Very interesting discussion on fakes. I got two both on ebay a painted Cypraea hirasei and a Pterynotus loebbecki. The later, in truth, had listed as 'enhanced' (I should have read the fine print, my fault on the later). Further I have begun to doubt data on several shells which upsets me almost as much. In the trade of fake natural history items hit me full force when I was teaching down at Hanover College in southern Indiana. The College was trying to develop a nice natural history museum to compliment the new science building. A guy who has a business in a 'nearby Ohio city' claimed that he purchased large amounts of natural history items in Russia and would give the school some great breaks on material including mammoth tusks and mammoth hair and lots of amber with natural history organisms inclusing insects, other arthropods, mussles, even two lizards. I bought one myself. I went on the internet and learned how rare actual lizard amber was. I placed my piece under UV light (which we use in the lab, I'm a Molecular Biologist) and sure enough there was a telltail glow of plastic. I looked at the school's amber, all fake. The guy took it back, I still wonder if they managed to fake the mammoth material as well. Anyway, a good lesson. And yes, I kept my piece of fake amber. For the price it was a really good piece of work. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs To leave this list, click on the following web link: http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------