Hi, Conch-Lers!

Thanks to everyone for the discussion on Strombus alatus vs.
Strombus pugilis.   I think one of the most interesting points was raised by Paul Monfils, I believe - that we are dealing with not two but one species.    Of course, this would depend on whether or not the hybrids mentioned are fertile or infertile.     I think this is one of the most interesting aspects of speciation.
In most cases we can't test for the proof of one species vs. two because of the geographic isolation of the two species, e.g. "Pecten" ventricosus and "Pecten" gibbus.   Though they may have arisen from one ancestral species, when the Atlantic and Pacific met between North and South America, we assume that enough time has passed that the two have evolved far enough away from each other that they could not interbreed with fertile offspring, the ideal "biological" definition of a species.    It is interesting to speculate how many separate species in the world may not be seperate at all, were they living
side by side and free to interbreed.

Cheers!
Linda