> >I know it's on the animal.  It's just too expensive to do, right.  Our
> >two clubs, the Clearwater and St. Pete club paid for a DNA to be done on
> >two closely related species from the Tampa Bay area, but after a couple
> >of years it was never done, and our money was returned. We still have no
> >answer.
>
> Definitely not cheap!
>
> And, despite the molecular workers' assertions, on its own it cannot
> give a conclusive answer. Just as with any other method.

Rougly $50 per sequence; cost goes up and time required goes down if
you do more steps using kits or other automation.

You need a good sample size and some information about related
species.  Some mollusks are known to give highly anomalous results on
occasion, so it is safest to look at multiple genes in several
individuals.  Different genes work well in some species and fail in
others.  E.g., ITS seems to work well in Lampsilini and Anodontini but
not in Pleurobemini within Unionidae, nor in Margaritiferidae.

--
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"

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