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Malta and Gozo Isl., 2017
Vietnam, 2017
Oman and Masirah Isl., 2017
Curacao Isl., Caribbean Sea, 2017
Ko Samui / Ko
Pha-ngan, 2016
In July 2017 we made a rather long trip to
the islands in the Gulf of
Thailand. This area is quite popular for immense tourism but if you
know where to go, you can find very untouched and beautiful places
without any foreigners there. I definitely need to mention the tasty
food of Thailand, which is absolutely not comparable with the “Asian
food” we have here in Europe. Especially Ko Samui is famous for its
food markets where you can get most of the typical Thai dishes but also
Indian food as well. But of course it is possible to collect some
interesting species of seashells there. Most beaches at the
Island of Ko Samui are sandy, but if you walk a few meters into the
water you will find coral reefs all around the island which inhabit
species like Mauritia asiatica or Eclogavena quadrimaculata. The sand
flats between all the rocky shores are a good place to find gastropods
like different Polinices species as well as Pugilina cochlidium. You
will also find several species of Bivalves like Atrina vexillum and
other Pinnidae but we also obtained a huge Hyotissa from a rock in
rather shallow water. Unfortunately they don’t sell any shells at the
fish markets but in some places you can buy specimen shells which are
clearly collected on Ko Samui Island. If you like to go for a trip to
Ko Tao for some days its important to know, that you are not allowed to
take shells from the reef as they have huge populations of Tridacna and
other really interesting stuff. If you are lucky you can find
outstanding specimens of Conomurex luhuanus, not a very precious
specimen, I know. But if you can obtain specimens like the ones from Ko
Tao you will definitely have the most exquisite ones. This short resume
would be incomplete without mentioning all the interesting landsnails
you can find on these islands, such as Amphidromus inversus annamiticus
or Alycaeus roebeleni. I also need to mention the various species of
the Cyclophoridae family. You will find nice Cyclophorus diplochilus
all over the island of Samui. If you want to collect the endemic
Rhiostoma samuiense you need to visit the forests in the upper hills in
the center of the island. On top of that you may find some rare
Cyclotus species on Ko Phangan.
Sri Lanka, 2016
Bali, Indonesia,
2016
Since we had some time to spare in February, we decided to travel to
Bali, Indonesia. The Island is
rich of Hindu temples and you can feel the spirituality through the
whole day. It was amazing to meet
all the friendly people of that island. If you want to travel around
Bali you should rent a so called
“private car”. The drivers are pretty friendly and you will be their
friend very soon. For about $ 50 per
day, he will bring you to every spot you like. You will find nice
cowries and other shells at most rocky
beaches. Don’t forget to look for land snails, as there are plenty
species of Amphidromus and
Cyclophorus in Indonesia.
La Gomera, Canary
Islands, 2015
La Gomera is one of the seven Canary Islands. After El Hierro Island
its the second smallest Island. The landscape
is absolutly beautiful, many untouched forrests. For example the fog
forrests of La Gomera are very special,
you can find there much special species. On La Gomera you can find a
lot of
special and endemic Landsnails. Interesting Enideae,
Streptaxiidae and a lot of other intersting specimen.
Madeira / Porto
Santo, 2015
Our second trip to Madeira had the reason to stay on Porto Santo for
some days and search for
endemic land snails. You should always rent a car when you stay there,
so you have the opportunity
to search for snails in the mountains on Porto Santo. There is a long
flat beach, were you can find
many interesting species, such as Calliostomas, Patellas and
Ranellids.
Tenerife, Canary Islands, 2015
Staying on Tenerife more than a year ago, we decided to visit this
stunning island again in March
2015. To be honest, it’s better to visit this place in the early
summer. You will have much less wind
and sand storms. On our second trip to Tenerife we focused on the
shelling spots we knew and have
been successful in 2013. After all, we haven’t found many more species
than the first time, but we
had the opportunity to have a closer look at the rich beaches.
Kos Island, Greece, 2015
One of our wishes was to visit Greece at some day. We
had the opportunity to stay on Kos Island
during the early days of June in 2015. Definetely a great time to visit
that place because the water
has a great temperature and it’s not that hot outside. You can find
plenty shells at the beaches in the
northern part and also a lot of common and uncommon land snails.
Madeira / Porto Santo, 2014
Between the Iberian peninsula and the Canary Islands
there is the archipelago of Madeira. This little
island combines beautiful shores with native forests which are
absolutely unique in this world. Shell
collectors may know the island for its rich malacological fauna,
especially the endemic land snail
species. In December 2014 we spent a week on Madeira, combined with a
one-day trip to Porto
Santo Island, which is a must-see if you stay in this area.
Tenerife, Canary Islands, 2014
The beauty of the Canary Islands is well known all around Europe and
especially Tenerife combines
the most attractive features. However the Canaries are far more than
just a great place to spend your
vacation, but you will find a lot of unique seashells there. We spent
two weeks on Tenerife during our
first trip to the Canary Islands. The best way to collect shells is
searching for tide pools, especially at
the southern coast. If you want to collect land snails we would advice
you, to travel in the months of
winter.