Tom,

You wrote:

>Okay all you long time Sanibel visitors and residents, I am passing on this
>request because I haven't a clue.  Please respond directly to
>[log in to unmask] if you know something about this shop.  Thanks,

>PLEASE! I need information on a shell from a shop on Sanibel Island 15 years
>ago.

Okay, I still do not qualify as a long time Sanibel resident (only 4.5
years here) but happen to see these objects time and again as donated
collections arrive at the Shell Museum. I might be wrong but the
description fits the skeleton (not a shell) of a deep-sea glass sponge
known as "Venus basket" (family Hexactinellidae, genus Euplectella). These
were available (still are?) in relative abundance from dealers in the 1960s
and 1970s. Incidentally, the stuff definitely does not occur on Sanibel, it
comes from deep water, probably from the Gulf of Mexico.

Best,

Jose
__________________________________________________________________________
José H. Leal, Ph.D.
Director, The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
Editor-in-chief, THE NAUTILUS
[log in to unmask]
3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road
Sanibel, FL 33957 USA
(941) 395-2233; fax (941) 395-6706