Which brings me to the Mediterranean. Belnacasan On another research visit to Cyprus, my eye was attracted to the ‘Sea Sponges Center’ in Limassol, only because above its door front was a large painting of the Atlantic triton C. lampas. The center does indeed sell ‘bath-sponges’ but it also sells the usual motley assortment of shark jaws, ballooned puffer-fishes, dried seahorses and stuffed terrapins, posing as (now protected) turtles. But, the center mostly sells shells – thousands upon thousands of them. It had only one C. lampas for sale, as a bedside table lamp for €35. And, except for the hundreds of thousands of shell bracelets,

necklaces and assorted braids and belts, which may have a Mediterranean origin, all the larger ‘trophy’ shells were from the Indo-West Pacific. A few examples will suffice: species of giant clams (Tridacna) were on sale from €15 to €80 each; gastropod species of Tonna (holothurian predators) at €30 to €40, and Cassis cornuta (echinoid predator) from €25 to €50; species of Cymbium (baler shells)

and other volutes (mollusc predators) at €20 to €30; Murex ducalis and Murex inflatus (also predators) at €35; and, of course, the spiny Lambis lambis at €40 to €50. But, the most expensive shells (€180) AZD2014 clinical trial were those of Syrinx aruanus (Turbinellidae), the biggest gastropod alive today, and a chaetopterid predator with an attained shell height of 90 cm – the size of a small child! The Limassol shop however was big and I have not singled it out for any particular reason. One can go almost anywhere coastal in the world today and, guaranteed, there will be stands, stalls, shops, and emporia – all selling

shells and other dead marine animals or their bits for souvenirs that have no connection with locality. Some may attempt to persuade you that these shells are collected dead, from beaches or coral rubble, but it is not true. Dead and devoid of colour and sheen, shells are valueless. No, the shells are live-collected, mainly from coral reefs, cleaned out of soft tissue, for no human consumption purpose, and brought together in huge warehouses, principally in the Philippines, and sold on wholesale to dealers throughout the world. It is a gigantic trade. These shells are bought as trinkets by tourists and end up, as they age, either being put in the garden or thrown away. A memory, like a life, wasted. But, it is not the end of the story. There is another shell trade – that of the collector. Shell collecting became fashionable with the early Victorians, perhaps sooner, as pioneer tourists returned home with natural history trophies and established curio cabinets as drawing room conversation pieces. Today, shell collecting, like bird egg and butterfly collecting, is not so popular among the young but, nevertheless, the trade persists in a few countries such as the USA, Italy and Holland.