11/2/11 To Conch-L: "Here’s a common beach shell. Has anyone observed/collected C. reticulata live in the Florida Keys?"

Replies:

Andy Borgia, Key West – collecting in Keys since 2001:

"I've never found it alive. I have found 2 beached specimens on Ohio Key 1 too worn to keep 1 barely keepable."

Ken Piech, 20 years of collecting in the lower Keys via SCUBA and snorkeling:

"My shell database contains the following records. In 1997 I have found four dead C. reticulata (1.5-3.1 cm.) on sand at 120 feet off Big Pine Shoals. In 2000 I found five dead C. reticulata (2.2-5.2 cm.) on sand at 80 feet off Big Pine Shoals. During the past few years I have found some additional dead C. reticulata at 50-80 feet, but just a few of them..."