>Many Buccinids, expecially Neptunea, have an amazing degree of variability. > Buccinidae, and especially cold-water spp, are taxonomically nightmarish >because of this tendancy towards extreme morphological variability - and >the radula are also often of little use in species identification, being >considerably more variable than in most other families, in quite a number >of cold-water species - a fascinating, vastly under-collected family, in my >opinion!! >-Ross M. Hi, In my opinion cold water Buccinidae need complete revision. Some "valid" species should be considered as forms and some forms should be considered as separate species. Especialy N. lyrata seems to be problematic. I have some almost completely smooth, some with very strong ribs and one strange specimen from the Kuriles with very long siphonal channel. I was told that many of the forms from Kurile Islands and western Bering Sea are different and new species. Also, I was told by Belgian specialist that on the other hand a lot of names need to be lumped in the N.pribillofensis. A new, unconventional approach is needed. A couple of years ago I studied Carboniferous shark teeth belonging to genus Petalodus. Isolated shark teeth are hard to determine. Their shape and morphology can change during ontogeny, teeth from the upper jaw can differ from their equivalents in the lower jaw. Also, two specimens belonging to the same species can have different teeth in certain parts of the jaw. Therefore ontogenic, dignathic and monognathic heterodonty is present. Thus it was imposible to determine them on the basis of morphology. The only way to solve the problem was to study their microstructure. Considering the molluscs, maybe to much attention is paid to macroscopic morphological features. And more expensive DNA study should be done. Milan ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com