Thanks Paul,

You are absolutely right in that keys are VERY difficult
to write. Even a small, one page key hides the days of
work that go into making it. To make one for all the
molluscan families is a task I wouldn't wish on anyone
(or his descendants...since it could take more than a
lifetime to complete!).

You said:

"One thing we need to keep in mind as shellers is that a shell is just a
piece of something, in fact a relatively simple component of a much more
complex organism.  Even though we commonly speak of "new shells" being
described and named, we know that it is really new species of animals that
are being discussed, not just their exoskeletons.  Often the assignment of a
species to a family is based largely on non-conchological characteristics."

I think this quote should be on a plaque on every shell-collector's
wall. The shell is just 1 of the 100's of characteristics of the
animal's entire anatomy, but so often I've heard people argue that one
shell and another are of the same species because they look the same,
or that two are different species just because thier shells are slightly
different. Please, let's never forget the rest of the animal!
Let's also be thankful that shell characteristics do vary so wonderfully
between species; can you imagine being a shell collector if most shells
were white, smooth and limpet-shaped!

Peter Egerton's two cents worth,
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Peter Egerton, Vancouver, Canada
Collector of worldwide Mollusca
http://www.intergate.bc.ca/personal/seashell/index.html
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