I disagree too, but the Liguus might be the most colorful and attractives among the landshells,
but some small landshells among the micros are very very interesting and much nicer.
You should make a difference between beautiful and nice and interesting. It's really
very hard to make a comparison. The only comparison I dare to make is that a Liguus
might be a Ferrari among cars, but also this is nonsense. Could you compare a beautiful
Cypraea with a small, but very very intersting and fine structured Skenea exilissima as
we sorted out of a shellgrit from Malta. Its very impressive such a little shell and I love
it more than a maybe most colorful Conus. Yes I love Cypraeidae and Conidae ver y much,
but the microshells with a nice structure I maybe prefer for myself and my mother too,
But indeed you should collect all shells, if possible. For me a Cypraea irrorata or a macandrewi
is much more nice than a Cypraea leucodon. You can make another comparison. A wonderful
and beautiful wilfe might not be as charming or friendly as a pretty and nice one. A beautiful
wife can be conceited (imaginary) (sorry I didn't find the correct word) and  heartless, but
a nice and pretty one takes your heart.
What do you think about this.                                                                                                             with best shelling greetings
Helmut

Helmut "Helix" Nisters
Franz-Fischer-Str. 46
A-6020 Innsbruck / Austria / Innsbruck
phone and fax: 0043 / 512 / 57 32 14
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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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Dear Leslie and Emilio (whom i hoped would reply - GREAT site!!);
        Thanks for your info on L. fasciatus varieties, and Liguus in general -
i disagree that they are the MOST beautiful land-molluscs in the world,
but they are certainly in the top 3!!!

-Ross.
--
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