When I was a kid up in Puget Sound, I once found several specimens of Nucella lamellosa that were bright purple - a color form not noted in my shell books (typical color forms are white, brown, ochre and orange; either solid or banded). My mother and I called to the University of Washington and were told that this color form was known and was caused by the source of food the molluscs were eating. Unfortunately the bright purple color faded to a dull lavender gray; I wish I had had a digital camera to capture how vivid they were. They made a big impression on me. I remember reading on the website of an abalone mariculture farm that they were raising "hybrids of green and red abalone," which may indeed have interesting color forms. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of this farm. Alex Berkeley, CA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------