Hello all enthusiasts,

This short email on the genus question. About all has been said by
Paul Callomon, I fully agree with his well written text.

However, I want to comment on the email of Marcus from Femorale. I
frankly think that Femorale is one of the better shell dealers – and
even in competition with Conchology, Inc. I highly appreciate their
effort and the way they handle and label shells.

But, just as Conchology, Inc., Femorale has a responsibility to bring
the latest evolution of science into the collections of today. The
present tendency, as science goes, is to use generic names when well
established and accepted  by science, as is actually the case in
Cypraeidae.

I know that constant updating with the rate of publications from now
is a heavy job, as well for the collectors as for the dealers. And
even with all the people we have, it is impossible to do it perfectly.
The appearance of a book such as the Ovulidae by Lorenz & Fehse takes
several days of updating existing databases, a book such as Mikkelsen
& Bieler on the bivalves takes a week with several persons.

But it’s also fun and very “learning”. The present system of science
also pushes scientists to make “points” and occasionally leads to
excessive splitting. As collectors and shell enthusiasts we are the
first public of scientists, to us is also the task to form opinions
and express our agreement or disagreements…



Best regards, Guido

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