Hola todos:
I went to the sea to collect shells with a group of people lead by Peggy
Williams; it is not a great notice except becuse they are the first shell
collectors that I meet personally in all my life. I am grateful to Conch-l
because the contacts were made using it. They are very beatiful people and I
expend 3 marvelous days with them. I am very happy. Thanks.
 
But there is also rain in life; my snail died; we (my son and I) were looking
for him+her during several months; it was the dry season and we find only about
a dozen good empty shells and a lot crushed; then it begins to rain and my son
found him+her when he was walking to Merida some 3 days before I travel; we
were very happy, but with the rush to prepare all for the trip I did not make a
special room for him+her; he+she was living up the kitchen wood table,
sometimes in a plastic containes with some water and sometimes roaming the
table when I wet it for her+him. He+she liked to sleep under a paper bag but
she+he did not like the plastic bags. He+she did not like (or was afraid)
banana, cucumber, nor tomato; he+she liked the bananas to step up on them and
walk over them; the problem came when he+she wanted to step down; he+she wanted
to go down with all the dignity of a snail, with his+her head in front; but
he+she slipped and went down laterally or in retro; he+she went up again and
try again to get down, until, majestatically, he+she do the thing; I did not
know snails were so proud; when I was out my son discovered thet she+he liked a
plant very common here, that people eat instead of lettuce (rabbits and cows
eat it too). Then he+she died; we believe the culprit was the wood table, with
a lot of chemicals for its finish.
 
The snails are 6 cm. long (the shell), not have an opercula, they have 4
tentacles and are identical to the picture of Dryptus gueriny in page 93 of
Compendium of Landshells.
 
Saludos a todos
Emilio.
(voy a limpiar conchas)
 
 
 
DOMINIC RAWLINGSON PLANT escribis:
 
> My name is Dominic RAWLINGSON-PLANT.I am 57 years old and live in England.
> I have been diver and shell collector for over 30 years having started when
> I was in the military in Singapore in the mid 1960's.Then I also dived
> around Malaysia and Borneo.I have also been fortunate to spend time in
> Cyprus, Belize and New Zealand having also dived around much of Europe.More
> recently I have had 8 months in the Seychelles (Indian Ocean) instructing
> diving. This is also an excellent area to find shells.
> My main collecting interests are Cones and Cowries and I currently have
> over 100 species of each but I also have Strombidae, Cassidae, Muricidae
> and Volutidae.
> I have only recently aquired a computer and would welcome any advice on how
> to get my collection,currently held on cards, onto a database.I also need
> an abreviated form to print off the basic information onto labels for the
> specimens I have boxed.
> Look forward to communicating with you in the future.
>
> Dominic