Sorry - I got cut off somehow before I was done and posted only part of my reply. There's a ghost in the machine! Here it is complete (with proper editing!): Hey Ellen, well I have a few suggestions for you. The best place I know of to collect in Rhode Island is Easton/Atlantic Beach in Newport. Sometimes this is just referred to as Newport Beach (and I've seen one map call it 1st Beach). At any rate, for number of species it is unmatched (and in fact rates as one of the best in New England period). My friend Brain Cassie and I have compiled a list of almost 100 species from this one beach. Now the bad news is most are smaller species. Bring home some drift to dry and carefully sort through and you will be amazed. For the "find on the beach with the naked eye" side, the beach still has some fun (and rare in New England) stuff. For instance: Greenish Jackknife Clams, Cross-hatched Lucines, Dekay's Dwarf Tellins as well as brilliant pink Northern Dwarf Tellins, and standard New England fair such as Atlantic Razor Clams, Shark Eye and Northern Moon Shells, Waved, Channeled and Knobbed whelks. And the beauty is that I've done just as great collecting in the summer as in the colder months. That is without a doubt the only New England Beach I've ever said that about. Along the rocky south shore of Block Island sound, I've done fairly well at low tides under rocks. You can find Atlantic Dogwinkles and Atlantic Oyster Drills (though, I've found more colorful examples of both elsewhere). On these beaches one can often find Spotted Northern Moon Shells as well as their more common cousins. If you want to try your luck at exploring lobster traps, I've occasionally found good stuff in the many traps on the piers in Galilee (near the ferry to Block Island). I've found nice Cup and Saucer Limpets attached to Horse Mussels as well as the best Conrad's Thracia I've ever found (don't know how the latter got into lobster traps, but I wasn't complaining!). Also found nice False Quahogs (another head scratcher). Well, hope this helps a bit. Have fun! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------