How true, Emilio. Rare molluscs seem to "migrate" sooooo easily! I've seen that Hawaii's Cypraea tessellata is being reported as collected alive in the Philippines! AND they are a giant race of checkerboard cowries! What a lucky, lucky break for the 'dealers' getting their shells from that area! (THAT was sarcasm, in case someone didn't detect it.) Of course, tessellata does NOT grow in Philippine waters. At the very best, these were live-collected shells from Hawaii that were flown to that area, "salted" onto a dive site and then "found." That's the very BEST it could be! More likely, these are counterfeit creations with a piece of snail flesh jammed into them and passed off to the ignorant. I hope that there aren't too many CONCH-Lers caught up in such shenanigans. Caveat Emptor! makuabob (the 'Bob' who dived a lot at Makua) _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail