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Molluscs comprise the second-largest phylum of animals (after arthropods), occurring in virtually all habitats. Some are commercially important, a few are pests and some carry diseases, while many non-marine molluscs are threatened by human impacts which have resulted in more extinctions than all tetrapod vertebrates combined. This book and its companion volume provide the first comprehensive account of the Mollusca in decades. Illustrated with hundreds of colour figures, it reviews molluscan biology, genomics, anatomy, physiology, fossil history, phylogeny and classification. This volume includes general chapters drawn from extensive and diverse literature on the anatomy and physiology of their structure, movement, reproduction, feeding, digestion, excretion, respiration, nervous system and sense organs. Other chapters review the natural history (including ecology) of molluscs, their interactions with humans, and assess research on the group.
Key features of both volumes:
- up to date treatment with an extensive bibliography;
- thoroughly examines the current understanding of molluscan anatomy, physiology and development;
- reviews fossil history and phylogenetics;
- overviews ecology and economic values; and
- summarises research activity and suggests future directions for investigation.
Chapter 12. Molluscan Relationships
Chapter 13. Early History and Extinct Groups
Chapter 14. Polyplacophora, Monoplacophora, and Aplacophora
Chapter 15. The Bivalvia
Chapter 16. The Scaphopoda
Chapter 17. The Cephalopoda
Chapter 18. Gastropoda I — Introduction and the Stem Groups
Chapter 19. Gastropoda II — The Caenogastropoda
Chapter 20. Gastropoda III — The Heterobranchia
Chapter 21. Molluscan Research — Present and Future Directions
Winston F. Ponder (Ph.D, D.Sc, FRZSNSW) was educated in New Zealand, and employed as a curator at the Australian Museum in 1968, where he was a Principal Research Scientist in 1980 to his retirement in 2005. He has held honorary appointments at several universities through co-supervision of post graduate students and running courses on systematics and on Mollusca. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow of the Australian Museum. He has been actively involved with several societies, in particular, the Malacological Society of Australasia, and edited their journal, Molluscan Research, for 13 years (until last Dec.). He has served on several committees, including the Australian Biological Resources Survey (ABRS) Advisory Committee for six years. His research interests centre on molluscan morphology, systematics, and phylogenetics, especially of gastropods. He has also been involved in the conservation of invertebrates, and his recent research is focused on the biology and systematics of freshwater and estuarine molluscs of Australia and the region as well as the aquatic invertebrate fauna of springs associated with the Australian Great Artesian Basin. He co-edited a book on the phylogeny of molluscs with D. Lindberg (2008) and has edited three other books and, to date, is the author of 247 reviewed publications. He is also involved in the production of interactive keys to marine and freshwater molluscs.
David R. Lindberg is Professor Emeritus of Integrative Biology, Curator Emeritus in the UC Museum of Paleontology, and a former member of the Center for Computational Biology at UC Berkeley. He is a former Chair of the Department of Integrative Biology, Director of the UC Museum of Paleontology, and Chair of the UC Berkeley Natural History Museums. He has authored over 125 peer-reviewed papers and edited or authored 3 books on the evolutionary history of nearshore marine organisms and their habitats. At Berkeley, he served as major advisor to 21 Ph.D graduate students and 6 post-doctoral researchers. In addition to providing graduate seminars in evolution and organismal biology, he regularly taught a marine mammal course, an invertebrate zoology course with laboratories, and 2 semester principals of phylogenetics course. Prof. Lindberg has conducted research and fieldwork along the rocky shores of the Pacific Rim for over 40 years. In addition to his research and teaching, Prof. Lindberg was actively involved in K 16 outreach projects at the UC Museum of Paleontology, and focused on the use of the Internet to increase access to scientific resources, and the training of teachers in principles of evolutionary biology, science, and global change.
The numerous elegant and interpretive illustrations were produced by Juliet Ponder.
" [...] an immensely useful "go-to resource" [...] on almost any mollusk-related topic. [...] this is a brilliant work that should be on the desk of any serious "student" of mollusks, at any career level."
– American Malacological Bulletin, 38(1) 2020.
"The two-volume set is a treasure trove for anyone lucky enough to be teaching malacology, a reference work for investigators in a multitude of fields, and a true companion for students and advanced researchers. It will stand for decades, joining immediately the list of classic volumes covering the Mollusca. A tour d'force that speaks to the knowledge, dedication, and talent of the authors, illustrator, and also the publisher that had the vision to make such an epic possible in today's publishing world."
– Sandra E. Shumway in National Shellfisheries Association Quarterly Newsletter 2020 (2).
"The scholarship and deep thought that the authors bring to this monumental work are beyond staggering [...] It is unlikely that the scientific achievement manifested in the publication of this work will be surpassed in the foreseeable future. Whichever field of molluscan study a student or seasoned researcher is contemplating, this publication is the resource to consult first for an authoritative synthesis. Anyone with an interest in living and extinct molluscs will want to own and consult this landmark set of volumes."
– Geerat J. Vermeij in The Quarterly Review of Biology
"In case the rest of my review is not emphatic enough, Biology and Evolution of the Mollusca (hereafter BEM) is the most wonderful molluscan work I have ever seen. It is an intellectual tour de force, truly astounding in its breadth and depth of subject coverage; the sampling of the literature is comprehensive and up to date; and the figures are works of art while simultaneously being – like the text – exceptionally clear and informative. The authors – writers Winston F. Ponder and David R. Lindberg, together with illustrator Juliet M. Ponder – reviewers and publisher are all to be congratulated on such an outstanding result. [...] [BEM] will be the standard reference work about the Mollusca for years to come. It undoubtedly will, but I changed my mind; it can do better! Instead, I would like to think that BEM will stimulate such a flowering of molluscan research that it will soon be seen as a more foundational document."
– Hamish G. Spencer in Molluscan Research
