>Hello Linda,
>Welcome to Conch-L.  I hope you find it both enjoyable and useful.
>The two shells you mention are quite familiar.  The first one, if
>it's what I think it is, is not a Latiaxis at all, though I have seen
>it listed as a Latiaxis on exporters' and wholesalers' lists several
>times, and occasionally even on retail dealers' lists.  The correct
>genus name is Lataxiena, not Latiaxis (obvious where the confusion
>comes from).  It is in the family Muricidae (Murex family).
>Lataxiena fimbriata Hinds has a fairly wide range in the western
>Pacific, and "Formosa" (now Taiwan) is well within its geographic
>range.  I have specimens from there.
>Your other shell won't be found in a "seashell" book, because it is
>not a seashell - it is a land snail, Acavus haemastoma L., from Sri
>Lanka (formerly Ceylon), where it is very common.
>Regards,
>Paul Monfils
 
Paul, Thanks for clarifying that for Linda.  I looked both names up and
found only Latiaxis fimbriata.  I now must recatalogue my wife's specimen
from Wakayama, Japan and place it in her second favorite family (Muricidae)
Thanks for helping me also.  Say Hi to Kay peterson when you see here.
Tell her that she's still invited to Eureka, California.
        Dan Yoshimoto
 
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Dan & Hiromi Yoshimoto
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