Xen Nut,
 
The only interesting item I know about Xenophora is that many moons ago
some fish guy here at the museum brought back a bunch of X. longleyi from
the Florida Keys.  100% of these critters had a parchment worm tube in the
umbilicus.  I sent them to the Smithsonian where C. Fauchauld (sp?) looked
them over.  Preservation of the worm was poor (I had FINALLY gotten through
to this guy to not use formalin on shells), but he said that the specimens
represented a new species of polychaete.  I didn't get anymore specimens
for a long time, but the worm was eventually described and I remember a
note either in the Nautilus or the Proceedings of the Biological Society of
Washington about this interesting case of commensalism.
 
Kurt
 
 
At 04:52 PM 5/19/98 EDT, you wrote:
>Graham Tugwell;
>My interest is in Xenophoras. At this time I am doing a study on why they do
>what they do,(attach and grow fingers). Interested in any information if you
>have seen any thing unusual or evidence of them around a octopus den.
>
>Thanks and good Luck,
>
>Harry Berryman, the Xen Nut.
>