Dear Nora, if you like you can send me pictures of the shells and I can put them on my web site so that everybody can have a look at. Sandro ~^. .^~ http://QueenGuinevere.spedia.net ~^. .^~ > I have received a box of unlabelled shells that are all supposed to be > from western Mexico. I have made IDs on most of them, in the correct > general vicinity of western Mexico except for three. If anyone can help > me from the following descriptions I would be most grateful: > 1. A small cerith that looks exactly the same to me as the Caribbean > Cerithium litteratum as illustrated in the "Compendium", except some of > mine are up to 1.25 inches (Compendium lists 1"). > 2. A small white shell that looks exactly like the Caribbean Astraea > tecta americana as illustrated in the Compendium. > 3. A bivalve that I think is a Donax, relatively strong-shelled, up to > 2" long with a purple interior, exterior light brown with numerous thin > brown radiating lines. I can't find any Donax (or anything else that > looks like it) that could be this large. It looks similar to the > picture of Donax carinatus in the Compendium except that there is not as > sharp a point between the shorter (anterior?) edge and the ventral > edge. Both posterior and anterior ventral corners are rounded in mine. > Could these be western Mexican shells, or were some non-Mexican shells > likely thrown in the box? I think all of them are extremely common > considering the number of them in the box. > > Nora > Calgary, Alberta > >