Although we were pretty busy at Kure Atoll working on a spiny lobster study and watching and photographing nesting seabirds in our limited free time, I managed to spend an hour or so one day counting the empty cowry shells rolled in on the beach. The numbers reveal an interesting proportion of those species that apparently were living close enough to the beach to wash in. Many were in poor condition, but all were easily recognized. These were observed late on one afternoon in June, 1979, on the seaward side of the south point of Kure's Green Island. One unusual feature of the Luria tessellata is that they were all quite small.
| Species | Number |
| helvola | 133 |
| tessellata | 75 |
| isabella | 56 |
| semiplota | 22 |
| sulcidentata | 15 |
| granulata | 15 |
| latior | 6 |
| fimbriata | 6 |
| scurra | 1 |
| moneta | 1 |