Hello Theresa,
Welcome to the group indeed!

Concerning :  A Collector's Guide to Seashells of the World by Jerome M.
Eisenberg and Compendium of Seashells by R. Tucker Abbott and S. Peter Dance
Typically referred to simply as "Eisenberg" and "Compendium" respectively
...

As Andrew mentioned these books are full of errors, synonymies, and name
changes which become errors.  Many of the synonymies or name changes can be
figured out by web searching for the shells.  This doesn't help if the shell
was mis-identified to begin with.  Sometimes these books will get me close
to the right ID, then with the web sites I find the right group of shells
and can make an ID or correction from there.

What color is your Compendium?  This determines what corrections have been
made.
>> Red/Maroon (= 1st & 2nd eds) The 2nd Ed has 57 caption changes marked
with an * of varying shapes.
>> All Green, Blue, or White Eds have 58 plus an errata page on 411.
Although there has been talk for 20 years of someone compiling a major
errata or revision index, no one has stepped up to the plate to do it.

Despite this, these works are still the best books for the general collector
to work from.  The biggest problem is not the name changes, but the
perpetuation of errors especially in mis-identification, or typographical
such as spelling.
There is a long paper trail with history for name changes, and as the jokes
go - they will change it again in a few years anyway!  Names are often
subject to speculation or opinion.  One author may be a lumper and another a
splitter, or just plain old disagrees on it.

I am not familiar with "Florida's Living Beaches" but there are a couple
regional books I particularly like:
>> Abbott's - Collectable Shells of the SE US Caribbean & Bahamas (aka.
Collectable Florida Shells) ... same book, two covers. There is also a
waterproof edition of this field guide.
>> Harlan Whittkopf - "Sanibel Kaleidoscope"
>> S. Peter Dance & H. Whittkopf - (2006) "Beach Treasures of the Gulf
Coast"

>> Colin Redfern's - "Bahamian Seashells" is a wonderful full size
identification book too!

Just to put a plug in for it ...
The new book on Texas Shells is slated for premier at the COA convention
next year!
>> If memory serves me it will be about 600 pages, all color, and is being
published thought Texas A&M press.  It has been in meticulous preparation
for well over 10 years by a team at Texas A&M Corpus Christi - Harte
Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.
>> The colorizing of the printing vs. black and white is being subsidized
through a series of grants, including from shell clubs.  If you or your club
would like to donate (sponsor a grant towards the colorization of it),
please contact:
Dr. Fabio Moretzsohn Ph.D.  [log in to unmask]


Hope this was helpful.
Leslie Crnkovic



-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Theresa Schwinghammer
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 8:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [CONCH-L] New to the List

Hello Everyone,

My name is Theresia and I am new to the list. Physically I live in southern
Indiana, but spiritually I live in many places. I have many interests in
nature---I spread myself far to thin in trying to learn so much! I love to
bird. I have been birding for about 15 years. I am interested in butterflies
and dragonflies, insects, seabeans, and shells!

I lived on the coast of North Carolina for several years while my husband
was in the Marine Corp and regret that my interest in shells and such were
not in gear at the time! So while I have lived near the ocean for awhile and
seen much, I never really SEEN until several recent trips to the
coast...Texas and Florida. On my last trip to Florida I was forced to buy a
book on sea slugs after there were many washing up (Bursatelli Leachii)!
Another venture!

While I have been picking up seashells for several years my interest
recently spiked! I have been trying to get my many shells identified and
labeled and that has been an undertaking for me. Some shells I have
collected on my own---others I have just picked up in various places not
knowing where they originally came from. I have some that I cannot
identify...Is there a way to post pictures to the list for help in
identification? Also, I understand common names being different on shells,
but I have recently been confused in finding the same shell in a couple of
different books but with different scientific names. Is there a list out
there or something that everyone follows as a standard? Right now the main
two books that I am using are A Collector's Guide to Seashells of the World
by Jerome M. Eisenberg and Compendium of Seashells by R. Tucker Abbott and
S. Peter Dance. The book Florida's Living Beaches by Blair and Dawn
Witherington has been a help to me also except this is where some of the
name changes are coming from.

I am looking forward to being a part of the list and the learning venture
that I know is to come.

Theresia

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To
leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the
list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------