Jim,

I think the point they are making is that new species can still be found on this earth that are not only under an inch in length.  I'm assuming when they say "giant" they are referring to species of substantial size; that is for a mollusk - everything is relative.

Look at the spectacular molluscan finds discovered around the deep-sea hydrothermal vents -- the "Giant" Vent Mussel, Bathymodiolus thermophilus grows to a length of 20cm. It is certainly not a "Giant" clam of Tridacna gigas size, but "Giant" probably is not too much of an exaggeration for a 20cm bivalve.

So it stands to reason that whatever new species of "giant" gastropods they have discovered must be rather sizable -- maybe not a baler like a Melo umbilicatus, but big none-the-less!

Rich

---- Original message ----
>Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:21:47 -0400
>From: Jim Miller <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Giant sea snails discovered
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>On Mar 21, 2008, at 1:08 PM, Richard Goldberg wrote:
>
>> Giant sea snails discovered
>> http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/
>> 0,23739,23412012-5003419,00.html
>
>Heaven forbid we get to see a photo of this giant snail. Is it bigger
>than
>a big bailer volute or a horse conch? I mean, just how large is "giant"
>in shell terms anyway? C'mon, someone find me a grant and I'll go down
>there and shoot a high-definition documentary that reveals our
>supersized
>mollusc in all its glory.
>
>Best regards,
>Jim
>
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