The Curious Case of Conchology Versus Malacology Due to a Slight Mix up in Mailing, the Last Issue Had Only Some by S
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Page 2 Vol. 39, No. 1 In 1972, a group of shell collectors saw the need for a national or- AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST, the official publication of the Conchol- ganization devoted to the interests of shell collectors; to the beauty of ogists of America, Inc., and issued as part of membership dues, is published shells, to their scientific aspects, and to the collecting and preservation of quarterly in March, June, September, and December, printed by Cardinal mollusks. This was the start of COA. Our membership includes novices, Printing, 341 Vincennes Street, New Albany, IN 47150. All correspondence advanced collectors, scientists, and shell dealers from around the world. should go to the Editor. ISSN 1072-2440. In 1995, COA adopted a conservation resolution: Whereas there are an Articles in AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST may be reproduced with estimated 100,000 species of living mollusks, many of great economic, proper credit. We solicit comments, letters, and articles of interest to shell ecological, and cultural importance to humans and whereas habitat de- collectors, subject to editing. Opinions expressed in “signed” articles are those of the authors, and are not necessarily the opinions of Conchologists struction and commercial fisheries have had serious effects on mollusk of America. All correspondence pertaining to articles published herein populations worldwide, and whereas modern conchology continues the or generated by reproduction of said articles should be directed to the Edi- tradition of amateur naturalists exploring and documenting the natural tor. world, be it resolved that the Conchologists of America endorses respon- MEMBERSHIP is for the calendar year, January-December, late mem- sible scientific collecting as a means of monitoring the status of mollusk berships are retroactive to January. 2010 DUES: $25; postal surcharge: USA species and populations and promoting informed decision making in none ($5 additional for USA first class), $5 for Canada and Mexico (total regulatory processes intended to safeguard mollusks and their habitats. of $30), $15 for all other countries (total of $40). New members apply to Doris Underwood, Membership Director. Please pay in U.S. dollars ($), or with a check on a U.S. bank with Transit Enrouting and Account Numbers printed at the bottom, or with money order. Make checks payable to: CON- OFFICERS CHOLOGISTS OF AMERICA. Notify Membership Director with change of address. BACK ISSUES are available from Doris Underwood, Membership Di- President: Alice Monroe Vice President: José Leal rector. Prices: prior to 1999, $3 each, 2000 to 2008 $4 each, 2009 to current, 2468 Timbercrest Circle West 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road $5 each; postage extra. Clearwater, FL 33763-1626 Sanibel, FL 33957-1580 (727) 796-5115 (239) 395-2233 [email protected] [email protected] Treasurer: Steven Coker COA Awards Chairman: Advertising in AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST is presented as a ser- 332 Banyan St. Donald Dan vice to our membership, but does not automatically imply endorse- Lake Jackson, TX 77566 6704 Overlook Drive ment of the advertisers by the AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST staff (979) 297-0852 Ft. Myers, FL 33919 [email protected] (239) 481-6704 or the Conchologists of America, Inc. Advertising space is avail- Membership: Doris Underwood [email protected] able at the following rates: Black & White: 1/2 page, $600 per year 7529 Ensemble Lane Historian: Mary Ruth Foglino or $200 per issue; 1/4 page, $300 per year or $100 per issue; 1/8 Melbourne, FL 32940-2603 4 Trent Court page, $150 per year or $50 per issue. Color: 1/2 page, $1050 per [email protected] Smithtown, NY 11787-1266 year or $350 per issue; 1/4 page, $525 per year or $175 per issue; (321) 622-4372 (631) 265-7811 1/8 page, $262.50 per year or $87.50 per issue. Deadlines are as Trustee: Fabio Moretzsohn [email protected] follows: #1 Jan 15, #2 Apr 1, #3 July 11, #4 Oct 1. High-resolu- Harte Research Institute Past President: Henry W. Chaney tion digital images, slides, or prints may be changed every issue. 6300 Ocean Drive, Unit 5869 Santa Barbara Mus of Nat History Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5869 2559 Puesta del Sol Road Copy changes $25. Send advertising copy to the editor, Tom Eich- (361) 876-8910 Santa Barbara, CA 93105 horst, 4528 Quartz Dr. N.E., Rio Rancho, NM 87124-4908, USA, [email protected] [email protected] email: [email protected]. Payments should be made to: Betty Web Page Coordinator: Academic Grants Director: Lipe, 11771 96th Place, Seminole, FL 33772, USA. Make checks José Coltro Daniel Geiger (in US dollars on a US bank) payable to Conchologists of America. CX.P. 15011 Santa Barbara Mus of Nat History Sao Paulo, SP 01599-970 Invertebrate Zoology Brasil 2559 Puesta del Sol Road 55-11-5081-7261 Santa Barbara, CA 93105 - USA [email protected] (805) 682 4711 x152 Editor: Advertising Director: Director-at-Large: [email protected] Tom Eichhorst Betty Lipe Harry G. Lee Convention