What is the star system?
The star system calculates the number of pieces that were handled by Conchology, Inc. in the last 21 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.
Guido T. Poppe & Philippe Poppe - Since 1994
How To Collect
If you are a starting shell collector, here you will find all needed information to start your own collection. Advanced collectors will find additional information to perfect their collection.
Buying Shells
The most economical - the cheapest - way to build a collection is buying specimens. Remarkably, the commercial value of a shell generally proves most often to be lower than the cost of finding such a specimen yourself. Further, when working with the right people, specimens will come to you all cleaned and labeled. Also, you have access to the most desirable items in the conchological world. Those are often much more expensive to discover in nature than to acquire them from a shell dealer.
Many of the glorious beauties offered in the trade are seen only seldom in exchange lists, and they are difficult - in many cases impossible - to obtain without paying hard cash. One of the problems for collectors purchasing shells lies in obtaining the less commercial families, which, because of their low price, are not that often offered for sale.
Cleaning Shells
Your first task is to wash away the mud and/or sand. This is easily done with a soft flush of water above a small wire-mesh: in this way the risk of loosing small specimens is limited.
Then, you sort them out according to size: all shells below 4 mm and best be kept in a small glass vial with alcohol, for a few hours or even a few days before drying them out.
With a knife or a needle (according the solidity of the shells) you can remove the majority of calcareous algae, barnacles or worm tubes.
To remove the mollusc from your shells there are various options:
Freezing : put your shells in the freezer for a couple of days. Afterwards, you can pull out the animal with a bent needle or tweezers.
Boiling : slow boil your catch for 20 minutes. Again, it will be easy to remove the animals with a knife, a needle or tweezers.
Lastly you can soak your shells in 50 % bleach and water. This will help dislodge the more stubborn encrustations.
After drying, the aperture can be filled with cotton-wool on which you can fix the operculum with an easy-to-remove glue. Some shells are dull and lifeless after cleaning: a thin layer of mineral oil of glycerine will give them back their sheen and colour.
There is a special treatment for POLYPLACOPHORA: after collecting you can tie them on to a flat piece of wood. After a few weeks of drying out, they are ready for the collection.
The above text is only an abbreviated overview - search for the proper literature on the subject, even better, contact experienced collectors who can teach you the proper way how to handle the cleaning - or the proper preparation in the case of Polyplacophorans.
Types of Collections
THE REFERENCE COLLECTION
Target: give an overview of what exists in a particular group of mollusks. The subject can be a family (e.g. LITTORINIDAE, or CYPRAEIDAE), or a geographic area (for example: New Zealand seashells).
Identifications and accurate locality data are important. The collection will be used as a reference for new findings, databases, geographic mapping etc.... Unavailable species can be replaced by a photograph.
THE AESTHETIC COLLECTION
Some collectors specialize in "beautiful" shells. Quality, exceptional specimens, size, color etc... deserve the highest attention. The presentation of such a collection is most important: much care has to be taken in the display.
THE STUDY COLLECTION
Shells brought together for the purpose of study belong in this category. Easy access, research facilities, and labels with field information have priority over beauty. There always ought to be a "dry collection" and a "wet collection". The latter being a collection of mollusks preserved in alcohol solutions (it is better not to use formaldehyde because of its poisonous and calcite- dissolving effect).
THE MICRO SHELL COLLECTION
Many people specialize in micro mollusks: shells smaller than 10 mm. A binocular microscope with x 6, x 10, and up to x 60 is needed. The big advantage is storage: a collection of several thousand shells does not take much space. The many hours spent over the microscope are pure delight.
During the many years of shell collecting, I met people specializing in: ONLY WHITE SHELLS, ONLY BLACK SHELLS, SHELLS OVER 1 INCH, ONLY LEFT-HANDED SHELLS, ONLY YELLOW SHELLS, ONLY REAL ALBINO, ONE OF EACH GENUS, ONE OF EACH FAMILY, etc...
Finding Shells
Most people start collecting shells by finding them themselves. This is often a very satisfying way whose only drawbacks are that it is very time-consuming and the most expensive way. Travel costs, hiring of boats, diving equipment, guides and the like will be a multiple of the value of the findings.
