Art Weil wrote,
> IF cones don't die of old age---do other molluscs?  Do some of us
(unwittingly) have a Murex that may be 100,000 years old?

Very unlikely, though there are some awfully old bristlecone pines and
redwoods in relatively stable environments in California. To achieve such a
great age, the cone would have to be almost impossibly lucky to avoid
predation and accidents. One of the difficulties with living so long is that
the animal continues to grow, eventually exceeding the most appropriate
dimensions for that species. For example, bigger is not better if predators
single out the largest tidbits. The muscle needed to move a heavy shell may
not grow proportionally with it. Also, mutations may accumulate and
eventually lead to diseases such as cancer. And even a very healthy old
snail can die if its environment changes drastically and it can't crawl
away. Better for the species as a whole to have a larval stage that can
drift on the current!

Some mollusks commonly live for decades, or even a couple of centuries in
some cases, as discussed in previous Conch-L threads.

> After you answer that one, tell me the difference between Sunni and Shia.

Art, Art, Art. Is such ignorance possible after so much media coverage on
Iraq? Why not consult Wikipedia?

Andy

Andrew K. Rindsberg
Tuscaloosa, Alabama


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