This phenomenon is discussed by G. J. Vermeij at pages 32 to 35 of  A
Natural History of Shells (1993, recently reprinted) under the paragraph
title "Internal Remodeling"
In the Literature, he quotes:
Kohn, A.J., Myers, J.E.R., and V.R. Meenakshi, 1979, Interior remodeling of
the shell by a gastropod mollusc. Proceedings of the Nat. Acad: of Sci.,
U.S.A., 76: 3406-3410. "This is the most quantitative treatment of internal
shell resorption"
Signor, P.W., 1982, Growth-related surficial resorption of the penultimate
whorl in Terebra dimidiata (L. 1758) and other marine gastropods. Veliger
25: 79-82. "This is the most comprehensive paper of internal gastropod shell
resorption".
Solem, A., 1983, Lost or kept internal whorls: ordinal differences in land
snails, J. Molluscan studies, Suppl. 12A: 172-178. "Survey of resorption in
land snails".
You can also find some hints in Tursch & Greifeneder, Olive Shells.

Carlo

----- Original Message -----
From: "Scot Lewis" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:07 AM
Subject: Re: Adsorption of inner whorls


>I was not aware of this occurring in Olividae. Is there any literature to
>review on this? Is it family wide,
> or specie specific? This could be an interesting avenue to pursue which
> could help with specie
> identification in Olividae.
>
> On Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:43:34 -0600, John Tucker <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>>To all interested individuals,
>>
>>[There is no scientifically established explanation for why gastropods
>>resorb inner whorls.] [I would feel that it is more a means to conserve
>>space in tightly coiled shells
> such as in cones and olives.]
>
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