Dear Nora,
if you like you can send me pictures of the shells and I can put them on my
web site so that everybody can have a look at.
Sandro


~^. .^~ http://QueenGuinevere.spedia.net ~^. .^~


> I have received a box of unlabelled shells that are all supposed to be
> from western Mexico.  I have made IDs on most of them, in the correct
> general vicinity of western Mexico except for three.  If anyone can help
> me from the following descriptions I would be most grateful:
> 1.  A small cerith that looks exactly the same to me as the Caribbean
> Cerithium litteratum as illustrated in the "Compendium", except some of
> mine are up to 1.25 inches (Compendium lists 1").
> 2.  A small white shell that looks exactly like the Caribbean Astraea
> tecta americana as illustrated in the Compendium.
> 3.  A bivalve that I think is a Donax, relatively strong-shelled, up to
> 2" long with a purple interior, exterior light brown with numerous thin
> brown radiating lines.  I can't find any Donax (or anything else that
> looks like it) that could be this large.  It looks similar to the
> picture of Donax carinatus in the Compendium except that there is not as
> sharp a point between the shorter (anterior?) edge and the ventral
> edge.  Both posterior and anterior ventral corners are rounded in mine.
> Could these be western Mexican shells, or were some non-Mexican shells
> likely thrown in the box?  I think all of them are extremely common
> considering the number of them in the box.
>
> Nora
> Calgary, Alberta
>
>