Thanks, Allen. My first impression was that this is some sort of vermetid although I confess I'm still fooled by non-molluscan "worm-shells".

Could the sand grain attachment be a behavior limited to an early phase of development? Could the behavior be limited to only a limited taxon within vermetidae?

Agglutinated attachment seem to be a general behavior of Xenophoridae and Scaliolidae. Of course, the animal may "intend" to camouflage itself, but I think these external extras bring attention from hominid collectors and observers.

Is there a vermetid expert around?

David Kirsh

-----Original Message-----
>From: Allen Aigen <[log in to unmask]>

>
>The fact that the inside of the shell is shiny is pretty good evidence
>that it is not  a polychaete but probably a gastropod.  It also looks
>like it has at least two distinct layers at the broken end, typical of
>gastropods.  The attached sand grains are odd, but not all that
>important.  Perhaps it is a vermetid protoconch (plus 1/2 whorl), which
>attaches itself to a substrate (generally larger than sand grains
>though...)
>


"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it." -- G.B. Shaw

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------