Gee Guys, At this rate I'm gonna flunk sexology! First you shot down my long-standing belief that the name of Crepidula fornicata was behaviorally based (after all, they do congregate in piles with several females on the bottom and several males on top), by revealing that fornicata refers to an arched shape (b-o-r-i-n-g). And now my equally long-lived opinion about the derivation of latipennis (I have no idea where I first got the idea) comes crashing down under the weight of irrefutable evidence. Well, I guess that's what Conch-L is all about - the opportunity to learn. OK - I have this idea about the derivation of the name Penicillus penis. Please don't tell me the shell is named after a pine tree. Going off to take a cold shower. :-) Paul M.