Dear John,

Flexopecten glabra has more than 10 ribs, Flexopecten has the broader ribs and about 5. But
there are existing forms or variations (or whatever you will call them)  which are hardly to distinguish
This is what also Maurice Lucas mentioned. In my private collection I have typical glabra and
proteus. The ribs in glabra are more prominent, in proteus they are broader and but the surface of
the shell is smoother.
with best regards
Helmut

Helmut "Helix" Nisters
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Innsbruck
phone and fax: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
web:    www.netwing.at/nisters/

office:
Natural History Department of the
Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum Innsbruck
Feldstrasse 11 a
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Europe
phone: 0043 / 512 / 58 72 86 - 37

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Hi Carole,

How do you distinguish proteus from glaber? Poppe & Goto, 1993 calls it a
form of glaber with 3-5 ribs, where glaber has 5 major ribs, but other
forms (up to 20 names) have up to 13 ribs.

>  The shells formerly in the genus Proteopecten have been moved to the genus
>Flexopecten. Flexopecten proteus is a valid species. It is not a subspecies
>of glaber, but a species in its own right.
>      Carole M
>


John Wolff
2640 Breezewood Dr.
Lancaster, PA 17601, U.S.A.