Hi Everybody, especially those of you with good libraries,

As I've been working my way through the tougher families in
doing my species list for American Samoa (shelled gastropods
only), I find I'm having a tough time identifying the Eulimids.
Not just the tiny Eulimids, but the larger ones, too, and there
are only a few large species in the family.

I have posted some photos of a couple of shells that I collected
yesterday on my Yahoo album page, and would appreciate any ideas.
The first one looks closest to the drawing of Melanella dufresnei
in Wilson's Australian Marine Shells Vol. 1, but every Melanella
I ever saw was somewhat flattened (oval cross-section), while my
shell is not.  This shell was collected under a slab on top of
the reef flat in less than one meter of water, west side of Pago
Pago Harbor.  It is 21mm long.

I don't know what the second shell is, but it is slick and glossy
enough to be a Eulimid.  It also has the greenish-looking operc,
and the spire is somewhat twisted.  However, the animal doesn't
look much like the Balcis/Melanella mentioned above.  It may
very well be something totally different (Patty?), but I can't
find anything close in my books.  This shell was also collected
under a slab (in a hole) in shallow water, west Pago Pago Harbor,
American Samoa.  It is 9mm long.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.  You can view the photos
by going to:

http://photos.yahoo.com/pagojoe/

and clicking on the "Eulimids et. al." album at the top of the
list.

Thanks a lot, Cheers,




Don