Hi Dan ..Quite a nice shell to have!!! When Fred Thompson helped me to identify my Belize, Guatamala& Honduras materials he labeled it as: Pachychilus glaphrius (with the added "i" in the ending as shown) It is a fresh-water shell rather than a land shell. I do not know the range of it but it can specifically be found in the Mecal River. Hundreds of these were dug from the middens at Cahol Pech, which is a Mayan palacial site in San Ignacio, Belize. The Mecal River runs through the edge of town, which is located somewhat in the center of Belize (north to south), near the Guatemalan frontier. It is the Belize highlands, on the other side of the mountains from the coastal plain which often referred to as the (infamous) Mosquito Coast. Pachychilus glaphrius is often encrusted and looks somewhat like a large Pacific Cerithid at first... but with its chestnut periostracum showing, at second glance it reminds me of a Buccinid. Hope this was helpful if not amusing. .. I sure miss those traveling and collecting days! Leslie PS - Getting good literature on Mesoamerican land and freshwater Mollusca has been a bit of a daunting task for me... & I finally gave up. Seems for the most part it is scattered through a dozen journals, a species or two at a time, over a hundred + years. There are a few expedition reports that I have acquired but never a lot of content, (typically new species only illustrated, with other species only listed), and mainly never from a place where I went... --------------------------------- To all the exotic landsnail buffs, Today I received a package from a friend, with a very strange operculated landsnail, labeled Pachychilus glaphyrum from Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. I have searched the internet with that name and come up empty . Does anyone have any idea of a website where I might compare this specimen. Thank you in advance for any help. Dan Yoshimoto Dan, Hiromi & Kuma Yoshimoto 1164 Vista Dr. Eureka, California 95503-6018 U.S.A. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------