Kurt,

I do not know.  The two species are obviously very closely related, but I
have not seen a specimen of V zebra from that far north (all of my specimens
are from Brazil - some quite a distance inland).  I would be very interested
in either borrowing the specimens to look at or seeing an image, as this
would really change the range data I have on that species.  The only
Caribbean Island specimen of V usnea I have is from Jamaica and it is
obviously V usnea, though much lighter in color and with fewer stripes.  If
anyone has representatives from other islands I would be very interested in
seeing them also.  I see no reason why V zebra couldn't be found on Trinidad
and Tobago.  It is much more a freshwater species than V usnea.  Vitta
sobrina on the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America is probably a
remnant population of V zebra from before the Isthmus of Panama.  Both V
zebra and V sobrina can be found inland in streams above waterfalls - thus
without any salt water influence.  Interestingly, the shells often suffer
the further inland one finds them, except in areas of limestone
outcroppings.  Moving into freshwater involved the initial battle for
osmoregulation, but there is an ongoing battle against the higher acidity of
freshwater streams.

Tom Eichhorst

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Kurt Auffenberg
> Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 11:09 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Freshwater barnacle
>
>
> Tom,
> I concur with Russell (1940) and you about clenchi.....once one gets it
> down, they can pick one clenchi out of a batch of 100 or even 1000
> virginia.....I have not seen a real good specimen from Florida either.....
>
> And another question....I collected two large, axial-striped Neritina in a
> freshwater stream habitat in Trinidad and Tobago many moons
> ago....I called
> it zebra al la Russell (I think)....very different from usnea,
> etc.......What do you think about the Caribbean zebra....?
>
> K
>
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