Dear Eddie;
        Depending upon the time you wish to spend, here are the categories i would include:

Family

Genus

Species/variety or form/Author/Date

Provenance: where and when did you acquire the shell: self-collected, dealer,
bourse, trading, purchase from native, etc.

Collector and date collected: Who collected it and when.

Method of Collection: Dredging, crab traps, Trawler, diver, tangle nets....

Locality: as detailed as you can.

Habitat data: this can be as detailed as you wish, if you know the info, and to
my mind is more important than locality data.  It is a pity that many older
collections are curiously deficient in good habitat data, but if the lot is
self-collected, or you know the collector, you can put down all sorts of things!

"Comments": just about anything else you thing pertinant, such as whether the
specimen(s) is a rare or unusual color or pattern, a different shape than
ususual, - perhaps a note or two about the population the lot came from,
something the collector or someone else at or from the locality of the
population in question told you (eg: "that color used to be very rare here: now
it is one of the most common colors")

The more (accurate!) info you can put into the Habitat and Comments fields, the
more valuable it will be scientifically-speaking.

That's pretty well it - good fortune to you!!

>From Canada in the early morning;
Ross.

----
> > From: Eddie Clamp <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: My Shell Collection
> > Date: Thursday, August 03, 2000 12:49 PM
> >
> >
> > I have just started to enter my collection into an Excell data base.
> Anyone
> > got any advice on what should be entered!
> > Many thanks
> > Ed
> >
> Dear Ed,
>
> Take a look at the Data base of Florida Museum of Natural History:
> http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/scripts/dbs/malacol_pub.asp
> This will give you an idea of what fields you may want to include.
>
> Winston Barney
> Fort Worth, Texas

--
Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells: Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
"We Specialize in the Unusual"
Phone: (902) 876-2241; Fax: (416) - 352- 7415.
But try to find "something for Everyone"!!
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