Travis Payne has brought up an interesting point: Does one have to be a malacologist with a PhD to tell species apart? No, of course not. Almost any of us has witnessed a child separating piles of beach shells into species, and doing a pretty good job of it, too. Recognizing patterns is natural to humans. In geology, we say that the best geologist is the one who has seen the most rocks. Well, the best malacologist is the one who has seen the most shells, whether by collecting, buying and trading, or examining them in a museum. A PhD who has specialized in scallops ought to know his stuff, and probably has access to specialized literature and equipment that most people lack... but, then again, he hasn't seen every scallop, has he? And if you've carefully examined a lot of olives and he has not, then maybe your opinion on olives should be sought after. My point is that you don't need a PhD to be an expert on shells. The collector who wants to become an expert would do well to specialize, either in a taxonomic group or in the shells of a particular area (or in the case of fossils, a particular age). It's easier, and there are too many species of mollusks to study them all in depth. The would-be expert should collect specialized literature as well as shells, and really learn the scientific terms in the descriptions, not rely on the illustrations. And this person should contact other people frequently for advice, because there are many things that are not written in books--matters of perspective, or things that are so obvious to experienced collectors that they are never written down. (I believe that one of the most valuable features of Conch-L has been to record some of this not very "obvious" advice.) Also, the collector who wants to be an expert should examine the collections of other people and other museums. Everyone's methods are different, and, after all, the best malacologist is the one who's seen the most shells... Andrew K. Rindsberg Geological Survey of Alabama