the March 17th Meeting

By Kim Short, Secretary

The meeting was preceded at 1:45 p.m. with refreshments, and a silent auction consisting of a large variety of shells. President Tom Annesley called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m. Over 50 members and guests were present. Gregory Herbert, Paleobiology Professor at the School of Geosciences at University of South Florida, presented: Expeditions in the Deep Gulf of Mexico. He revealed that there is no government plan to protect mollusks in the Gulf and no real knowledge of what is there. With grant funding, he and his team of students, to date, have collected species from 250 stations in the southwest and central west Gulf. From the data and research, they have created maps which illustrate dead and live species found in a given area, biodiversity, communities by species, and dead zones. He stressed that mollusks are a renewable resource but only if we take care of the oceans. After the break, door prizes were awarded and guests recognized.

Business Meeting Shell Show preliminary results: There were 3801 attendees, up 787 from 2017 and up 317 from 2018. Gross three-day show intake was $59,833. Speaker for the next meeting: On Sunday, April 14 at 2:15, Rebecca Mensch will speak on her hunt for live Junonias in the Gulf. Following will be discussion on how Club members might volunteer at the upcoming COA convention.

Vote on Revised Club Bylaws: The revised bylaws were printed in The Junonia, January 2019, and were read and discussed at the General Meeting on January 2019. A verbal vote took place today and the revised bylaws passed with no opposition. Board Openings: The Nominating Committee has recommended the following members to fill Board positions: -Ramona Novitski to continue in her position for an additional two years, -Kelle Covington to fill Connie Jump's vacancy, for two years. A verbal vote followed and passed with no opposition. Announcements: Conchologists of America Convention in June 2019. Karen Turner announced that a few Shell Show t-shirts and Shell Club golf shirts were still available. Instructions were given for paying for and collecting silent auction items. The meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.

To the Members of the Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club

The Sanibel Community Association, Shell Crafters, and Shelling Bees extend our sincere appreciation to the membership for the support, coordination, and effort contributing to the success of the 82nd Annual Shell Festival. To paraphrase a Frank Sinatra song, “The Shell Club and SCA go together like a mollusk and its shell. You can’t have one without the other” to have such success! In addition, Mother Nature again cooperated with beautiful Florida weather. We look forward to an amazing 83rd Festival and as soon as we all recover, plans will be initiated for next year. Thanks again to everyone!

Sincerely, Sue Schoenherr, SCA Shell Chair

Shell Club Fossil Field Trip by Susan Butler

Twenty-three members of our shell club met at the Big Horse Aggregates Quarry about an hour east of Gainesville on Sunday, March 17th. Some members drove over to East Palatka the day before, while others drove over the day of the dig. This special fossil field trip was led by Roger Portell, Collection Director of Invertebrate Paleontology and Micropaleontology at the University of Florida, and Carmi Thompson, Collections Assistant at the museum. After our drive to the quarry, we were eager to begin our hunt for 3 million year old fossil shells from the Nashua Formation (Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs). As we searched for fossil treasures, we were excited to see all

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the different species that were found. Some species are now extinct, while others can still be found today. Five of us found junonias! After 3 hours, we left with our buckets full. After heading back to our hotel to rest and clean up, we met for a delicious dinner at a local restaurant. There, Roger gave us a preview of what we would be seeing on our visit to the Florida Museum of Natural History the next day. In the morning we enjoyed a three-hour “behind the scenes” tour of the museum guided by Roger and John Slapcinsky, Invertebrate Zoology

Collection Manager. There are over six million invertebrate specimens in the collection. After the tour we left with new knowledge about fossils and mollusks. Roger (seen here on the left) was an outstanding guide, and very happy to share his knowledge with us. This made the field trip even more enjoyable. We hope that we can work with him again sometime. I am starting to look at field

trips for next season. Because everyone enjoyed it so much this year, one of the trips will be another shelling trip on Kice Island. If you have an idea for a field trip, please contact me via email at jbutler895@aol.com.

Club Membership Cards No Longer Issued

The Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club Board of Directors has decided to discontinue the use of membership cards. The reason for this decision is because the only function of the cards was to gain access to the benefits at The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. The museum is now honoring those benefits through a membership list supplied by the Club. This membership list is updated monthly, so if you are a new member there may be an initial period of time until your name appears on this list.

The Club Sincerely Thanks… by Linda Edinburg

the members who have recently made monetary donations to the club during our Shell Show: Scott & Penny Chrysler, Linda & Stacy Edinburg, Angie Marsland, Joyce Matthys, Kathi McNeil, Heather O’Keefe, Estelle Studer and Lissa Terese.

