I was going through some of my old HMS news (in the 70s) and saw several articles that described people finding one or both of these species in Hawaii almost as part of a bloom of both species. From what I hear, possibly coming from dealers, is that both of these species are now likely extinct. If true this would be the first cases that I am aware of a totally marine species becoming extinct this century (certainly there are seabirds that went extinct as well, and last century there was the Steller's Sea Cow). It has been suggested that run-off sediments from building developments on the major Hawaiian islands are the main cause for these extinctions(?), but I would think that the more isolated islands in the Leeward Islands like French Frigate Shoals wouldn't have been impacted by development and there should still be populations of these species there. So I just wondered if, indeed, these species do seem to be truely extinct (I realize that there are always possiblities like what happened with the Ivory Woodpecker) or is it that the species has been depopulated on the main islands and still exist elsewhere in Leeward islands? And if the species truely is gone in the leeward islands too if there is another force that has contributed to their extinction. It seems hard to believe that Shell collectors would have been the main force causing this extinction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------