My two cents:

Spondylidae is deffinitely the ruler of the bivalve world!
(of course, they are related to Pectinidae, so there you go.)

Peter


At 06:31 PM 5/8/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Despite Paul's remarks that would lead one to think otherwise, the
>Pectinidae (the fan shaped shells) are the Queen's of the group!  After
>all, wasn't the godess Venus depicted as arising from one of them and not
>from a Mercenaria? :-)  Needless to say, the Pectinidae rank first for me.
>Second is a smaller group, the Donacidae.  I find members of the Donax
>quite interesting.  Their shells, pointed posteriorly and blunt or
>truncated anteriorly, have beautiful colors and fine ornamentation that is
>interesting when viewed under slight magnification.  They are also fun to
>watch when the surf washes in and out.  Seeing them thrown up on the sand
>and then burrowing down is quite entertaining IMHO.
>
>Well, now you know Paul interests and mine...any other takers.
>
>Regards,
>Charlie
>***************************************************************************
***
>Charlie Sturm, Jr
>Research Associate - Section of Invertebrate Zoology
>                     Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA
>Assistant Professor - Family Medicine
>
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>
>
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Peter Egerton, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Collector of worldwide Mollusca, lifetime student
of zoology and computers.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Step into my website:
http://www.intergate.ca/personal/seashell/index.html
(includes "Seashells of British Columbia", links and my resume)
        -Links to add, remove, alter?  Just ask!
        -Suggestions always welcome :-)
        -This is an on-going project...

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