Helmut Nisters
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
homepage: www.netwing.at/nisters/
 
Dear Ken,
 
first best greetings from Innsbruck in Austria. Where do come from ?
My mother, Dr. Irmgard Nisters, aged 87 years, former lawyer, and
I, aged 45 years, former chemist (druggist), are since 1972 responsible
as honorary collaborators of the natural history department of
the Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck for the quite nice,
by us well sistemated, but small shell-collection. The collection
contains mainly land- and freshwater shells from Austria, Italy and
some other European parts as well as Mediterranean seashells and
a few exotic species. We have a private collection of European
inland-shells too, including many micro-species, and Mediterranean
sea-shells. I would be pleased to come in contact with you for
eventual changing material with your land-shells. As I want to build
up and enlarge the museums collection I would be pleased also to get
oversea-species for comparing purposes.
I can offer you through many families as
Cochlostomatidae
Vertiginidae
Clausiliidae
Hygromiidae
Helicidae and so on.
Most European species are not so spectacular as the exotic ones,
but nevertheless most interesting and nice.
I hope to hear from you again as soon as possible.
Can you provide me some Papuina species, like pulcherrima, which
would be very important for me. Much material of the museums collection
has been damaged in great parts by a flood desaster in 1985, and
our only specimen of Papuina pulcherrima was among them.
 
Hope to hear from you as soon as possible.
 
sincerly yours Helmut Nisters
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> Hello to all you Conch-L-ers!  I'll use this subject to introduce myself
> since I have some input
> on the matter.  My name is Ken Zentzis, and I've been a collector 24 of
> my 38 years.  Areas of interest have included most of the popular
> families over the years, and I've accumulated fairly complete
> collections of Strombus, Oliva, with substantial inroads made into
> Cypraea,          Terebra, Marginellidae, Fusinus, "Miters", et. al.
> However, my true love in the hobby are the landshells.  I've not been
> actively increasing my collection over the last few years (sometimes
> work and family matters preclude spending time and $resources on the
> hobby),
> but fully one third of my collection consists of terrestrials and
> arboreals.  My concentrations are in the many Philippine faunas, Liguus,
> Megalobulimulidae, Pleurodonte,
> Bulimulidae, Papuininae, Odontostomidae, Cyclophoridae, and more.  I
> also collect U.S. species, and have raised Anguispira, Mesodon, a host
> of micro-dudes, and others.  On the subject of shell-building mineral
> needs for terrarium snails, I've tried many things and have found
> cuttlebone to work best.  A close second would be a somewhat eroded
> freshwater clam shell.  A big, thick, chalky valve from Amblema or
> Megalonais has been a mainstay.  So not to distract from the atmosphere
> of the terrarium, I mostly bury the shell in the substrate, leaving a
> crescent exposed.  The snails often will burrow down and gather in the
> body cavity of the clamshell and stay there for extended periods.  If
> you listen closely, you can hear them rasping away.
> It's great to be on board!!
> Ken
>