I am a resident of Ecuador and confine my shell collection to the
species of that country - marine mostly, but with some collections of
fresh water and terrestrial mollusks.   My collection is developing
slowly, and now includes about 3,000 lots representing about 1,000
species.   The recent El Nino event has made the past year very
unproductive, but I'm hoping things will look up now that the
Ecuadorian coast is beginning to return to normal.  Although I
currently live in Quito, my work takes me to the coast frequently and
my husband and I are constructing a house there and  hope to move
permanently  within a year's time.  I am working on a mangrove
protection project with the Universidad Catolica in the Chone and
Cojimies Estuaries of Manabi Province which, among other things,
involves the mapping of mollusk distribution (particularly the
commercial species - mainly Anadara spp. and Ostrea spp.).   I also
work a lot with archaeologists identifying the shells recovered from
excavated sites and have gone through several tons of such shell
material which has provided a number of interesting specimens and a
knowledge of a large range of shell artifact types.
 
I am chiefly interested in corresponding (Spanish or English) with
other collectors in the Panamic/Pacific Province, particularly those
south of Panama, in order to exchange observations and literature. I
would also like contact with persons who work with archaeological
shell material.  I do not buy, sell, or trade shells, since I restrict
my collection to specimens that I have personally collected,
prefering my own poor quality shells to someone else's gem quality.
 
Kate Clark
Quito, Ecuador
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Howard L. Clark or Kate Clark /
[log in to unmask]  /
tel. & fax (593-2) 520837 /
P.O. Box 17-12-379, Quito, Ecuador
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