Hello Helmut,
 
On Wed, 7 Oct 1998 21:53:00 PDT, you wrote:
 
>you looks like me, but some years older. I am aged 45, fat,
>ugly, sometimes bald (only at home)
 
Yeah, I know what you mean. I myself used to be a part-time
"undercover agent" once but, to be honest, it were a pain in the neck.
My toupet showed the unfortunate habit of frequently sliding off my
head and landing in front of me like a shot-down squirrel,
particularly while I was tinkering about in the undergrowth with my
nose on the ground, in search for terrestrial snails. A couple of
times I even had to fish it out of a brooklet or a pond where it had
fallen into during a Pisidium collecting session.
 
One day I got so fed up with this annoying behaviour of my "rug" I
threw the thing into the fireplace and I have never worn one again
since then.
 
>and spezialised in European inlandshells
 
Accidentally that happened to be my specialization too. I have even
done some collecting in Austria a couple of times! Found nothing of
any special interest though; Cochlodina fimbriata, C. orthostoma and
Acicula lineolata were among the most spectacular discoveries I made.
 
>and Mediterranean seashells.
 
IMHO marine mollusca are for consumption, not for collecting.
 
>But I don't know Stupididae
 
Well uhm... the Stupididae are not a very well known family, as
regarded from a conchological perspective, although I have to say they
are relatively abundant, especially in heavily urbanized areas. Most
members of this family are kinda hard on the outside with thick shells
and they are soft and slimy on the inside with dangly bits. Most
striking characteristic feature: when you step on them with your shoe
they make quite a lot of noise.
 
>My mother is aged 87 years Do we look similar.
 
Unless you are 2 meters tall, prickly and yellowy-eyed, I'd say: no,
we don't.
 
 
Regards,
Arjan