Despite all, we still advise to exercise shell collectors to go into the experience, for example during holidays. It is an uppermost pleasant way to acquire some of the pieces in your collection as such.
Here extra information on different biotopes and methods.
BEACHCOMBING
Beachcombing is certainly the most common method of collecting shells: almost everybody has picked up shells from the beach at one time or another, while vacationing on the coast.In Europe, beachcombing gives good results along the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, but it is often a waste of time for the collector visiting Mediterranean sandy beaches. This is mainly due to the absence of tides. However, virtually every beach can be productive at one time or another, especially after storms. You will probably find only badly worn remains of large shells on stony or pebble beaches. Of great interest is "shell grit" which is deposited along the tide lines. In this grit or "shell sand" you can find several thousands of small shells. Using a rake just before and after low tide, you may be able to find many of the species that live buried in sand. You may also find buried shells, such as Natica, Nassarius and Solen by recognizing the tracks they leave on the surface.
MUD FLATS
A close examination of mud flats exposed at low tide can produce many shells not found in any other environment. Like on sand, on the mud flat the collector can use a rake or hand dredge, as well as a spade to dig out the deep burrowing bivalves. Being able to recognize the tracks left by crawling or digging mollusks plays an even greater role here than on the sandy beaches. A word of warning, mud can be a deadly trap and it is advisable to find out about the site and the tides.
ROCKY COASTS
While sand and mud is better suited to bivalves, rocky coasts are often the home to many gastropod species. The collector can expect the best finds during the low spring tides. A flat knife and a long steel bar, slightly curved at one end, are standard equipment for hunting shells along rocky coasts. The knife will help you to prise shells such as limpets off the rocks, and the steel bar is useful to reach animals which are hidden in rock crevices. Examine all the tide pools, the small caves and the algae. Do not forget to look under rocks.
THE OPEN SEA
Diving, dredging, and fishing for shells are very good methods to collect species that live out of the tidal range. However, all these methods require experience and often much expense.
DIVING AND SNORKELING
In shallow water you can "snorkel" with a minimum of standard equipment snorkel, mask, and flippers. Good lungs are important: the working depth is generally limited to 12 m. Better results are usually obtained by scuba-diving. Air tanks permit the diver to explore the sea bottom thoroughly after suitable training. This method allows the shell collector to dive down to depths of 80 m, but 40 m is usually the limit for safe diving.
DREDGING
A dredge usually consists of a special net, which is designed to be pulled by a boat and dragged on the sea bottom. This can be a very productive way of collecting down to 60 m with a small boat. Museums and major institutions with proper research ships can dredge to depths of several kilometers and, in this way, can build up collections of deep sea fauna which is otherwise impossible to obtain.
FISHERMEN
Many mollusks are edible and thus are important to the fishing industry. Specimen shells are often a by-product of this industry. In the Mediterranean, many of the larger species, from Natica to Charonia are eaten, so a visit to the local fish-market is often useful. While in the Mediterranean it is often possible to find shells in nets that are being cleaned in the port, the fishing industry on Atlantic coast tends to be of a different type, and most of the ships arrive in the harbor, perfectly clean and without any shells.
- From Poppe & Goto, European Seashells, Vol. I.
Exchanging
Exchanging shells is an excellent way to obtain often obscure species that may be the more interesting. You can obtain many items not found (or only rarely) in the commercial shell world, such as Rissoidae and Hydrobiidae. In order to find the names and addresses of fellow-collectors, it is best to join a club or obtain some specialist magazines. Prepare a detailed list of your specimens that you mail to other collectors. You exchange a couple of letters (or fax or e-mail), and when you agree on the species and quantity, you send the shells. The other party does the same.
When it concerns common species, or species without much commercial value, things can go smoothly at a species for species rate. When more valuable shells are involved, it may be necessary to agree on a value, in order to obtain the same value in return.
