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M Mizzaro-Wimmer & L Salvini-Plawen

Praktische Malakologie

Beiträge zur vergleichend-anatomischen Bearbeitung der

Mollusken: Caudofoveata bis Gastropoda ñ *Streptoneura*

With English translation of illustration labels

Springer-Verlag, Wien, New York. August 2001.35Euros.

188 pages. Hardcover. ISBN 3-211-83652-7.

This book gives anatomical details of Caudofoveata, Solenogastres, chitons, Tryblidia (Neopilina) and several prosobranch gastropods. There are 122 pages of text and 6 + 27 plates each consisting of several line drawings with a facing page of label abbreviations. Every chapter is headed by a vignette of the molluscan classes with the numbers of species of each (reproduced here). Text is in German though there is a 1-page synopsis and a list of diagram label abbreviations in English. The drawings are superb examples of their type and beautifully clear. Larger species have been progressively dissected and for each there is a series of drawings. There are also sectional views and details. The drawings of smaller species are composites, based on reconstructions of serial sections. They are all immaculate.

There is an introductory chapter summarising molluscan characteristics and anatomy with details of each organ system, augmented by 6 plates. These are a very useful summary indeed. This is followed by chapters on the groups listed above, each with a summary diagnosis and description of its organisation and organ systems. The prosobranchs (though this term is not used in the book) covered include Patella, Septaria and Theodoxus, Haliotis, Diodora, Monodonta, Viviparus, Pomacea and Pila, Melanoides, Pomatias, Crepidula, Carinaria, Buccinum, Conus, Valvata and Heliacus. Specimens of chitons and some prosobranchs are relatively simple to obtain, but the same cannot be said for some of the minor classes (dissection classes on Neopilina?). The details of these are all the more useful because many students are unlikely ever even to see specimens. This leads me to wonder just how many people will actually use this in anatomical classes. The decline both in "traditional" zoological courses and in laboratory teaching, certainly in UK universities, and the drift (?avalanche) towards molecular biology, means that fewer people have the expertise to teach such things as comparative anatomy and fewer students are interested in learning it. Anatomical malacology courses must be very rare things! I feel that this will serve as an immensely useful reference work but will be little used in teaching, even though it is very reasonably priced.

It is to be hoped that the authors will produce further volumes on the Opisthobranchia, the pulmonates (here called Aeropneusta) and the remaining classes. The authors regret the "decline of polyglotism in science" but (and I apologise for being a monoglot) an English translation of the text would be invaluable ñ and Iím sure lead to increased usage in English-speaking countries.

Hugh Jones


 

 

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