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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Oliva sayana Gastropod Shell


This shell was found in 1889 by a 17 year old Lucien Beckner (1873-1963) in Naples, Florida USA. Mr. Beckner was a mentor to Professor James Conkin (1924-2017) and his natural history collection was left to him upon his death.

I think the shell pictured in this posting is a Lettered Olive Snail or Oliva sayana (Ravenel, 1834). 

Lucien Beckner was born into an established Kentucky family in 1873. He attended Louisville Military Academy, Centre College, the University of Kentucky and Transylvania College. Later he practiced law in Winchester, Kentucky as well as serving as a newspaper editor there. Next he worked as a geologist at the Kentucky Geological Survey and with Louisville Gas and Electric. He switched careers and worked as an engineer with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and then helped build a railroad in Ecuador.

In 1933, he became curator of the Louisville Museum of Natural History and Science at the Louisville Free Public Library. He held that position for 26 years helping educate the Louisville area community about natural history. He is buried at Winchester Cemetery in Clark County, Kentucky, USA.


 

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