Quality is often a problem in exchanges, but, just as you look for the best dealer, you should look for the best exchange contact. If time is no problem, the correspondence with the other collectors can give lots of human satisfaction. You can also readily share problems and their solutions. At least in Europe, we have some very interesting and large collections 80 % of which were built up by exchange. In my humble opinion, the combination of exchanging and buying is the fastest method to get a large collection.
Storing
This depends of the type of collection but some general rules are important:
- easy access
- the information should be kept with the shell
- avoid direct sunlight
- carpeting avoids broken shells when dropped
- eliminate dust
- do not use acid wood
In conditions that combine a damp atmosphere, warmth and darkness, moisture can attack your shells. Of a particular type is "Byne's disease". Fortunately there are a lot of remedies and there is never reason for panic. Click images below to enlarge images.
CATALOG AND LABELING
It is important to catalog your shells in a file that allows you to make labels and to have a listing that you can consult on paper (for visits to museums, other collectors, shell clubs), or in your computer.
Labels should ALWAYS stay with the shells. The majority of shells are worthless without accurate labeling. Examples of the information are given with the images shown here. We use FileMaker Pro® for such purposes.
Library
Just a few books will do it.
G. T. Poppe & Y. Goto - European Seashells Volume I
for an introduction to shell collecting
R. T. Abbott & S. P. Dance - Compendium of Seashells
a color guide to 4200 marine shells
R. T. Abbott - Compendium of Landshells
a color guide to 2000 land shells
S. P. Dance - A History of Shell Collecting
to get a perspective on the situation you are in.
This library covers the vast majority of shells that you can expect to acquire.
ABBOTT, T. R.
1974 American Seashells - 2nd Edition - 663 pp., 24 pls. - van Nostrand Reinhold Co. , New York, USA.
ABBOTT, T. R. & DANCE, P. S.
1990 Compendium of Seashells - 4th Edition - 411 pp., 4200 figs. - E.P. Dutton, Inc., New York, USA.
ALF, A., KREIPL, K. & POPPE, G. T.
2003 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Turbinidae. Subfamily Turbininae, Genus Turbo. Conchbooks. 68pp., 95pls.
ANSEEUW, P. & GOTO, Y.
1996 The Living Pleurotomariidae - 202 pp., numerous plates and figures. Elle Scientific Publications, Osaka, Japan.
BAIL, P. & POPPE, G.T.
2001 A Conchological Iconography. A Taxonomic Introduction to the Recent Volutidae. Conchbooks. 30 pp., 5 pls.
BAIL, P., LIMPUS, A. & POPPE, G. T.
2001 A Conchological Iconography. Genus Amoria. Conchbooks. 50 pp., 93 pls.
BAIL, P., LIMPUS, A. & TERRYN, Y.
2005 A Conchological Iconography. The Recent Volutes of New Zealand. With the a Revision of the Genus Alcithoe H. & A. Adams, 1853. 73pp., 62pls.
BASLY SANTA MARIA, J.
1982 Moluscos Marinos del Norte de Chile - 49 pp., 12 pls. - W. Morales A., Vina del Mar, Chile.
BERNARD, P. A.
1984 Coquillages du Gabon - 140 pp., 73 pls. - Pierre Bernard, Libreville, Gabon.
BOSCH, D. & BOSCH, E.
1982 Seashells of Oman - 206 pp., Numerous figs. - Kathleen Smythe Ed.
BOSCH, D. T., DANCE, P. S., MOOLENBEEK, R. G., & OLIVER, G. P.
1996 Seashells of Eastern Arabia, 296 pp., 1274 figs. Motivate Publishing, London.
BRATCHER, T. & CERNOHORSKY, W. O.
1987 Living Terebras of the World. A Monograph of the recent Terebridae of the World. - 240 pp. 68 pls. American Malacologists Inc.,
Melbourne, Florida, USA.
BURGESS, C.M.
1970+- first edition.
1985 Cowries of the world - 289 pp., 18 pls. - numerous figs. - Seacomber Publications, Cape Town, South Africa.
COSSIGNANI, T.
