Greetings all,

I am a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute in Panama and am currently working on the phylogeny of tropical American Conus species. I am in the process of planning collecting trips in the Caribbean/western Atlantic and I figure that many of you know of good collecting spots for Conus in this region. If so, could you reply to me with the information or the email of someone who is not on the list who may know more? I will be happy to repost the accumulated information here and/or on the web. Another possibility is to keep the discussion of this thread open on the list.

Information requested: location, best time of year to collect, best time of day/night to collect, best tide to collect on, required collection plans (reef walk, dive, snorkel, boat), what species to expect, facilities (motel/hotel suggestions), and whether or not you want this information released in the reposted compilation of information.

Moreover, if anyone is planning a collecting trip in the upcoming months and doesn't mind an extra coming along, I'd be happy to join!

Thanks much!
Tom

Tom Duda
Naos Marine Lab
S.T.R.I.
Apartado 2072
Balboa, Republic of Panama

http://dudat.stri.si.edu/

[not sure if the site is still accessible -- may have been firewalled!]