Dear Conch-L Members For those of you who have requested my paper on: “Fixation and Preservation of Mollusca”, thank you for your patience. However, it is going to be delayed a while, whereas I do not want to distribute a poorly written paper. An explanation is provided below. Thanks, Leslie Allen Crnkovic _______________________________________ EXPLANATION As we have discussed Fixation and Preservation of Mollusca in recent weeks. It seemed fitting to revise a previous paper done for a slightly differnt subject. Not being a chemist, this “new” rush written paper needed serious peer review. Also being a modification to a overly simplified set of instructions that was another paper, this paper lacks the proper form, flow and structure needed for a quality paper. Thanks to the gracious help of colleagues at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Delaware Museum of Natural History, the entire structure of the paper is being re-written from a fresh perspective. Also there are a number of technical errors (poor or incorrect verbiage) that could lead to false conclusions and premises. The main chemicals listed in the paper are: Ethanol, Ethylene Glycol, Glycerol, Dow Corning 200 Silicone Fluid As a turn of fate over the weekend at our local Shell Show, I ran into an old friend who is now a Sr. Chemist at Dow Chemical in Lake Jackson Texas where 3 of these chemicals are made (I do not believe they make Ethanol). He will be able keep me straight on any detail concerning the use of each of these in the processes, while the CMNH, DMNH staff provide insights and clarifications as to there Molluscan specific usages. Since I will be off for medical leave over the next week I plan to work on the structural aspects of the paper during this time. Additionally, the processes and premises will be re-tested over the winder for verification under controlled experiments.