Wedding shells... A common disturbance in our SW shores too. In answer to Steve Rosenthal's observation on whether those shells pose hazards to research deriving from professional collection databases, my "classic" comment is that it's not the salting of local beaches with obviously remote shells that poses problems, but the salting of local beaches with species from, say, only slightly more remote areas. For instance, in SW Florida, salting the beaches with shells from Florida's east coast or the Keys may induce a collection person to believe this could be a new arrival in the local area. In other words, a *Babylonia spirata* on Sanibel is an obvious wedding shell, but finding ,say, one of the east coast nerites may cause one to stop, think, and eventually incorporate the shell in a collection. ________________________________________________ *José H. Leal, Ph.D. | Science Director & Curator (he/him)* <https://www.shellmuseum.org/2024-fum> www.ShellMuseum.org <http://www.shellmuseum.org> Short Bio <https://tinyurl.com/yc7fvcrd> Editor, *The Nautilus* 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road Sanibel, FL 33957 USA (239)395-2233 (239)347-5116 (direct) CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This communication is confidential, may be privileged and is meant only for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender ASAP and delete this message from your system. On Mon, Feb 26, 2024 at 1:23 PM steve rosenthal <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Agreed, and it is not just anecdotal records or word-of-mouth (as in > here on Conch-L) > > those of us who spend time on iNaturalist either posting or browsing > "observations" , or as identifiers of the taxa in said observations, > can attest to the apparently increasing frequency. There was one > stretch of a week or two some months ago, when every day brought to light > several new or older databased observations of Bractechlamys vexillum > (an Indo-Pacific species) turning up all along the east coast of the > USA. > > Yes it is annoying and perhaps some of the curators or professional > researchers can comment on whether the resulting 'noise' poses any > potential hazards to capturing clean data on diversity or > biogeographical species distributions. > > On 2/26/24, Vicky Wall <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Those shells were most likely from beach parties, scavenger hunts, or > > weddings. It's annoying, but the practice seems to be happening more > often > > now. > > Vicky Wall > > > > On Mon, Feb 26, 2024, 12:47 PM Karlynn Morgan < > [log in to unmask]> > > wrote: > > > >> It could very well be you collected a few "wedding shells" or shells > that > >> someone returned to the ocean after a relative died? > >> Karlynn > >> NC - USA > >> On 2/26/2024 12:34 PM, JOHN A CRAMER wrote: > >> > >> We went to the 2023 COA in Wilmington (great job, NC club!) and of > course > >> we wandered around looking for shells. The collection of stuff from Kure > >> Beach has been sitting on my desk since then and I finally got to it > >> yesterday. I have a true limpet that really seemed out of place. Then I > >> looked at the drupe and saw the little thorn on the bottom of the lip! > >> What > >> have is definitely *Lottia pelta* and *Acanthina paucilirata. *The > limpet > >> I have indeed collected in California (long ago) but the drupe, another > >> Californian, is new to me. There is not the slightest chance the shells > >> got > >> mixed into the Kure Beach stuff from other stuff here. They were there > in > >> the sand at Kure Beach just waiting for me to sift them out. > >> OK, time for whoever has been salting the beach to 'fess up. > >> > >> > >> Emeritus Professor of Physics > >> Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, GA > >> ebooks at > >> https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=John+Cramer > >> paperback books at > >> https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=john+a.+cramer&type=&pn=2 > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> [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/scripts/wa-UGA.exe?SUBED1=conch-l-L&A=1 Type > your > >> email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > >> [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/scripts/wa-UGA.exe?SUBED1=conch-l-L&A=1 Type > your > >> email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. > >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > [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/scripts/wa-UGA.exe?SUBED1=conch-l-L&A=1 > > Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and > > click leave the list. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > [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/scripts/wa-UGA.exe?SUBED1=conch-l-L&A=1 > Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and > click leave the list. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [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/scripts/wa-UGA.exe?SUBED1=conch-l-L&A=1 Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and click leave the list. ----------------------------------------------------------------------