United States
£ GBP
Although the southern Californian coast is known for its magnificent scenery and impressive beaches, it also is known to house one of the most spectacular molluscan faunas found anywhere on Earth. Of the molluscan assemblages found along coastal areas of the United States, those of southern California stand out as unique in having the largest number of abalone species (family Haliotidae), the largest number of regionally-restricted murex species (family Muricidae), and the largest number of chitons (Class Polyplacophora), along with containing over 2,000 other microscopic and macroscopic species. It has been over 40 years since anyone has attempted to document this amazingly rich and beautiful molluscan fauna, leaving a large void in the literature of the West Coast marine invertebrates. Besides containing a visiually-stunning iconography of the regional molluscan fauna, the new book offers the first up-to-date synthesis of the molluscan biogeographical patterns seen along the coasts of southern California and the western side of Baja California, Mexico. The authors spent years compiling this information; from personal collecting and field work, from intensive searches of the published literature, and from exhaustive investigations of regional museum collections. Sea Shells of Southern California covers 345 species of mollusks shown on 57 plates.