1994 Bursidae of the World. - 119 pp., numerous figs. - Ed. L'Informatore Piceno, Ancona, Italy.
DANCE, Peter S
1986 A History of Shell Collecting. - 265 pp., 32 pls. numerous text figs. E.J. Brill - Dr. W. Backhuys, Leiden.
DHARMA, Bunjamin
1988 Siput dan Kerang Indonesia (Indonesian Shells) - 111 pp., 35 pls. - PT. Sarana Graha - Jakarta, Indonesia.
1992 Siput dan Kerang Indonesia (Indonesian Shells II) - 135 pp., 38 pls. - Verlag Christa Hemmen - Wiesbaden, Germany.
DRIVAS, Jean & JAY, Maurice
1988 Coquillages de La Reunion et de l'Ile Maurice - 159 pp., 58 pls. - Delachaux & Niestle, Lausanne, Switzerland.
ESTIVAL, Jean-Claude
1981 Cones de Nouvelle-Caledonie et du Vanuatu. - 125 pp., 34 pls. - Les Editions du Cagou, Papeet, Tahiti.
FAIR, Ruth H.,
1976 The Murex book - An illustrated Catalogue of Recent MURICIDAE (MURICINAE, MURICOPSINAE, OCENEBRINAE) - 138. pp., 23 pls., 363 figs. -
Ruth H. Fair, Honolulu, Hawaii.
FRAUSSEN, K. & TERRYN, Y.
2007 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Buccinidae. Genus Neptunea. Conchbooks. 166 pp., 154pls.
GEIGER, D.L., & POPPE, G.T.
2000 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Haliotidae. Conchbooks. 135pp., 83 pls.
GIANNUZZI-SAVELLI, R., PUSATERI, F., PALMERI, A., & EBREO, C.
1994 Atlante delle conchgilie Marine del Mediterraneo. (Atlas of the Mediterranean Sea Shells) Vol. I. (ARCHEOGASTROPODA). - 125 pp., 395 pls. -
La Conchiglia, Roma, Italy.
GOFAS, S., AFONSO, J. A. P. & BRANDAO, M.
1989? Conchas e Moluscos de Angola (Coquillages et Mollusques d'Angola) - 144 pp., 51 pls. - Universidade Agostinho Neto / Elf Aquitaine Angola.
GROH, K., POPPE, G. T. & CHARLES, M.
2002 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Acavidae. Conchbooks. 69 pp., 44pls.
GOTO, Y. & POPPE, G. T.
1996 A listing of Living Mollusca. 4 Volumes. - 1899 pp. - L'Informatore Piceno Ed. , Ancona, Italy.
HABE, T.
1968 Shells of the Western Pacific in color - Vol. II - 2nd Edition - 233 pp., 66 pls. - Hoikusha Publishing, CO., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
HABE, T. & ITO, K.
1974 Shells of the World in colour - Vol. I: The Northern Pacific. - 176 pp., 56 pls. - Hoikusha Publishing CO., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
HABE, T. & KOSUGE, S.
1974 Shells of the World in colour. Vol. II: The Tropical Pacific. - 194 pp., 68 pls. - Hoikusha Publishing CO., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
HENNING, T. & HEMMEN, J.
1993 Ranellidae & Personidae of the World. - 263 pp., 30 pls. - Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, Germany.
HILL, L. & CARMICHAEL, P.
1995 The World's Most Beautiful Seashells. - 240 pp., numerous plates. - Carmichael Publications, Florida, USA.
HINTON, A. G.
1978 Shells of New Guinea and the Central Indo-Pacific - 2nd Edition - 94 pp., 44 pls. - Printed in Hong Kong.
1978 Guide to Australian Shells - 82 pp., 78 pls. - Robert Brown & Associates Pty. Ltd. - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
1978 Guide to Shells of Papua New Guinea - 74 pp. - 69 pls. - Robert Brown & Associates Pty. Ltd., Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
HORIKOSHI, M.
1989 Sea Shells of the World. The shapes and patterns designed by nature from the Ninomiya Collection. - 86 pp., 48 pls. Ed. by Masaki Miya,
Akira Asakura and Taiji Kurosomi, Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba University, Japan .
