>I went to Shackelford Island near Cape Lookout, NC, yesterday. I never saw
>so many live Shark's Eyes, Neverita duplicatus, as on the sand-and-grass
>flats there.

Hi David,

I love to hear that shells are still found in great numbers in
certain locations.
But the more I learn, the more it seems that -- at least in most
locations --the
populations are dynamic, varying from year-to-year, or even month-to-month.

A perfect example is that last August, we were shelling in and around the Cays
off Abaco, and found literally hundreds upon hundreds of Apple Murex. This
past May, along with Paul Kanner, Scott Schubbe and Mike Schenk, we saw
huge populations on Eleuthera. The following month, Bill Simon, who was with
the Cordys on their yearly Abaco trip, found almost none.

Darn, here's where I wish I had some sort of inheritance or made a killing off
the stock market, as I would love to return to both Abaco and Eleuthera in
August (tomorrow, actually) and see what the populations look like now.

We have a location nearby that is almost always loaded with Melongena corona
during the warmer months, usually April through late October. It has never
changed during the last five years. However, on sand flats a bit farther west,
it is hit or miss with this species. One year I'll find a few small
ones, while last
year the area was loaded with them (this was the first week of November).

Best regards,
Jim

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