Andrew Vik
Tampa, FL., USA
[log in to unmask]

Dear Paul, Marian:

What great stories! And humorous, too. You have given me my best
"non-Art Weil" laugh in ages.

My most unusual specimen is an immature Macrocallista nimbosa, about 2.5
inches long and killed by a moon snail. It looks like M. nimbosa as
depicted by Salvador Dali. The anterior and posterior ends of the clam
are curved up a full 1/4 inch out of the plane of the hinge. It's as if
the shell were made of wax and had melted in the sun. One valve is
convex and bulbous, the other is concave and flattened. There are no
detectable cracks or chips which would indicate traumatic mantle damage.
My only theory is that the animal suffered a mutation in it's genes of
symmetry.

Andrew