HOUART, R.
1994 Illustrated Catalogue of Recent Species of Muricidae, named since 1971. - 179 pp. 28 pls. Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, Germany.
INDO PACIFIC MOLLUSCA
1959-1973 Monographs of the Marine Mollusks of the Tropical Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Volumes 1 - 2 - 3 - Edited by R. Tucker Abbott.
KAY, E. A.
1979 Hawaiian Marine Shells - Reef and Shore Fauna of Hawaii. Section 4: MOLLUSCA. - 653 pp., 195 figs. - Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, Hawaii.
KEEN, A. M.
1971 Sea Shells of Tropical West America. 2nd Edition - 1064 pp., Numerous figs. - Stanford University Press - Stanford, California, USA.
KENSLEY, B.
1973 Sea-Shells of Southern Africa - Gastropods. - 236 pp., 910 figs. - Maskew Miller Limited - Cape Town, South Africa.
KILBURN, R. & RIPPEY, E.
1982 Sea Shells of Southern Africa. - 249 pp., 45 pls., 230 figs. - Eleanor Mary Cadell Ed. - Johannesburg, South Africa.
KIRA, Tatsuaki
1955 Coloured illustrations of the Shells of Japan. - 204 pp., 67 pls. - Hoikusha Publishing CO., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
1965 Shells of the western Pacific in color. - Vol. 1 - 2nd edition - 224 pp., 72 pls. - Hoikusha Publishing CO., Ltd., Osaka, Japan.
KOSUGE, S. & SUZUKI, M.
1985 Illustrated Catalogue of Latiaxis and its related groups . Family Coralliophilidae. - 83 pp., 50 pls.- Special Publication No. 1 - Institute of
Malacology of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
KREIPL, K., POPPE, G.T. & all
1999 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Strombidae. Conchbooks. 58pp., 130pls.
KRONENBERG, G. & BERKHOUT, J.
1984 STROMBIDAE. - 121 pp., 9 pls, 52 figs. - Stichting Biologia Maritima - Marien biologische publicatie 3 - Den Haag, The Netherlands.
KURODA, T., HABE, T. & OYAMA, K.
1971 The Sea Shells of Sagami Bay - English and Japanese parts. - English part: 512 pp., 120 pls. - Biological
Laboratory Imperial Household, Japan.
LAMPRELL, K.
1986 Spiny Oyster Shells of the World: Spondylus . - 84 pp., 30 pls. - Robert Brown & Associates, Pty., Ltd. - Bathurst, NSW, Australia.
LAN, T.C.
1979 Rare Shells of Taiwan in Color. - 144 pp. 63 pls. T.C. Lan Ed. - Taipei, Taiwan.
1993 The Classic shells of the World. - 222 pp. 211 pls. T.C. Lan Ed. - Taipei, Taiwan.
LILTVED, W. R.
1989 Cowries and their relatives of Southern Africa. - 208 pp., 299 figs. - Gordon Verhoef, Seacomber Publication, South Africa.
LIPE, R.
1991 Marginellas. - 40 pp., 18 pls. - The Shell Store, St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, USA.
LORENZ, F. Jr. & HUBERT, A.
1993 A Guide to Worldwide Cowries. - 579 pp. 124 pls. - Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, Germany.
MARINCOVICH, L. Jr.
1973 Intertidal Mollusks of Iquique, Chile. - 49 pp., 102 figs. - Natural History Museum, Science Bulletin 16, Los Angeles, California, USA.
MATSUKUMA, A., OKUTANI, T. & HABE, T.
1991 World Seashells of Rarity and Beauty. - Revised and Enlarged Edition. - 206 pp., 156 pls. - National Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
MONTEIRO, A., TENORIO, M.J. & POPPE, G.T.
2004 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Conidae. The West African and Mediterranean species of Conus. Conchbooks. 102pp., 164 pls.
OKUTANI, T., TAGAWA, M. & HORIKAWA, H.
1988 Bivalves from Continental shelf and slope around Japan. - 190 pp., 160 pls. - Japan Fisheries Resource Conservation Association, Japan.
