Nancy,

Just a quick blurb on Latin or scientific names.  For most things in life,
common names work fine.  If you are a hunter you can easily remember mule
deer, white tail deer, black tail deer, black beer, turkey, etc.  A birder
can do pretty much the same for the 600 or so species of birds found in the
U.S.  However, when you start collecting shells you have opened up an
immense box!  No one knows how many species of shells there are; and I don't
mean they are off by a hundred or a thousand.  Estimates range from 50,000
species to 100,000+ species of mollusks!  The ones that are shallow water
and commonly come in contact with man are most likely to have a common name.
But the vast majority of shells only come into contact with man if we go
looking for them.  Most of these do not have a common name.  Even those with
a common name can be really tough to identify as the same common name is
used for many different species around the world or one shell may have many
different common names.

In the U.S. when we say conch we generally mean a species of Strombus.  But
many folks on the east coast call almost any big shell a conch.  Thus a
Busycon carica is sometimes a whelk and sometimes a conch.  However, it is
always a Busycon carica and if you are buying one from a dealer or trading
with someone, you both must be certain what you are talking about.  The
common name issue is really compounded if we talk of countries other than
the U.S.  For instance, in Japan there are some very lyrical common names
that we would never use here.  But both countries recognize the scientific
name.  Thus if you look at it in a world wide perspective, the scientific
name is really the common name.

Please do not despair!  These names actually get pretty easy with use.  I
repeat, with use.  Do not be overwhelmed or worry that you do not know them
all up front.  Just pick up the ones you are interested in and the rest will
gradually follow -- especially if you join a club.  If your interest is in
cowries or Cypraea (sip-rea), then you have a great start as you could spend
the rest of your life just collecting and learning about that one family.
As you do this you will run into many other names and they will eventually
become common names to you.  To Cypraea it is easy to add Conus (cone
shells), Ficus (fig shells), Oliva (olive shells) and Strombus (true
conchs).  With just those few genera you have close to 1,000 species
represented.

Now just drop a few letters at the end and add an "idae" to each of these
and you have the family name (obviously this doesn't work with all genus
names, but it does with these).  Thus you have the families: Cypraeidae
(genus Cypraea), Conidae (genus Conus), Ficidae (genus Ficus -- plus another
we'll ignore), Olividae (genera Oliva, Olivella, Amalda, Ancilla, and some
others), and Strombidae (genera Strombus, Lambis, and Tibia).

So we started simple with just a couple of names, added some and got a bit
more complex and now let's stop!  You can just stick with Cypraea for a
while -- at least until you see that pretty shell in the dealer's case and
add a new family (and a new name).  Right now (as a beginning shell
collector) it probably seems like many shell people are talking over your
head and throwing around those Latin names just to show their expertise.  In
point of fact, if you give yourself just one year with a couple of half
decent books and especially with a membership in a club -- you'll find those
names sounding pretty common to you.

A last note (yeah, I know, many of you are saying thank goodness!).  I
stumble over those names all of the time and I have yet to be made to feel
embarrassed or ignorant by a fellow shell collector.  Of course this could
be my thick skin or dense cranium -- but I like to think it is because this
is a good group.  Despite the recent (rather humorous) tirades on the list,
this is really a wonderful group of people who are eager to help without
making you feel dumb.  So hang in there and you will learn the language, I
promise.

Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA