A guide to seashells found in Texas that discusses the historical uses of mollusks and seashells, the history of conchology and malacology in the state, habitats, and other related topics, and provides information for identifying nine hundred species.

This field guide covers three hundred of the better-known or more common seashells found on Texas coastlines, With more than 600 detailed and data-rich color photographs, each species with at least two views, Texas Seashells is sure to make shell identification fun, quick, and easy.

Walking along the beach and picking up seashells is a favorite pastime enjoyed by millions of people every year. This field guide covers three hundred of the better-known or more common seashells found on Texas coastlines, and anyone interested in identifying and collecting shells along Texas bays and Gulf coast beaches will find Texas Seashells an essential companion. With more than 600 detailed and data-rich color photographs, each species with at least two views, Texas Seashells is sure to make shell identification fun, quick, and easy. Those new to collecting can get started with the introductory chapters on building your shell collection, local laws and regulations protecting this resource, seashell clubs, adopting a “Sheller’s Creed,” and basic seashell taxonomy. A glossary is also included for technical terms not defined in the text. Although this field guide is for seashells found along the Texas coast, it will also be useful in other regions of the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean.

Who among us hasn’t marveled at the diversity and beauty of shells? Or picked one up, held it to our ear, and then gazed in wonder at its shape and hue? Many a lifelong shell collector has cut teeth (and toes) on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, the Outer Banks, or the coasts of Sanibel Island. Some have even dived to the depths of the ocean. But most of us are not familiar with the biological origin of shells, their role in explaining evolutionary history, and the incredible variety of forms in which they come. Shells are the external skeletons of mollusks, an ancient and diverse phylum of invertebrates that are in the earliest fossil record of multicellular life over 500 million years ago. There are over 100,000 kinds of recorded mollusks, and some estimate that there are over amillion more that have yet to be discovered. Some breathe air, others live in fresh water, but most live in the ocean. They range in size from a grain of sand to a beach ball and in weight from a few grams to several hundred pounds. And in this lavishly illustrated volume, they finally get their full due. The Book of Shells offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing mollusk shells, each chosen to convey the range of shapes and sizes that occur across a range of species. Each shell is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the shell’s range, distribution, abundance, habitat, and operculum—the piece that protects the mollusk when it’s in the shell. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each shell and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait. The Matchless Cone, for instance, or Conus cedonulli, was one of the rarest shells collected during the eighteenth century. So much so, in fact, that a specimen in 1796 was sold for more than six times as much as a painting by Vermeer at the same auction. But since the advent of scuba diving, this shell has become far more accessible to collectors—though not without certain risks. Some species of Conus produce venom that has caused more than thirty known human deaths. The Zebra Nerite, the Heart Cockle, the Indian Babylon, the Junonia, the Atlantic Thorny Oyster—shells from habitats spanning the poles and the tropics, from the highest mountains to the ocean’s deepest recesses, are all on display in this definitive work.

The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas is the only hypersaline coastal lagoon on the North American continent and only one of five worldwide. Extending along 277 miles of shoreline in South Texas and northeastern Mexico, the lagoon is renowned for its vast seagrass meadows, huge wintering redhead population, and bountiful fishing grounds. Recent concerns about increasing human activity have focused attention on the long-term health of the Laguna Madre as growing population pressures, pollution problems, and dredging threaten this unique ecosystem. The Nature Conservancy, whose mission is the conservation of biodiversity through protection of habitat, recognized the need to compile all known information about the Laguna Madre in order to move ahead with a science-based conservation agenda. This book is the result. Taking an ecosystem approach to the study of this rich habitat, the authors first provide an overview of the natural history of the Laguna Madre and adjacent areas, including an essay on the importance of the region's private ranches. Succeeding chapters discuss the diverse natural resources of the lagoon—seagrasses, open bays, tidal flats, barrier islands, abundant waterfowl, colonial waterbird rookeries, sea turtles, and fisheries. A final section identifies information gaps, offers a conservation framework, and makes recommendations for preserving the biodiversity of this complex and special ecosystem. Over seventy years of literature on the Laguna Madre and surrounding environments has been synthesized here. With 150 figures and illustrations, the book is the first to take a broad and comprehensive look at both the Texan and Tamaulipan Laguna Madre. For scientists, conservationists, resource managers, and policy makers involved in the future of the Texas and Mexico coasts, the value of this book is clear. And coastal residents, birders, anglers, and nature lovers who want to learn about and take care of the Laguna Madre will find this to be an indispensable guide.

Written for biology students, teachers, nature lovers, amateur naturalists, conservation workers, and parks and wildlife personnel, this up-to-date, easy-to-use guide describes the marine plants of the Gulf of Mexico coast. The author’s photographs accompany the updated identification keys, which are also visually oriented and simple to use. Veteran botanist and educator Roy L. Lehman describes the plants in four major sections, covering the common shoreline plants, seagrasses, mangroves, and marine algae (red, brown, and green seaweeds). Each section begins with an introduction that gives an overview of the plant group and includes information on the important traits and terminology used for identification. A simple key to the family or order directs the reader to the appropriate section, where the text is arranged alphabetically by family and then by genus and species. Each genus is illustrated by high quality photographs that include a close-up of each plant and images of its reproductive structures. Marine Plants of the Texas Coast collects these unique species for the first time in a single volume. As coastal issues, such as hurricane preparedness, beach erosion, wetland mitigation, freshwater inflows, and more, remain in the forefront of public concern, this botanical reference should find a permanent place on the bookshelves of scientists, policy makers, and citizens alike.

The beautifully written story of shells and their makers, and our relationships with them. Seashells are the sculpted homes of a remarkable group of animals: the molluscs. These are some of the most ancient and successful animals on the planet. But watch out. Some molluscs can kill you if you eat them. Some will kill you if you stand too close. That hasn't stopped people using shells in many ways over thousands of years. They became the first jewelry and oldest currencies; they've been used as potent symbols of sex and death, prestige and war, not to mention a nutritious (and tasty) source of food. Spirals in Time is an exuberant aquatic romp, revealing amazing tales of these undersea marvels. Helen Scales leads us on a journey into their realm, as she goes in search of everything from snails that 'fly' underwater on tiny wings to octopuses accused of stealing shells and giant mussels with golden beards that were supposedly the source of Jason's golden fleece, and learns how shells have been exchanged for human lives, tapped for mind-bending drugs and inspired advances in medical technology. Weaving through these stories are the remarkable animals that build them, creatures with fascinating tales to tell, a myriad of spiralling shells following just a few simple rules of mathematics and evolution. Shells are also bellwethers of our impact on the natural world. Some species have been overfished, others poisoned by polluted seas; perhaps most worryingly of all, molluscs are expected to fall victim to ocean acidification, a side-effect of climate change that may soon cause shells to simply melt away. But rather than dwelling on what we risk losing, Spirals in Time urges you to ponder how seashells can reconnect us with nature, and heal the rift between ourselves and the living world.