1988 Gastropods from Continental shelf and slope around Japan. - 203 pp., 160 pls. - Japan Fisheries Resource Conservation Association, Japan.
OLIVER, G. P.
1992 Bivalved Seashells of the Red Sea. - 330 pp., 46 pls., Numerous figs. - Verlag Christa Hemmen & National Museum of Wales - Wiesbaden,
Germany / Cardiff, Wales.
PECHAR, P., PRIOR, C. & PARKINSON, B.
1979 Mitre Shells from the Pacific and Indian Oceans - Robert Brown & Associates Pty. Ltd. - Bathurst, Australia.
PETUCH, E. J. & SARGENT, D. M.
1986 Atlas of the Living Olive Shells of the World - 253 pp., 39 pls., Some maps - The Coastal Education & Research Foundation - Charlottesville,
Virginia, USA.
PETUCH, E. J.
1987 New Caribbean Molluscan Faunas. - 154 pp. - 29 pls. - The Coastal Education & Research Foundation - Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
POPPE, G. T.
2008 Philippine Marine Mollusks. Volume 1. (Gastropoda – Part I). Conchbooks. Hackenheim, Germany. 759 pp., 312 pls.
POPPE, G. T.
2008 Philippine Marine Mollusks. Volume 2 (Gastropoda – Part II). Conchbooks. Hackenheim, Germany. 848 pp., 313-707 pls.
POPPE, G.T. & BAIL, P.
2004 A Conchological Iconography. The Tribe Lyriini. A Revision of the Recent Species of the Genera Lyria, Callipara, Harpulina, Enaeta and
Leptoscapha. Conchbooks. 93 pp., 68 pls.
POPPE, G. T. & GOTO, Y.
1991 European Seashells . - Volume I. (POLYPLACOPHORA, CAUDOFOVEATA, SOLENOGASTRA, GASTROPODA). - 352 pp., 40 pls. 29 figs. - Verlag Christa Hemmen,
Wiesbaden, Germany.
1992 Volutes. - 348 pp., 107 pls., Numerous figs and maps - L'Informatore Piceno Ed. , Ancona, Italy.
1993 Recent Angariidae. - 53 pp., 10 pls., figs. - L'Informatore Piceno Ed. , Ancona, Italy.
1993 European Seashells . Volume II. (SCAPHOPODA, BIVALVIA, CEPHALOPODA). - 221 pp., 32 pls., 62 figs. -Verlag Christa Hemmen - Wiesbaden, Germany.
POPPE, G.T. & GROH, K.
1999 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Harpidae. Conchbooks. 17pp., 51pls.
POPPE, G. T. & SENDERS, J.
1994 An annotated Price Catalogue of Marine Shells. 311 pp. - L'Informatore Piceno Ed. , Ancona, Italy.
POWELL, A. W. B.
1979 New Zealand Mollusca. Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells - 500 pp., 119 figs. - William Collins Publishers Ltd. - Auckland, New Zealand.
RADWIN, G. E. & D'ATTILIO, A.
1976 Murex Shells of the World. An illustrated Guide to the Muricidae - 284 pp. - 32 pls., 192 figs. - Stanford University Press - Stanford,
California, USA.
RAINES, B. K. & POPPE, G. T.
2006 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Pectinidae. Conchbooks. 402 pp., 320 pls.
RICE, T.
1971 Marine Shells of the Pacific Northwest - 102 pp., 40 pls. - Ellison Industries Inc., Edmonds, Washington, USA.
1995 A Catalog of Dealer's Prices for Marine Shells. 136 pp. - Of Sea and Shore Publications, Washington, USA.
RCKEL, D., ROLAN, E. & MONTEIRO, A.
1980 Cone Shells from Cape Verde Islands. - 156 pp., 8 pls., 131 figs. - Printed in Spain.
RCKEL, D., Korn, W. & Kohn, A. J.
1995 Manual of the Living Conidae - 517 pp. - 84 pls. Verlag Christa Hemmen, Germany.
RIOS, E. C.
