Using original Victorian prints, by collectable artist George Sowerby, marine biologist and author Paul Chambers has produced the first comprehensive guide to shells for over a century. The original prints are intricately detailed (much better than photographs which lack the exact detail of these drawings) and are a selling point in themselves but will be complemented by informative but accessible text, including families and to show what's edible, dangerous or belongs to mollusc families and in what part of the country they can be discovered. A delightful study by the leading expert and a must for anyone interested in learning more about shells - or who just enjoys beachcombing with the family.

Located where the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea converge, the Florida Keys are distinctive for their rich and varied marine fauna. The Keys are home to nearly sixty taxonomic families of bivalves such as clams and mussels--roughly half the world's bivalve family diversity. The first in a series of three volumes on the molluscan fauna of the Keys and adjacent regions, Seashells of Southern Florida: Bivalves provides a comprehensive treatment of these bivalves, and also serves as a comparative anatomical guide to bivalve diversity worldwide. Paula Mikkelsen and Rüdiger Bieler cover more than three hundred species of bivalves, including clams, scallops, oysters, mussels, shipworms, jewel boxes, tellins, and many lesser-known groups. For each family they select an exemplar species and illustrate its shell and anatomical features in detail. They describe habitat and other relevant information, and accompany each species account with high-resolution shell photographs of other family members. Text and images combine to present species--to family-level characteristics in a complete way never before seen. The book includes fifteen hundred mostly color photographs and images of shells, underwater habitats, bivalves in situ, original anatomical and hinge drawings, scanning electron micrographs, and unique transparent--shell illustrations with major organ systems color-coded and clearly shown. Seashells of Southern Florida: Bivalves is the most complete guide to subtropical bivalves available. It is an essential tool for students and teachers of molluscan diversity and systematics, and an indispensable identification guide for collectors, scuba divers, naturalists, environmental consultants, and natural-resource managers.

Bivalve Seashells of Western South America describes and illustrates all species of living marine bivalve mollusks from Punta Aguja, Perú, to Isla Chiloé, Chile. It includes all habitats from the intertidal zone to the deep ocean. Identification keys and tables are included to assist the reader in separating families, genera, and species. Thousands of photographs are included, including those of type specimens used in the original descriptions of these species. Also included is a glossary of nomenclatural, ecological, and morphological terms, and a large bibliography of cited literature.This is the third book on the eastern Pacific Ocean marine bivalves. The format is similar to Bivalve Seashells of Western North America, and Bivalve Seashells of Tropical West America.

The culmination of a ten-year study, Bivalve Seashells of Western North America treats all bivalve mollusks living from northern Baja California, Mexico to Arctic Alaska. A total of 472 species are described and illustrated with detailed photographs and drawings. All habitats in the region are included from the intertidal splash zone to the abyssal depths of the ocean basins. The book has over 4,800 complete bibliographic references to the bivalves, including citations on the biology, physiology, ecology, and taxonomy of this commercially and biologically important group. Character tables and dichotomous keys assist the reader in identification. Also included in the 764 page book is an illustrated key to the superfamiles of the region, and a complete glossary.