I am a forensic scientist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlive Service, and I am
new to the list.  Recently I've had an increasing number of requests to
test commercial shipments of "conch meat" for species origin, to either
confirm or refute the species information on import permits.  We are
particularly interested in the identification of the protected species
Strombus gigas, the queen conch.

I have two requests for the readers of this list:

1)Can anyone suggest a list of gastropod species which are edible and which
grow large enough to be superficially confused with S. gigas?  I'd also
like to find information on the phylogenetic relationships among these
species.

2) Can anyone suggest where I might obtain verified tissue samples for DNA
analysis from a variety of conch and whelk species?.  Identifying an
unknown tissue sample relies on a phylogenetic analysis of more/less
closely related species, and not enough DNA sequence information of
relevant gastropod species is in the literature.

This information will, hopefully, help in the enforcement of conservation
laws aimed at protecting threatened species such as the queen conch.

Bob Hoesch
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Forensic Laboratory
Ashland, OR

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------