Verde Realtà - progetto Idee in Comune

One of the most legendary shells which has fueled myths and fairy tales is the cowrie or golden dawn , Lyncina aurantium ( Gmelin 1791) . One of the first appearances of this species occurs in the publication " The Universal Conchologist ," written between 1784 and 1787 where it appears in the beautiful painted panels , after being discovered and brought to Europe by traveling around the world of the famous Captain James Cook. In 1823 was published an article by Edward Donovan , in the " Naturalist Repository ", where it is said that these shells, perforated at the top and tied with laces , are adoperate as an ornament in the clothing of the islanders of Otaheite , in the island of Tahiti. in fact, almost all of the specimens arrived in Europe until the mid-800 , were drilled those used as decorations , as they still do not know its range . Particular is the story described in the article published in the "Journal of Conchology " in 1895 , which tells the story of the Protestant missionary Reverend James Hadfield and his wife . He himself says so : " I happened to run into a beautiful specimen of these shells , just in a native hut , where he was held in great veneration by those who lived there , considering it a kind of fetish. ." Unbelievable is the story of his wife presumably died of a heart attack in the ensuing emotion after having found a live specimen . Thus was born the legend of the indigenous , the poor woman is dead after a demon struck her in the face because he had discovered this conchiglia.Attualmente this specimen is preserved in the Salisbury collection in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. Only after 1960 it was realized his true range, up to 50 meters deep , from the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, the Philippines, Micronesia and Polynesia to the Tuamotu Islands .