I am designing and writing script for a shell exhibit to be mounted at Cape Fear Museum where I  work. We are looking at shell diversity off North Carolina, especially south of Cape Hatteras,  due to
the presence of the Gulf Stream, in part.

My question is this.

"Mollusk" refers to the entire animal. It is to say the soft parts of the body
and the shell.
"Shell" refers to the calcium carbonate part of the mollusk.
Are the two terms interchangeable?
Are my definitions correct?
In the context of the exhibit I am working on for the museum I referred to them
as mollusks when talking about where they are living and shell when referring
to what we are exhibiting and or what wash up empty on beaches.

John Timmerman
Wilmington North Carolina

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------