Coordinator: 4528 Quartz Dr. N.E. 11771 96th Place 4132 Ortega Forest Dr. Anne Joffe Rio Rancho, NM 87124-4908 Seminole, FL 33772-2235 Jacksonville, FL 32210 1163 Kittiwake Circle (505) 896-0904 [email protected] Sanibel, FL 33957-3605 [email protected] Staff: Lynn & Richard Scheu COA Webmaster: Carlos Henckes Visit the COA website: http://conchologistsofamerica.org. EDITORIAL BOARD Subscribe to Conch-L, the COA listserver (owned and operat- ed by the University of Georgia) at: [email protected] Donald Dan José H. Leal Bruce Neville Emilio Garcia Harry G. Lee G. Thomas Watters Instructions for joining Conch-L are on the COA web site. March 2011 American Conchologist Page 3 In This Issue Editor’s notes: This is a rather grim issue in terms of our losses to conchology. The “In Memoriam” box on page 17 contains 8 names. While some were not unexpected, others were surprising and none is without an accompanying sense of grief. Letters and Comments ----------------------------------------------- 3 Peter Clarkson was a last minute addition to this list and he will be remembered in the next issue. All of these people added to A moveable feast by George Metz --------------------------------- 4 our organization or to conchology as a whole, in one way or another. Each will be sorely missed. Another sinistral Notocypraea and some interesting observations by Don Cram ------------------------------------------ 7 -- COA CONVENTION-- The curious case of Conchology versus Malacology Due to a slight mix up in mailing, the last issue had only some by S. Peter Dance ------------------------------------------------------ 9 of the inserts for the COA Convention, 12-17 July, 2011, at Port Canaveral, Florida. The included inserts were enough to get Conch shells on coins by Jesse Todd ------------------------------ 12 members registered, but we missed the specialized inserts for shell shows and such. They are included in this issue. PLEASE Dealer Directory ----------------------------------------------------- 14 BE ADVISED: all of the convention material is available online at the COA website: www.conchologistsofamerica.org. Just In Memoriam --------------------------------------------------------- 17 click on “conventions” and then on the links to “Conventions, Guidelines and Registration” or “Bourse Agreement,” The Solomon Islands: treasure from the sea depending upon which you need. Specific questions about by Simon Aiken ------------------------------------------------------- 18 the convention can be addressed to Doris Underwood at: [email protected]. If any of this is a problem or doesn’t The 2010 Philadelphia Shell Show by Paul Callomon -------- 26 work, contact me at [email protected] or 505-896-0904 and I will try to chase down your question to find an answer. Our 2010 Philadelphia Shell Show supper guest speaker venue for this year’s convention is the Radisson Resort (see the Dr. Henry Augustus Pilsbry by Paul Callomon ---------------- 28 pictures on page 32 and below). We were there in 2001 and I am certainly happy for a chance at a repeat. While we won’t COA Annual Convention ------------------------------------------- 32 have a shuttle launch this time, we will be staying at a beautiful spot with lots to do both at the hotel and in the local area. John A. Baker --------------------------------------------------------- 33 Katherine “Bobbi” Cordy ------------------------------------------ 33 Emmanuel Guillot de Suduiraut ---------------------------------- 34 Trevor D. Roberts ---------------------------------------------------- 35 Front cover: Euprotomus bulla (Röding, 1798) feeding on algae at 60 feet depth on rocks during the day off Sulawe- si, Indonesia. Photographed by Charles Rawlings. This species will still be listed under Strombus in most shell reference books, but was reassigned to Euprotomus. For a detailed look at genera assignments within Strombidae see the article by Winston Barney in the September 2010 issue (Vol. 38, No. 3). Back cover: This Olividae montage was created by Nui- mul Bahar. He is originally from Bangladesh near the Bay of Bengal (thus his early interest in shells). He now lives in Trent in the U. K., where he is a histopathologist and a consultant. We will show more of his work in future issues. Page 4 Vol. 39, No. 1 A Moveable feast by George Metz (photographs by the author) There are many ways that mollusks gather their daily meal(s). There are also some generally colorful terms that all of you are probably acquainted with to describe these various activities. Animals that eat plants or their products are called herbivores. Molluscan examples would be Strombidae, Neritidae, Acmaeidae, and Littorinidae: all herbivorous grazers. Those that eat other animals are called carnivores. Molluscan examples would include Conidae and Muricidae. A third group eats both plant and animal and are called omnivores. Man is a good example of an omnivore, but it is a bit more difficult to find a mollusk that fits this description. Aquarists and conchologists who have kept Cypraeidae have reported some species, in a family thought of as herbivorous grazers, will actually feed upon fish and molluscan carcasses. Finally we have saprovores, animals that feed primarily on dead animal tissue, like the Nassariidae.