The following is forwarded to the Listserv, per Phil Poland, to elaborate
upon his previous work on Melongena corona published on the Jacksonville
Shell Club Pages.

----- Original Message -----
From: Philip L. Poland <[log in to unmask]>
To: Melissa Frank <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: Charlotte Lloyd <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 1999 7:46 PM
Subject: Re: Simple Melongenidae Question


> Hi folks.
> I've found quite a few new populations of M.c. since writing the article
> you'll find on the JSC page.
> I'm inclined to give a little bit of credit to genetics where M.c.j. of
the
> panhandle is concerned. It is a bit attenuated in form and somewhat
isolated
> geographically. Whether it should rank as a subspecies, I'm less sure
about.
> I'm inclined not to go that route because of the snail's potential for
> variability when genetics is less an issue (populations near each other,
for
> example).
> Regarding the ovate aspect of M.c. We've found that cannibalism will alter
a
> snail's size and form. I recently collected a Lake Worth form which is
quite
> trigonal, typically. A few out of every hundred will attain a much larger
> size, and very distinctly barrel shape, as a result of cannibalism - I
> caught them with their craw's full. A colleague of Dr. Harry Lee first
noted
> this phenomenon in a population in the Upper Keys.
> Feel free to write on this.

Bill Frank
1865 Debutante Dr.
Jacksonville, Florida 32246
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
--------------------
Visit the Jacksonville Shell Club Home Page
http://home.sprynet.com/~wfrank/jacksonv.htm