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Tue, 19 Jan 1999 11:05:39 -0700 |
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John,
I am not the one to really answer your questions about Strombus gigas, the Queen
Conch, but with all of the heavy stuff flying around right now I was afraid you
would be missed. So here is what I know.
First, to prove my ignorance, I have never seen or heard of a conch pearl. But I
can certainly envision them making one. The Latin name as I already mentioned is
Strombus gigas (Linnaeus, 1758) and the mechanism for making a pearl certainly
exists in any shell. It is just that you think of a mobile gastropod being able
to eliminate a particle irritant rather than having to cover it up.
There is at least one conch farm I know of -- at the Florida Marine Institute on
Long Key, Florida, USA. I believe the conch rearing is headed up by Dr. Robert
Glazer and Richard Jones. They have authored the article, "Temporal Factors
Influencing Survival of Hatchery-Raised Queen Conch Outplants." This information
is from the most recent issue of the Jacksonville Shell Club newsletter, The
Shell-O-Gram (thanks guys). There is also a web page with some Queen Conch
information on it but I can't seem to find it right now and there is at least one
book dedicated to them. As for a cut-a-way view of S. gigas, I don't know. I
have never seen one. By the way, Belize it a marvelous place.
That's it!
Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA
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