Joan,

Several years ago, I was in Florida collecting Pliocene fossil mollusks,
and some Recent mollusks. Very fragile specimens, just a few, I took home
in carry-on luggage. Most specimens were 1-3 inches (25-75 mm) and these
were wrapped in newspaper and put in a hard sided suitcase [old American
Tourister - the type a gorilla could throw around :-) ]that I brought with
me for this purpose. I had a few very large shells, think large Busycon
and Pleuroploca). I went to a local U-Haul, bought a box and some
Styrofoam peanuts. These shells were packed in the box surrounded by the
peanuts (approx. 2-1/2 in top, bottom, and all sides. The box was then
sealed with tape. Everything went on the plane with me, and everything
made it home in good condition. I did watch the TSA guys while they were
inspecting my luggage. This was I could pass them the tape if they opened
the box. An alternative would have been to ship the box.

Regards,
Charlie
.................................................
Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Assistant Professor - Family Medicine

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