We thank Kathi McNeil for giving us so many shells from her parents’ Betty and Malcolm Mosher. They are used for our gate thank-you bags, craft shell sales, and kid’s scavenger hunt. We have received significant monetary donations from one of our vendors, Todd Alan Studios, and also from Donald Dan’s shell sales, Linda Edinburg’s craft shell sales, and Heather & Bill O’Keefe’s jewelry sales. Thank you all for supporting our club so generously!

Craft Shell Report by Linda Edinburg

Our craft shell sales earned $1,660.00 this year. I could not have done it without the help of some dedicated club members. My thanks to Dotty Dion, Diane Thomas, and Jill & John Wahlfeld for coming to my house twice to sort these small craft shells; to Sharon Thomas for not only donating craft shells but also bringing them all already bagged; and as always to Connie Miller for her pricing expertise. This club income is because of you!

A Letter of Appreciation Just a few days ago, I drove down to Sanibel from Spring Hill, FL where my parents had a home for 30 years. During that time they spent many happy days on Sanibel fishing and collecting shells. On behalf of the Shell Club, Karen Turner accepted the shells that they had collected. I know that it will be some extra work for her to distribute them, etc. She was informative about your programs and very gracious. I would like to make a $200.00 donation as a thank you and in memory of my parents, Mac and Betty Mosher. Sincerely, Kathi McNeil

Kids Scavenger Hunt by Stacy Edinburg

This year we had 132 children go on the scavenger hunt through the exhibits, trying to find the answer to questions like, “Careful! Don’t stick your hand in this animal’s mouth!” and “What is the largest shell you see?" The best part is when they came back with their completed forms. The looks on their faces when I showed them the basket of shells and told them they could pick any shell they wanted from the basket was priceless! Thank you very much to everyone who donated shells - it goes a long way to making this a fun experience for the kids! And please keep us in mind for next year - if you go out after a big storm and find some good (fist-sized and up) shells that you already have lots of, put them aside and I’ll take them for the scavenger hunt! Lightning whelks, tulips, sunray venus, figs, pear whelks, really large cones and murex, etc. are all appreciated and sought after. Thanks to a generous donation this year, we are all set with giant Atlantic cockles for next year.

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March Speaker Says, “Thank You”

I want to thank you for supporting the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation Marine Laboratory in our research on red tide on the Gulf of Mexico sea floor. I look forward to speaking to the Shell Club again next year after we use our “underwater drone” ROV to document recovery of the marine life in the Gulf. Sincerely, Eric Milbrandt, Director, SCCF Marine Laboratory

“How Many Shells?”

As the curtain descended on the 82nd Sanibel Shell Show, the time had come to say good-bye to all the wonderful exhibitors from near and far who entered their beautiful shell art in the Artistic division of the show. Each year I think I’ve seen the best only to be amazed and stunned once again at the creativity and beauty of the over 200 exhibits displayed at this year’s show. During the show a gentleman approached me and asked how many shells were used to create all the exhibits. When I said I didn’t know he replied, “You should know!” While leading him to a Sailor’s Valentine in the hobbyist class, I offered him the task of counting shells and said, “You can start with this one.” He graciously declined. I think it is safe to say thousands of shells were used. My sincere thanks to all the exhibitors and volunteers who dedicated their time and effort to make the 82nd show one of the best we have ever had. I look forward to seeing each of you at the 83rd Sanibel Shell Show, March 5, 6, 7, 2020.

Where Do Our Exhibiters Come From?

I was curious as to where our Shell Show exhibitors live but I didn’t have easy access to all the entry forms so I checked the list of ribbon winners. I discovered that our ribbon winners came from: 60 different cities 23 different states 4 different countries

Shell of the Month by Dr. Rick Batt

Syrinx aruanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

(Australian Trumpet Shell)

Syrinx aruanus (the Australian Trumpet Shell), the only species in its genus, is the world’s largest living snail. Once considered to be a member of the family Melongenidae (the same family as the Florida Crown Conch), it was moved to the family Turbinellidae (the family including Chank Shells and Vase Shells) in 1989 after a detailed study, including recognition of the very similar protoconch and egg cases.

