Page 2 Vol. 43, No. 3 In 1972, a group of shell collectors saw the need for a national organization devoted to the interests of shell collec- tors; to the beauty of shells, to their scientific aspects, and to the collecting and preservation of mollusks. This was the start of COA. Our member- AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST, the official publication of the Conchol- ship includes novices, advanced collectors, scientists, and shell dealers ogists of America, Inc., and issued as part of membership dues, is published from around the world. In 1995, COA adopted a conservation resolution: quarterly in March, June, September, and December, printed by JOHNSON Whereas there are an estimated 100,000 species of living mollusks, many PRESS OF AMERICA, INC. (JPA), 800 N. Court St., P.O. Box 592, Pontiac, IL 61764. All correspondence should go to the Editor. ISSN 1072-2440. of great economic, ecological, and cultural importance to humans and Articles in AMERICAN CONCHOLOGIST may be reproduced with whereas habitat destruction and commercial fisheries have had serious ef- proper credit. We solicit comments, letters, and articles of interest to shell fects on mollusk populations worldwide, and whereas modern conchology collectors, subject to editing. Opinions expressed in “signed” articles are continues the tradition of amateur naturalists exploring and documenting those of the authors, and are not necessarily the opinions of Conchologists the natural world, be it resolved that the Conchologists of America endors- of America. 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Send advertising copy to the editor, Tom Eich- Convention Coordinator: (805) 682 4711 x152 Anne Joffe [email protected] horst, 4528 Quartz Dr. N.E., Rio Rancho, NM 87124-4908, USA, 1163 Kittiwake Circle Member at Large: email: [email protected]. Payments should be made to: Betty Sanibel, FL 33957-3605 Doug Wolfe Lipe, 11771 96th Place, Seminole, FL 33772, USA. Make checks Member at Large: 109 Shore Dr., Shell Landing (in US dollars on a US bank) payable to Conchologists of America. Jim Brunner Beaufort, NC 28516-7861 2511 Parkwood Drive (252) 728-3501 Panama City, FL 32405-4444 [email protected] [email protected] Member at Large: Wayne Humbird Editor: Advertising Director: 54 Tamarind Ct. Tom Eichhorst Betty Lipe Lake Jackson, TX 77566-3127 4528 Quartz Dr. N.E. 11771 96th Place Rio Rancho, NM 87124-4908 Seminole, FL 33772-2235 (505) 896-0904 [email protected] [email protected] Staff: Lynn & Richard Scheu COA Webmasters: Marcus Coltro & Carlos Henckes EDITORIAL BOARD Donald Dan José H. Leal Bruce Neville Emilio Garcia Harry G. Lee G. Thomas Watters September 2015 American Conchologist Page 3 In This Issue Editor’s comments: To begin, the cover photograph by Susan Mears of what is usually (though incorrectly) Editor’s comments --------------------------------------------- 3 listed as Nassarius albus, was forwarded to me by Dr. Harry Lee (who also noted the important nature of the Nominating Committee Report by Alan Gettleman ----- 4 image and the confusion surrounding the actual identity The ‘popularizer’ of shell collecting: The Philadelphia of the shell). Ovoviviparous birth has seemingly never Shell Club looks back at the life of R. Tucker Abbott in before been recorded for a gastropod. So this is a rather celebration of our 60th year by Regis D’Angiolini -------- 5 important first. The back cover photograph of Monpo- plex aquatilis (was Cymatium aquatile) by Moti Kovalis Report on two Anguispira alternata (Say, 1817), flamed is one I have had on file for a few years. Although it is a tigersnail, after two years in captivity common and widespread species, nice specimens (such by L. Schroeder ------------------------------------------------- 8 as this) are certainly welcome additions to any shell col- lection. Dealer Directory ---------------------------------------------- 14 As for inside the covers, we have our usual eclectic mix The best exotic South Seas snorkeling adventure of conchological material. After getting some COA busi- by Amelia Ann Dick ------------------------------------------ 17 ness out of the way (publishing the slate of nominees for COA elected offices, thank you, Alan Gettleman), we In memoriam -------------------------------------------------- 21 have a nice tribute to perhaps the best known Ameri- 8th Gulf Coast Shell Show ------------------------------------ 22 can sheller, R. Tucker Abbott. I believe Regis D’Angiolini presents a well-balanced portrait of our premiere sheller. Adventures in the field and in the lab – investigation of This is followed by Lori Schroeder who explores the tri- an enigmatic door-snail species, Montenegrina apfelbecki als and tribulations of keeping small landsnails in the (Sturany, 1907) by Dorottya Angyal, Katharina Jaksch, home. Keeping a freshwater snail in an aquarium, no Sonja Bamberger & Zoltán Fehér ------------------------- 24 problem – keeping a landsnail in a terrarium, not quite as simple – as she points out. Then sit back and enjoy Land Snail Fauna of the Sukolilo karst in Java our travelogue by Amelia Ann Dick, who reports on (Indonesia) by Ayu Savitri Nurinsiyah -------------------- 30 shelling and shopping in French Polynesia. Spirals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife We have three separate reports in this issue by recipients of Seashells reviewed by T. Eichhorst --------------------- 33 of COA grants. Dorottya Angyal et al. hunt for a long- lost landsnail in Albania and Kosovo. Readers will note Sea slug thieves: A nudibranch defensive strategy many parallels between these countries of today and by Jessica Goodheart----------------------------------------- 34 Cuba of the 1930s. Then Ayu Savitri Nurinsiyah takes 2015 COA Convention – Gala in the Glades us to Java to hunt for landsnail species that may now be by Anne Joffe -------------------------------------------------- 37 endangered by cement mining. Finally, we have a rather technical presentation of how some nudibranches collect and use cnidocytes. Nudibranches ingest these special- ized cells of their prey and then incorporate them into their own body, forming a defensive system that can dis- charge venom-filled barbs called nematocysts. Front Cover: Nassarius albus of authors, non (Say, 1826), sensu Kaicher (1982: card 3234). As can be seen In the middle of these reports are the results of the by the listed name, this common western Atlantic and 2015 Gulf Coast Shell Show and a book review of Spi- Caribbean species comes with a bit of confusion over rals in Time: The Secret Life and Curious Afterlife its name (or present lack thereof). None-the-less, this of Seashells by Helen Scales. This is a small inexpensive amazing photograph shows a rare, possibly unique, book with more shell facts, stories, trivia, and natural instance of ovoviviparous birth in a gastropod (eggs history per page than any other similar endeavour. Most hatched within the body, so the young are born alive of us share a wonder of shells, Helen Scales has put in but without placental attachment, as in certain rep- print much of why we have this wonder. tiles, fishes, and oysters). This amazing photograph We close with a report of the 2015 COA Convention in was taken by Susan Mears.