Dear Kurt et al.,
 
This Crown Conch conundrum lends itself well to molecular taxonomy (not to
mention the obliging abundance and propinquity of material).  I think M. G.
Harasewych (U. S. National Museum) and his collaborators have already gotten
some DNA data on the matter of "speciation" in the Melongena corona "complex."
 
BTW, the Jacksonville Shell Club website (vide infra for link) has a nice
paper on M. corona written by Conch-L'er Phil Poland.  Just scroll down the
homepage and click on "Selected Past Articles," thence to "The Florida Crown
Conch."  The original (paper) version of this article had illustrations of
all the nominate forms of this taxon.
 
Harry
 
 
At 02:36 PM 4/5/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I can't remember if this was described as a subspecies of corona or a full
>species.  I don't have the reference handy.  Also, it's sprucecreekensis
>(with the s on the end).
>What makes a species a species is hotly debated.  It all depends on what
>species concept you adhere to and none of the definitions in current use
>are infallible.  Here's mine....if it's consistantly different .....it
>should be named.  What does consistantly mean?  Obviously, you need more
>than one or just a few specimens to know that.  The more localities
>(populations?) you have represented in your samples, the more you'll learn
>about variability of any character(s) you wish to examine.  If the
>populations(?) are different AND if you look at enough (and the right ones)
>characters, the consistant ones will fall out and become apparent.  Then
>you can pass along your observations to others in a meaningful and concise
>manner so that anyone can identify the creatures.
>I would not utilize ecology or lifestyle as criteria for describing new
>species for one reason.....  I firmly believe that if populations are doing
>drastically different things to get through their tragic lives, differences
>in shell and/or soft anatomy WILL exist.  You may have to dig for them, but
>the differences will be there.
>
>Kurt
>
>At 11:53 AM 4/5/99 -0600, you wrote:
>>Just a question, and I'm asking this out of ignorance:
>>If we are talking here about the Florida Crown Conch -  Melongena corona,
>>wouldn't the subspecies name be Melongena corona sprucecreekensi?
>>Can a population having different habits or lifestyle from the originally
>>named species be a criterion for a new species or does there have to be a
>>physiological difference as well, either in the soft parts or the hard shell?
>>How much of a difference?  I bet this topic is hotly debated.
>>
>
Harry G. Lee
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