Charles Sturm wrote,
"  I too have a certain fondness for the Ostreidae, however one must
acknowledge their great degree of variability and how difficult they can
sometimes be to work with.  I have heard that in a taxonomic spliter they
can induce sheer madness or an utmost degree of ecstacy!"

Too true, Charlie! But the degree of ecstasy is only heightened when the
taxonomic lumper puts all the broken bits together again. Ah, synonymy! my
favorite spice.

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama