Hi! I just subscribed to Conch-L. I'll throw in my two cents - at least on carrier shells. I had always read that the attachments on the shell were for camouflage. However more recent research indicates the attachments help lift the shell off the bottom during feeding. This theory is supported by the fact that certain species have projections on the outer shell edge (e.g., Stellaria solaris, Xenophora testigera digitata, Xenophora testigera profunda. Another theory is the attachments and/or projections help prevent the shell from sinking into the bottom - a problem at deeper depths where the substrate is an ooze. This theory has been used to explain why other shells have projections such as Guildfordia yoka. Hope this helps! Mike Gage >>> MR ART WEIL <[log in to unmask]> 01/26/98 10:55am >>> Dear Kurt et al;- Thank you for the reply. It seems that our present state does simply leave divisions in the eye of the beholder---or under his microscope. Here's something else I've wondered about. I have this lovely Murex pecten with its great spikes and a few other almost similar species. The spikes obviously serve as protection---but against what? The spikes also probably keep the mollusk from doing much digging to get away from preditors. Do other mollusks living in a similar biome have other protections against similar predators? Do the appendages on a carrier shell serve as protection---or just camoflage? You remember TV used to have the "Answer Man". I'm the "Question Man". Art