Yup, I agree with Nora that it would be helpful to have an intermediate key
to simplify distinctions.

This raises a related point that I've been wanting to make: it's just
astounding to me that the best shell books are not available and/or pretty
much out of date. For example: the most recent comprehensive book on North
American shells is 25 years old! And it took me months to find a copy
available. Some say there's not enough demand--and I don't believe it. The
first copy I saw available was at alibris.com, going for $480! Compendium
of Seashells in getting hard to find (but I did find that one).

So, most of us are able to choose between basic non-comprehensive books
such as the nature guides or specialized articles and books. The
intermediate has been neglected.

I think there's a great opportunity for some enterprising enthusiast to put
together a good book (books) or to devise a website that could serve as a
universal identifier and that could be amended and updated with expert
assistance. Keys such as the ones that Myra Keen did for Seashells of
Tropical West America would be most helpful alongside or in advance of such
an effort.

On the subject of shell book hunts: I visited a Waldenbooks not expecting
to find anything. There was nothing except a single copy of an Abbott book
on shells of the northeastern Pacific and northwestern and northeastern
Atlantic, well-illustrated. The price label on the back said, "Mulan Read
Along $6.99." The guy at the counter said, "That's not the right price." I
had a sinking feeling for moment it would cost more like $25. No, the price
was $4.99. Same store had paperback copies of Wye's Encyclopedia of Shells
for around $7 too.

David
Durham, NC


>For you guys that have actually SEEN most of the shells on this planet and
>understand the minutiae of their differences, yes this would be a daunting task
>to get into the nitty gritty, but what about beginner or intermediate
>collectors who have 'seen' most shells on this planet only by description or
>tiny little photos?  We could really benefit from some information that might
>seem too easy for you experts.  For example, when I was just starting out, I
>had a hard time telling strombids from other similar shaped shells until I
>realized the strombids have a stromboid notch.  Too stupid to mention?   That's
>a very basic one but there are others a little tougher,  but still simple for
>experts. I still have a hard time telling some turbans from trochids.  Maybe
>the distinction lies in the habits or in the soft part of the animal, so having
>just the shell isn't helpful, but I don't know. Also, telling juveniles from
>mature specimens can be really tough, especially because there are so few
>pictures in general guides.
>How do others feel - would a beginner to intermediate guide be helpful?  With a
>foundation like that, a more detailed expert level could then be layered on
>top.
>
>Nora
>Calgary, Alberta
>CANADA
>
>Paul Callomon wrote:
>
>> > Art's question on just how we tell very similar taxa from each other is
>> > a valid one: so, what we need is a book or arcticle-series which
>> > summarizes the conchological differerences between taxa - OR, a "Key to
>> > the Recent Genera of Molluscs" - now i know Ruth Turner has done a nice
>> > conchological key for NE North America, but has anyone done one for a
>> > larger, more diverse area??
>> Well, with just 242 years of literature and 100,000 described species that
>> shouldn't take long, should it? Seriously, if the Gastropod section of the
>> Treatise on Invertebrate Palaeontology has taken this long - with no sign
>> of completion as yet - the sort of project you propose here would be like
>> building the pyramids with a teaspoon.
>> It could be taken on as a collaborative, web-based project - a massive list
>> of taxa would be put on a website, and interested parties would upload text
>> to go with them, bit by bit. I expect each Cypraeid genus would have about
>> 200 pages of contentious, ill-mannered screed attached to it, while the
>> poor old Rissoids would remain devoid of explanation till Kingdom Come.
>> No substitute for a decent library yet, comrades.