1985 Seashells of Brazil. - Revised Edition - 328 pp. - 102 pls. - Universidade de Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil.
ROMBOUTS, A.
1991 Guidebook to Pecten Shells, Recent Pectinidae and Propeamussiidae of the World. - 157 pp., 29 pls. - W. Backhuys, Universal Book Services,
Oegstgeest, Netherlands.
SALVAT, B. & RIVES, C.
1975 Coquillages de Polynesie. - 391 pp., 446 figs. - Les Editions du Pacifique, Papeete, Tahiti.
SHARABATI, D.
1984 Red Sea Shells. - 128 pp., 49 pls., some figs. and maps - KPI Limited, London, England.
SHIKAMA, T.
1964 Selected shells of the World, illustrated in colours(II). - 212 pp., 70 pls., Numerous figs. - Hokuriyu-Kan, Publishing Co., Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan.
SHIKAMA, T. & HORIKOSHI, M.
1963 Selected shells of the World, illustrated in colours . - 154 pp., 102 pls., Numerous figs.- Hokuriyu-Kan, Publishing Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
SPRINGSTEEN, F. J. & LEOBRERA, F. M.
1986 Shells of the Philippines - 377 pp., 100 pls. - Carfel Seashell Museum, Manila, Philippines.
VERHAEGHE, M. & POPPE, G.T.
2000 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Ficidae. Conchbooks. 31pp., 27pls.
VOS, C. & TERRYN, Y.
2007 A Conchological Iconography. The Family Tonnidae. Conchbooks. 121 pp., 63 pls.
WALLS, J. G.
1979 Cone Shells. A Synopsis of the living CONIDAE - 1021 pp., numerous figs. - T.F.H. Publications Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey, USA.
1980 Conchs, Tibias and Harps. - 191 pp., 82 maps and numerous figs. - T.F.H. Publications Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey, USA.
WEAVER, C. S. & duPONT, J. E.
1970 The Living Volutes - A Monograph of the Recent Volutidae of the World. - 375 pp., 79 pls., 43 figs. Delaware Museum of Natural History -
Monograph series No. 1, Greenville, Delaware, USA.
WILSON, B.
1993 Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranchs Gastropods, Part One. - 408 pp., 44 pls. numerous figs. and maps - Odyssey
publishing, Kallaroo, WA, Australia.
1994 Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranchs Gastropods, Part Two (Neogastropods). - 370 pp., 53 pls., numerous figs. and maps - Odyssey publishing,
Kallaroo, WA, Australia.
WILSON, B. R. & GILLETT, K.
1971 Australian Shells - 168 pp., 106 pls. - Charles E. Tuttle Company - Australia / Japan.
YOO, J. S.
1976 Korean Shells in Colour - 196 pp., 30 pls. - Il Ji Sa Publishing Co., Seoul, Korea.
ZEIGLER, R. F. & PORRECA, H. C.
1969 Olive Shells of the World. - 96 pp; 13 pls., 4 figs. - Zeigler & Porreca, Rochester, New York, USA.
ALL PUBLICATIONS that you can acquire.
Clubs & Societies
There is a large range of organizations for amateur and/or professional shell-people.
Each of these has its own political and/or philosophical ideas. Some are directed more to popular conchology, others to pure professional science. You will need to decide for yourself where you best belong.
Most clubs have regular meetings where you can enjoy the company of fellow collectors and/or scientists in order to get the latest news, show your latest acquisitions, or exchange shells. Many also have a regular publication.
The list below is not exhaustive and will be regularly updated. If your organization is not listed, please e-mail us and we will link you.
Look in our CALENDAR for more events you can attend to.
