Welcome to CONCH-L Sharon,
Only a few days ago we were discussing eastern North American land snails.
You can probably locate those messages in the archives. If you know nothing
about land snails & if you think Abbott's Compendium is too technical, then
what you need is something that will teach you the basic terminology. I
recommend Burch & (Tim) Pearce's land snail chapter in the book called Soil
Biology (Guide?). I don't have my copy with me so I can't give you the full
citation. Maybe Tim-if he is not out collecting snails- can help you with
that. If you want to get serious about land snails, sooner or later you will
need Pilsbry's Land Mollusca of North America (vol. 1, part 2; vol. 2, parts
3 & 4). Until a few years ago they were still available from the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philly ( www.acnatsci.org <http://www.acnatsci.org> ).
Although Pilsbry is slowly getting outdated (it was published in the 1940s),
it is still a "mandatory" book for the North American land snail collectors.

I collect in Maryland & elsewhere. I'll be glad to help you with your
questions, identifications. Just let me know.

Aydin

-----Original Message-----
From: sczarnec [ mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ]
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2000 5:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Hi from a newbie!



Hi!  My name is Sharon Czarnecki.  I just subscribed to the CONCH-L listserv
& am posting my brief intro as requested.  It will be quite brief as I am a
rank novice and I know absolutely nothing about shells!  I am, however, very
interested in learning all that I can about land snails native to my region
(North Alabama).  Several months ago I began collecting land snails after
being introduced to them by a naturalist who led a Sierra Club hike.  He
guided me to the North Alabama Shell Club and one of the members of the club
recommended your listserv.  I have collected several snails from one
particular mountain in the area.  My naturalist friend helped me identify
some of them; then someone emailed our state malacologist who offered to
identify everything I had and send me a photocopy of a beginner's level land
snail guide.  I am thrilled by his generous offer, as I have searched
extensively for land snail reference guides for my region and cannot find
anything in print and very little info. on-line.  Actually, I've checked out
archives from this listserv and found some of the best information about
land snails.  I did manage to order a second-hand copy of Abbott's
Compendium of Landshells but am afraid it will be a bit too technical for
me.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to learning and collecting!