Dear Tom,

I have two Bathynerita naticoidea that came from the Lousianna slope,
collected at +-400m deep close to oil platforms. It's not from the genus
Nerita, but from the same family. It looks much more a Natica than a Nerita.

[]s

Eduardo Moreira
Brasilia, Brazil


-----Mensagem original-----
De: Thomas E. Eichhorst [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Enviada em: Quarta-feira, 1 de Setembro de 1999 00:57
Para: [log in to unmask]
Assunto: Re: [CONCH-L] ?


James,

...

Last, about the deep water question.  I have an unknown nerite that was
taken by tangle nets in deep water off of Balicasag Island, Bohol,
Philippines.  I have another (can't remember the name but it is identified)
that was mislabeled (I'm almost certain) as coming from 80 fathoms.  If so,
it had probably been dropped overboard and subsequently recovered.  But the
unknown, deep water nerite came with a lot of unidentified nerites from the
Philippines.  All had very good data but the person who collected then knew
nothing about nerites.  All were personally collected by him except the
"deep water" nerite which was taken by the ubiquitous local fishermen with
tangle nets.  So who knows?  This family inhabits a very harsh and demanding
environment (intertidal) and have even taken up residence in brackish and
fresh waters -- so the deep water dweller may be in my shell drawer or
waiting to be found.  Everyone "knew" Cypraea cervus was a vegetarian until
Van and Alta Van Landingham had one that ate coquina clams like they were
going out of style.

Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA