What is the star system?

The star system calculates the number of pieces that were handled by Conchology, Inc. in the last 22 years:

0 – 5 pieces	6 stars
6 – 10 pieces	5 stars
11 - 25 pieces	4 stars
26 - 75 pieces	3 stars
76 - 150 pieces	2 stars
> 150 pieces	1 star

We want to point out that the star system is only very reliable for PHILIPPINE shells only, as we handle very few foreign shells in general. As time goes, the system will become more and more performant.

In 1996, whilst living in Amsterdam, I started the first version of gastropods.com. Retirement in 2003 created the time to really focus on building the site. Cruising with my wife, Rachel, I continued to roam the world: the Galapagos, Easter Island, the Amazon, the Arctic and everywhere in between with plenty of time at sea to work on gastropods.com. And, of course, there was plenty of time ashore at exotic locations to find new shells and explore their places of origin.

I continue to be a keen sheller and regularly update the website. Collaborating closely with Philippe Poppe, my site has now been modernized and integrated to conchology.be in order to protect and perpetuate the vast knowledge which has been curated.

We refer toEddie Hardy in "Shellers" for a more detailed and complete biography.

Number of Species

Number of Families

Number of genera

Total "names" used

Number of Literature References