There are some fantastic melanistic shells such as Cyp. tigris and
Cymbiola vespertillio (and Cymatium piliare!) coming out of Thailand
these days - i found a good one at
 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1082912352 .   The
people who sell them either do not know or seem reluctant to disclose
the locality of these specimens.  I have 2 questions:

1) How long have these been coming out of Thailand?  I heard of a few
about 2 years ago, but do not recall any highly melanistic shells from
this country much before that.  Could it be due to a pollution source
that puts large amounts of nickel & iron in the water?

2) where is this locality?  Is there only one, or are there several?

From the great non-nuclear-but-still-wet North,
Ross M.