Andrew,
I appreciate your comentary and I agree.  It is all too easy to not stop and
smell the roses when your collecting, and focus only on the shells.  Often the
animals are much more interesting and beautiful than the shell!

..but the crab comment was an inside joke between me and David from our
January collecing trip to Dania!

Cheers,
Leslie

-----Original Message-----
My sympathies lie with the hermit crabs. Why not invest in a good digital
camera with macroscopic lens, collect photos, and learn to appreciate the
living animals?
Andrew K. Rindsberg
Geological Survey of Alabama

-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Leslie Allen
Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 9:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: it's a vacation toss-up

Hi David
With Margarita there is a much less cross-over of species Florida as you
have noted.  Belize however has Mayan Ruins you can go visit it you want to
trek inland. Good land & Freshwater snails too!  Belize has officially
banned shelling since about 1987?  But usually turns the eye.  I don't think
they care in Margarita.  I'd go for the Margarita trip, and get distinctly
different materials.

..just don't let the park ranger catch you with hermit-crabbed shells at
dusk!

Have a great trip!
Signed, Cooped up in Houston

-----------------------
Folks,
I'm looking for a quick (5-day) cheap off-the-beaten path getaway to include
good shelling-- and it's come down to Margarita Island versus Belize.

From the write-up on Margarita in Am Conchologist versus the write-up on Belize
on the Jacksonville site, it looks like Belize tends to have more typical
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico species that I'm likely to already have. There are
more unusual species to the main part of Caribbean on Margarita, no?

Anybody have a sense of the micro fauna comparison?
David Kirsh
Durham, NC

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