Australian Trumpet Shells are relatively common along the coasts of the northern half of Australia, Papua-New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia. They frequent sandy

bottoms from the intertidal area down to depths of about 30 meters (100 feet). These carnivorous animals are specialized for feeding on long polychaete tube worms. In turn, their meat is used for food by the locals, while their shells are used for a variety of purposes: as a water carrier; as a trumpet (with a hole drilled into the spire), and even (ground up) as a source of lime. Indigenous men of Australia used to make half-moon-shaped nose pins (imiua) from the shell. The spindle-shaped shell of an Australian Trumpet has a high, conical spire and a long, broad siphonal canal. The whorls usually have a strong keel along the shoulder, and small nodes are present on earlier whorls. The color is usually pale apricot, but often fades to a creamy yellow. In life the shell is covered by a thick gray or brown periostracum, and the aperture is partially closed by a large, horny operculum. The protoconch, the embryonic shell that makes up the earliest whorls of larger specimens, is long and tower-shaped, made up of several whorls, and can reach more than 25 mm (one inch) in length. It looks so different from adult shells that at one time it was even considered to be a different species! This portion of the shell usually breaks off early in the animal’s life, so it is usually missing in specimens greater than about 20 cm (9 inches). The first picture shows some smaller specimens of Syrinx aruanus in my collection (US quarter for scale). Two embryonic specimens taken from egg-cases found near Broome, northwestern Australia (31 and 43 mm: 1.2 and 1.7 inches) on the left are followed by: 85.4 mm (3.3 inches) from the same locality; 150 mm (6 inches) from Northern

Australia; 210 mm (8.2 inches) from near Broome; and a 250 mm (10-inch) specimen with the periostracum intact from near Onslow, Western Australia. Notice that all of these specimens still have an intact protoconch. At the bottom of this

picture is an egg case, collected near Broome. The second picture is a close-up of an embryonic shell (23 mm, nearly 1 inch) from Broome. The first picture on page 6 shows three larger specimens in my collection: 513 mm (about 20 inches) from Indonesia with the periostracum intact; a heavy 560 mm (22 inch) shell from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia; and a partly albinistic specimen from the Moluccas Islands, Indonesia (554 mm, nearly 22 inches).

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The final picture is with my largest specimen of Syrinx aruanus, collected in deep water off Cape Arnhem in Australia’s Northern Territory. The specimen measures nearly 700 mm (27.5 inches) in length.

Sanibel-Captiva Shell Club Officers and Board of Directors

President: Tom Annesley 734-660-3648 annesley@umich.edu

Vice-President: Karen Silverstein 607-280-0974

newtard1234@gmail.com Secretary: Kim Short 239-312-8151 shortgage@comcast.net

Treasurer: Linda Edinburg 239-395-9426 wedodit@comcast.net

Immediate Past Pres: Karen Turner 252-294-8046 pestmum@yahoo.com

Members-at-Large: Ramona Novitski 239-250-9535 ramn21101@gmail.com Kelle Covington 775-750-3326

Kelle.covington@gmail.c Carol Periard 217-415-4047 crhp194@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Joyce Matthys 503-871-1082 joycematthys1@gmail.com

Grants Chair: Clair Beckmann 239-472-4524

clairann2000@yahoo.com Membership Chair: Ramona Novitski 239-250-9535 ramn21101@gmail.com Shell Show Co-Chairs:

Mary Burton 239-395-3626 marybsanibel@hotmail.com

Joyce Matthys 503-871-1082 Joycematthys1@gmail.com

Archives: Linda Edinburg 239-395-9426 wedodit@comcast.net

Hospitality: Karen Turner 252-294-8046 pestmum@yahoo.com

Field Trips: Susan Butler 309-696-5558 jbutler895@aol.com Publicity: Karen Silverstein 607-280-0974 newtard1234@gmail.com Website: Connie Jump 239-314-6524 cjjump@earthlink.net

Sanibel Shell Show Ribbon Winners

du Pont Trophy & R. Tucker Abbott Award Winner – Anne Joffe

COA Award Winners – Pat & Bob Linn

Anne Joffe Sanibel Superstar Winners – Alice & Bob Pace

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Amanda Baker

Debbie & Barry McBroom

Andrea Schopf

Ann Palmer

Ann Reardon

Dianne Reich

Linda Sutherland

Dominic Baker

Gail Geibel

Sharon Thomas

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Bruce Schulz

Connie Miller

Donna Timmerman

Heather O’Keefe

Richard Batt

Ramona Novitski

Marvin Hennemann

Nicholas Baker

Judith Grant

Doreen Care

Irene Longley

Tyler Schoenherr

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Leslie Anding Mindy Pierce Olivia Baker

Linda Dorn Barbara McKenna Cheri Hollis

Amanda Collett Accepts the Merideth Blain Pat & Bob Linn Accept the Artstic People’s Choice Award Scientific People’s Choice Award from Artistic Division Chair Mary Burton from Scientific Division Chair Tom Annesley