>Hello fellow shell collectors,
>I have been reading and enjoying conch-l for a while now, so thought it was
>time I posted something. I started collecting shells all of a sudden, in a
>kind of unusual way I guess. Six years ago my husband agreed to clean out an
>attic for two elderly sisters, and they told him he could keep what he wanted
>and throw away the rest. There were a few old trunks, and in one of them were
>a number of shells, almost three hundred, all wrapped in tissue paper and old
>newspaper. Most of them had labels with them, telling the name (just the
>scientific name) and where they came from. One of the ladies said they
>belonged to her mother, so I guess they are pretty old. Anyway, I found them
>fascinating, and I got a wood cabinet and arranged them in it. Later I buoght
>small cardboard jewelry boxes and arranged them in the drawers like
>saparators, with a shell and its label in each box. Since then I have been
>gradually getting additional shells, and now have over five hundred. There
>are several shells from the original collection that I have not been able to
>find in any books (I have bought several books on the subject) even though
>they have labels with them. The names on the labels do not appear in any of
>my books. So maybe I can get some help in finding out about them. I guess
>that is an acceptable thing on conch-l, as I have noticed others asking for
>such help. I have a number of shells I am unsure of, but for now I will
>mention just a couple.
>One is a shell 38 millimeters long, kind of rough textured, light brown with
>darker bands of brown. It is labeled Latiaxis fimbriatus Hinds. I have a few
>other Latiaxis shgells, and have found them all in books, but not this one.
>Does anyone know about this shell? The label says it is from Formosa.
>Another one is a light weight brown and white banded shell with a bright red
>edge on the lip. It resembles a moon snail, very smooth, but not as flat as a
>moon snail on top. It is 55 millimeters in diameter. The label reads Acavus
>hemastomus L. from Ceylon. I have not been able to find any listing for
>Acavus in any book. Any help would be appreciated.
>Sincerely,
>Linda Mason
Linda,
Yes, you have a valid latiaxis fimbriata, Hinds,1843. It is listed in
Shells of the Western pacific in Color by Dr. Habe of Japan. The specimen
that I have comes from Wakayama, Japan but the species goes throughout the
Indo-Pacific Region. Formosa (Taiwan) is within that region. The other
species I have no idea about. It is not listed in Tom Rice's Catalogue of
Dealers' prices. You should get a copy of that book from Sea and Shore.
His web page is: www.ofseaandshore.com and his e-mail is
[log in to unmask] The prices in the catalogue are always
changing but I use this book as a catalogue of authors of names and places
found.
Good luck on your search for info on your shells.
Dan Yoshimoto
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Dan & Hiromi Yoshimoto
1164 Vista Dr.
Eureka, California
95503-6018
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
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