The British Isles support a relatively diverse land-snail fauna consisting of 99 species belonging to 27 families and 61 genera. The purpose of this simple laminated fold-out guide is to provide high-quality images of this fauna, enabling convenient comparisons to be made between similar species, leading to quick, and hopefully secure, identifications. Most species can be identified from their shells, although some, such as members of the Succineidae (amber snails), can only be reliably separated on the basis of anatomical information, especially features of the reproductive system. Several excellent publications on British land snails already exist, which provide more detailed information on species identification. An Illustrated Guide to the Land Snails of the British Isles provides a comprehensive set of images of the shells of all British and Irish land snails, including many of living specimens. In addition to snails that occupy the full range of outside habitats from woodland to gardens, we have also included illustrations of 11 species that survive only in artificial habitats such as greenhouses and hothouses. Slugs are excluded and will be covered elsewhere.
"[...] So, how well does the guide work? For most species it will enable identification of adult shells with reasonable confidence, but for some groups, such as the Oxychilidae, the guide will possibly get you only so far. [...] The special appeal of this excellent guide is that it provides a complete overview of the entire land-snail fauna of the British Isles in one neat 'bargain-priced package'. Given the extraordinarily low price, perhaps any quibbles seem churlish. The laminated nature of the guide means that it can survive usage in the field, including being handled with wet or muddy hands. The guide reveals the rich and surprising diversity of the land snails of the British Isles and should encourage people to take a closer look and even to have a go at identifying them."
– Martin J. Willing, British Wildlife 26(2), December 2014