Hello fellow shell collectors,
I have been reading and enjoying conch-l for a while now, so thought it was
time I posted something.  I started collecting shells all of a sudden, in a
kind of unusual way I guess.  Six years ago my husband agreed to clean out an
attic for two elderly sisters, and they told him he could keep what he wanted
and throw away the rest.  There were a few old trunks, and in one of them were
a number of shells, almost three hundred, all wrapped in tissue paper and old
newspaper.  Most of them had labels with them, telling the name (just the
scientific name) and where they came from.  One of the ladies said they
belonged to her mother, so I guess they are pretty old.  Anyway, I found them
fascinating, and I got a wood cabinet and arranged them in it.  Later I buoght
small cardboard jewelry boxes and arranged them in the drawers like
saparators, with a shell and its label in each box.  Since then I have been
gradually getting additional shells, and now have over five hundred.  There
are several shells from the original collection that I have not been able to
find in any books (I have bought several books on the subject) even though
they have labels with them.  The names on the labels do not appear in any of
my books.  So maybe I can get some help in finding out about them.  I guess
that is an acceptable thing on conch-l, as I have noticed others asking for
such help.  I have a number of shells I am unsure of, but for now I will
mention just a couple.
One is a shell 38 millimeters long, kind of rough textured, light brown with
darker bands of brown.  It is labeled Latiaxis fimbriatus Hinds.  I have a few
other Latiaxis shgells, and have found them all in books, but not this one.
Does anyone know about this shell?  The label says it is from Formosa.
Another one is a light weight brown and white banded shell with a bright red
edge on the lip.  It resembles a moon snail, very smooth, but not as flat as a
moon snail on top.  It is 55 millimeters in diameter.  The label reads Acavus
hemastomus L. from Ceylon.  I have not been able to find any listing for
Acavus in any book.  Any help would be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Linda Mason