I really appreciated the concern about collecting less-than-perfect material!! I joke with my husband that these are my "educational" shells. I have found some broken shells that are very interesting, especially if they beautifully show the interior of a shell structure. There's something about the "obession" of collecting shells that makes it hard for me to put back a shell if it has any interesting characteristics. I've tried to be better recently, but I've divided my shelling into three categories: collection shells, educational shells, and school shells (as part of my retirement plans, I hope to talk about conchology with school students and will let them choose from my collection of shells in good shape, but not prime for my collections.)
I highly agree with the statement (as I say to my husband), it's my collection and I'll collect whatever I want (as long as I still have space for it which is beginning to be questionable.)
Martha from Massachusetts
-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
David Kirsh
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2008 12:42 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] puzzling micro needs a family
Thanks, Andrew. If these are turrids, such as Kermia, all four of my finds must be eroded and either juvenile or missing the varix. I had thought the lirate sculpture within the outer lip was inconsistent with Kermia or other similar turrids, but Kay describes several with this feature.
Other features that don't seem to jibe with Kermia are the narrowness of the aperture and the blunt apex. Most of the Kermia or other candidate turrids have acute protoconchs, although there are a couple of illustrations with blunter spires (may be eroded specimens?). A couple of my shells seem to have their protoconchs sufficiently intact.
I realize a lot of collectors see some erosion on an uncertain shell and say, "Forget about it." But for me, there will be some shells that are tantalizing with their ambiguities and I want to solve the mystery. I'd love to --one day-- see a fresh intact specimen to match up against one of these.
Gulp, am I the only one who persists in pondering less-than-perfect material?
David Kirsh
>I'd say look at Kermia or Philbertia, more likely the former.
>--
>Andrew Grebneff
"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."--Erich Fromm, 1900-1980
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