EUROPE
ASSOCIATION FRANCAISE DE CONCHYLIOLOGIE
P.B. 307 La Fontaine
75770 Paris, France
Publication: Xenophora
BELGIAN SOCIETY FOR CONCHOLOGY
Buizegemlei 111
B-2650 Edegem
Belgium
Publications: Gloria Maris
Neptunea
www.bvc-gloriamaris.be
BRITISH SHELL COLLECTOR'S CLUB
c/Tom Walker, Membership Secretary
38 Redlands Road
Reading
Berkshire RG1 5HD
England
Publication: Pallidula
CENTRO ITALIANO STUDI MALACOLOGII
c/Civico Museo di Zoologia
via V. Aldrovandi 18
00197 ROMA, ITALY
Publication: Notiziario CISMA
CLUB CONCHYLIA
c/o Wolfgang Fischer
Martnigasse 26
1220 Wien, sterreich
Austria
Publications: Club Conchylia Informationen
Acta Conchyliorum
Club Conchylia Mitteilungen
CONCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
c/Ms. J. Reynolds. Hon. General Secretary
21c Loraine Road,
Holloway London
N7 6EZ
England
Publications: Journal of Conchology
Conchologists Newsletter
DEUTSCHE MALAKOZOOLOGISCHE GESELLSCHAFT
C/Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg
Senckenberganlage 25
60325 Frankfurt 1
Germany
Publications: Archiv fr Molluskenkunde
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozological
Gesellschaft.
MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON
c/Mollusca Section, Department of Zoology
The Natural History Museum
London SW7 5BD
U K
Publications: Journal of Molluscan Studies
Bulletin of the Malacological Society
NEDERLANDS MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Van Schagenplantsoen 8
2741 E Waddinxveen
The Netherlands
Publication: Basteria
Correspondentie Blad
SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA DE MALACOLOGIA
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
Jos Gutirrez Abascal 2
28006 Madrid
Espana
Publications: Iberus
Resenas Malacologicas
Noticiario
SOCIETA ITALIANA DI MALACOLOGIA
c/o Acquario Civico
V 12 Gadio, 2
20121 Milano
Italy
Publications: Bolletino Malacologica
Notiziario SIM
SOCIETE BELGE DE MALACOLOGIE
Prestigious Belgian Society, A follow-up of diverse societies since the late 1800s.
Publishes the beautiful Novapex, in which numerous new species are described each year.
Contact Roland Houart .
http://www.societe-belge-de-malacologie.be
SOCIETE INERNATIONALE DE CONCHYLIOLOGIE
C.P. 1323
CH 1001 Lausanne
Switzerland
Quarterly publication.
JAPAN
MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN
C/ National Science Museum
3-23-1 Hyakunin-cho
Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 169
Japan
Publication: Venus
Chiribotan
NORTH AMERICA
CONCHOLOGISTS OF AMERICA
HAWAIIAN MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY
Pacific Northwest Shell Club
c/o Raymond Bily
Meets 3rd Sunday of each month
Mailing address: PO Box 7493,
Bellevue, WA 98008,
USA
www.pnwsc.org
SOUTH AMERICA
CONQUILIOLOGISTAS DO BRASIL
Caixa Postal 15011
Sao Paulo
SP
Brasil 01599-970
Publication: Strombus
Ocasionais
http://www.conchasbrasil.org.br
http://www.conchasbrasil.org.br/strombus
SOCIEDAD MALACOLOGICA DEL URUGUAY
Casilla de Correo 1401
11000 Montevideo
Uruguay
Publication: Comunicaciones
ASIA
MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CHINA
P. O. Box 34-35
Taipei
Taiwan
MIDDLE EAST
ISRAEL MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY
C/O D. Korkos
P. O. Box 935
Kefar Sava
Israel
Publication: Levantina
Argamon
NEW ZEALAND
AUCKLAND SHELL CLUB
9 Otakau Road
Milford
North Shore City
Auckland 9
New Zealand
Publication: Poirieria
AUSTRALIA
KEPPEL BAY SHELL CLUB, INC.
P.O. Box 5166
Rockhampton mail Centre
4702 Queensland
Publication: Keppel Bay Tidings (Quarterly)
MALACOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALASIA
c/o Malacology (Invert. Zool.) Australian Museum
P.O. Box A285
Sydney South
N S W 2000 Australia
Publications: Australasian Shell News (Quarterly)
Journal of Malacological Society of Australasia.
Branches: Queensland Branch
Western Australian Branch
Northern Territory Branch
Victoria Branch
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