My second time on Sanibel was in the winter of 98. Very serious red tide
problem that year and everything and its brother was washing up alive, drunk,
near death, dead, Dead and hanging out, you name it. Anyway, I was on the
stretch of Bowman beach that is rather unpopulated and I found this lovely
exposed sand flat. Well, I went to explore and I fell upon tons of
Phyllonotus pomum, immature pleuroplaca gigantea and a whole host of other
stuff lying there looking like live little snails. Except for one thing. They
were ALL dead. Stiff. Stinking. Gross. Just lying there. So I figured, why
not pick up a few of these dead stiff stinking gross beautiful snails that
had become victims of the dreaded red tide. SO I did. What was the find?  A
perfect, intact Phyllonotus pomum. Oh, Did I mention the perfect dead stiff
stinking gross beautiful Phyllonotus pomum was an Albino? Perfectly white
shell, no coloration of the shell, Yet, the body and operculum were otherwise
normal. Poor little guy. He was just hangin in the breeze decomposing. So I
gave this poor little dead stiff stinking gross beautiful murex a new home.
Man ... the traveling companion was not happy when I dragged that thing into
the room. But, it was a good thing.

Sarah

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Sarah R. Watson
Silver Spring MD
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