This meeting gathered about 50 guests. The most important thing to remember is that this meeting gets together collectors, dealers and scientists. It's a rare and so great opprotunity to discuss with everybody in the same place. Some came from very far away like the US indeed !! I had a real great pleasure to meet many persons that I never met before bu with who we had early exchanging mails ! That is the reason why I came,...
In my collections of conus I have quite a few "freak" specimens. I consider freak specimens to be those with characteristics that are not comparable with typical specimens. This could be in the form of a strange new pattern or color, as well as obvious growth defects both natural and/or with man-made aspects ( like pollution ). In terms of pattern or color, I dont think a shell should be specifically labeled a freak, unless the pattern is due to a growth flaw or other defect. For example...... this picture of a beautiful large 115mm Conus marmoreus has a particularly beautiful and odd pattern, but I would not call it a freak! I think of this as more of a color/pattern variant rather than a freak pattern.
23 may 2013 : Dear members, we had to change the forum as the old one was hacked too often. We of course kept all messages and accounts, but it could ask you a new password.
23 December 2012 : Hello all visitors. We have moved again the websites to a new and hopefully more serious host ! Since late august, we encountered so many server problems with seashell-collector and related websites.
You may find some display bugs; though the website, forum and collectors database are fonctionnal. Now, we are working hard, espcecially Laurent, on the new website. Everything will be changed excepted the content of course. So many more features will be added. The new version should have been already be online but the servers problem make the team loose so much time repairing and reparing the website again ! We had to go back to previous version (the one you actually see) and it took us so much time to update with the new content, page per page. In a few weeks, you'll be able to visit the new version anyway. Sorry for any trouble you way have while visiting seashell-collector.com, and Happy Shelling !!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas to all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DAVID TOUITOU
A collector should respect these rules : - avoid shell collecting in protected areas (many countries do not allow collecting) - be carefull with shell environment : leave the area like it was before you passed by - Never move and collect a shell sitting on eggs (this might destroy the eggs) - Only collect GEM shells, leave the bad looking
Professor Emeritus, Zoology
Adjunct Professor, Quaternary Research Center
Adjunct Curator, Burke Museum Co-Author of "Manual Of The Living Conidae"
Principal Investigator Of "The Conus Biodiversity Website"
First of all, I extracted from the Washington University (Biology Department) website this text from Alan, as it is very helpful for the ones that might not know him : "The general aim of my research is to increase understanding of the evolutionary processes that have led to high biotic diversity in tropical marine environments. Its more specific goal is to elucidate important evolutionary trends in diversity, morphology, distribution, and ecology of one of the largest families of marine molluscs, the Conidae, from its early Cenozoic origin through the Tertiary and Quaternary periods.
Melanistic Shells 
Seychelles : November 2007 
Mix of different families 
