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Subject:
From:
Aydin Orstan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 23 Sep 1999 14:25:48 -0400
Content-Type:
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>Anyway, here's the rub.  Museum collections indicate that cereolus started
>popping up all over in Florida after 1950.  Interior metropolitan areas,
>roadsides, even inland counties in other southeastern states.  This great
>range expansion corresponds with the big land development booms of Florida.
> They are transported in plant pots and sod for people's yards and along
>roadsides.

Kurt, you are absolutely correct. I did some collecting in Florida around
Tampa area last August. There were hundreds of live Polygyra in my in-laws'
backyard. First I thought I had run into "native" populations. Then I found
them in flower pots that had been bought in K-Mart & along road sides where
grass had been planted, but they were absent from areas where there was no
grass.  I found them on the campus of U. of Florida, but only where
landscaping had been done. Weathered shells were on all beaches. After a
while, you begin to wonder if there is any value in collecting these. Because,
there is no way of knowing when a particular shell was brought to that
location. It may have been years ago when the area was first developed or it
may have been last spring. So, in my mind collections from such areas have
little value if one is looking for local variations, etc. (But we weren't
really discussing that, were we?)

A.

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