A rare large shell, home to a species of predatory sea snails, has been found in local waters by a Bahraini diver.
The sea treasure, with a height of 15cm and length of 22cm, was picked up by 42-year-old Mohammed AlSlaise, a senior associate researcher at the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (Danat).
Mr AlSlaise has been diving in Bahrain’s waters since 1999 and took to pearl diving in 2006. He was exploring the waters last month to collect shells for his young daughter when he stumbled upon the hard and curly piece.
“I love looking for sea treasures in our waters that have been explored by pearl divers for thousands of years,” he told the GDN.
“I’ve found anchors made of rocks that are about 100 years old and they were used to anchor pearling dhows in the Northern Hayrs (a seabed rich with pearl oysters).
“I’ve also found weights used by divers, which they tie to their feet to help them sink to the bottom of the sea; so when we pearl-dive we also look for these ancient treasures.”
A day before finding the large shell, Mr AlSlaise was snorkelling with his five-year-old daughter Laleh for the first time and collecting shells. He went pearl-diving in the Northern Bulthama Hayr when he came across the large Murex shell – home to a species of a predatory sea snail.
“I wanted to teach my daughter pearl diving and so we were collecting shells off the beach while snorkelling together for the first time,” added Mr AlSlaise.
“I was so proud of her and she loved doing it. So the next day, I went pearl diving and spotted a nice shell, but I realised it still had an animal inside and so I left it in the sea.
“While putting it down, I saw a shell bigger than my hand and the biggest I’ve ever found. I’ve been searching for this type because I’ve seen a few in personal museums and it was known to live in our waters in the past and particularly in oyster beds as the snail that usually lives in this shell feeds on oysters.”
According to Mr AlSlaise, further research is necessary to fully understand Bahrain’s marine biodiversity. He added that research will contribute greatly to protecting the country’s marine wealth.
“I don’t believe anyone has ever seen a live one (sea snail) in Bahrain and they probably live in deep waters like the waters of Oman, but in Bahrain I believe they are extinct,” added Mr AlSlaise.
“There are more than 1,000 types of this marine animal that live in shells and they can still be found in the Red Sea.
“We have other types of Murex which are smaller in size and they are still abundant in our waters, but for these large snails, we only find their shells.”
reem@gdnmedia.bh
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