>
>N. belauensis shells differ from N. pompilius in that the former is of
>larger adult size and has a distinct ornament of spiral lirae and collabral
>(parallelling the growthlines) sculpture. The strong sculpture of N.
>belauensis, as in A. scrobiculatus, supports a periostracum thicker than
>that of           N. pompilius.

I was in Palau a few years ago.  I was there for land snails, but that's
another story.  I thought it would be cool to get some of those belauensis.
 I had some traps made and with the aid of some locals, sunk them to about
900 ft.  Every time we brought the traps up, they were squashed almost
flat.  I don't know what was down there, but it gave me the heevie-jeevies
whenever we went night snorkeling nearby.

I was finally able to procure a dead specimen.  The spiral lirations and
incised lines on the exterior of the shell are not that prominent.  They're
stronger than pompilius, but I would not say they were strong.  I don't
know if the soft anatomy is different than the more common species....but
I'm not sure about the validity of this taxon.  It should be fairly easy to
check out since apparently they are not uncommon inside the reef off Koror.
 Just need a better trap than I had.....

Kurt