Malacology is the branch of

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

after the

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chiti ...

s. Mollusks include

snail A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class G ...

s and slugs,

clam Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...

s, and cephalopods, along with numerous other kinds, many of which have shells. One division of malacology,

conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

, is devoted to the study of mollusk shells. Malacology derives . Fields within malacological research include

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

and

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. Applied malacology studies medical, veterinary, and agricultural applications; for example, mollusks as vectors of disease, as in schistosomiasis.

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

employs malacology to understand the evolution of the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

, the biota of the area, and the usage of the site. In 1681,

Filippo Bonanni Filippo Bonanni; S.J. or Buonanni (7 January 1638 – 30 March 1723) was an Italian Jesuit scholar. His many works included treatises on fields ranging from anatomy to music. He created the earliest practical illustrated guide for shell collecto ...

wrote the first book ever published that was solely about seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. The book was entitled: In 1868, the German Malacological Society was founded. Zoological methods are used in malacological research. Malacological field methods and laboratory methods (such as collecting, documenting and archiving, and molecular techniques) were summarized by Sturm et al. (2006).

Malacologists

Those who study malacology are known as malacologists. Those who study primarily or exclusively the shells of mollusks are known as conchologists.

Societies

American Malacological Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Association of Polish Malacologists Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(Stowarzyszenie Malakologów Polskich) *

Belgian Malacological Society Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

(Société Belge de Malacologie) – French speaking *

Belgian Society for Conchology Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

(Belgische Vereniging voor Conchyliologie) – Dutch speaking *

Brazilian Malacological Society Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

(Sociedade Brasileira de Malacologia) *

Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland is a British-based society concerned with the study of molluscs and their shells. It was founded in 1876, and is one of the oldest such societies in the world. It is a registered UK charity (n ...

* Conchologists of America *

Dutch Malacological Society The Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging (NMV), known in English as the Netherlands Malacological Society or the Dutch Malacological Society, is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. It is a society devoted to malacology (the study of ...

(

Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging The Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging (NMV), known in English as the Netherlands Malacological Society or the Dutch Malacological Society, is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. It is a society devoted to malacology (the study of ...

Journals

More than 150 journals within the field of malacology are being published from more than 30 countries, producing an overwhelming amount of scientific articles. They include: * '' American Journal of Conchology'' (1865–1872) * '' American Malacological Bulletin'' * '' Archiv für Molluskenkunde: International Journal of Malacology'' * ''

Basteria ''Basteria'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Netherlands Malacological Society, covering research on molluscs. It was established in 1936 and is now published mostly in English. Since 2000, the editor-in-chief has ...

'' * '' Bulletin of Russian Far East Malacological Society'' * '' Fish & Shellfish Immunology'' * '' Folia conchyliologica'' * ''

Folia Malacologica ''La Folía'' (Spanish), or ''Follies'' (English), also known as ''folies d'Espagne'' (French), ''La Follia'' (Italian), and ''Folia'' (Portuguese), is one of the oldest remembered European musical themes, or primary material, generally melodic, ...

'' * '' Heldia'' * '' Johnsonia'' * ''

Journal de Conchyliologie A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' – volumes 1850–1922 at Biodiversity Heritage Library; volumes 1850–1938 at Bibliothèque nationale de France * '' Journal of Conchology'' * '' Journal of Medical and Applied Malacology'' * ''

Journal of Molluscan Studies The ''Journal of Molluscan Studies'' is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Malacological Society of London, covering research in malacology.

'' * ''

Malacologia ''Malacologia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of malacology, the study of mollusks. The journal publishes articles in the fields of molluscan systematics, ecology, population ecology, genetics, molecular genetics, evolu ...

'' * ''

Malacologica Bohemoslovaca ''Malacologica Bohemoslovaca'' is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal covering all aspects of malacology. It was published by the Slovak Academy of Sciences since 2005. It is published by the Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of ...

'' * ''

Malacological Review Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

'' – volume 1 (1968) – today, contents of volume 27 (1996) – volume 40 (2009) * '' Soosiana'' * ''

Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie was a German-language journal for malacology. It was founded by Karl Theodor Menke in 1844. Starting in 1846, Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiffer and Menke were co-editors-in-chief of the ''Zeitschrift''. There were 10 publis ...

'' (1844–1853) → ''

Malakozoologische Blätter Malakozoologische Blätter was a German-language journal for malacology. It was published from 1854 to 1891 as a continuation of '' Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie'' (which was published 1844–1853). Karl Theodor Menke and Ludwig Karl Georg Pfeiff ...

'' (1854–1878) * '' Miscellanea Malacologica'' * '' Mollusca'' * ''

Molluscan Research Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is est ...

'' –

impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...

: 0.606 (2007) * '' Mitteilungen der Deutschen Malakozoologischen Gesellschaft'' * '' Occasional Molluscan Papers'' (since 2008) * '' Occasional Papers on Mollusks'' (1945–1989), 5 volumes * ''

Ruthenica ''Ruthenica'' is a genus of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the subfamily Clausiliinae of the family Clausiliidae, the door snails, all of which have a clausilium. MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. ...

'' * ''

Strombus ''Strombus'' is a genus of medium to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, which comprises the true conchs and their immediate relatives. The genus ''Strombus'' was named by Swedish Naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1 ...

'' * ''

Tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work ma ...

'' – The Newsletter of the Mollusc Specialist Group of the

Species Survival Commission The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

of the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

. * ''The Conchologist'' (1891–1894) → ''The Journal of Malacology'' (1894–1905) * ''

The Festivus ''The Festivus'' is a publication about malacology and conchology published by the San Diego Shell Club in San Diego, California. ''The Festivus'' started in 1970 as a shell club newsletter edited by Blanche Brewer. In 1976 Carole Hertz became ...

'' – a peer-reviewed journal which started as a club newsletter in 1970, published by the San Diego Shell Club * '' The Nautilus'' – since 1886 published by

Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is a museum devoted to every aspect of seashells, conchology, and malacology, including the paleontological and archeological/anthropological aspects of the study of shells. The museum is located in the ...

. First two volumes were published under name ''The Conchologists’ Exchange''. Impact factor: 0.500 (2009) * ''

The Veliger ''The Veliger'' was a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering malacology. The journal was established in 1958 and published its last issue in September, 2014. It was published by the California Malacozoological Society and Northern California ...

'' – impact factor: 0.606 (2003) * 貝類学雑誌 ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

'' (Japanese Journal of Malacology) * '' Vita Malacologica'' a Dutch journal published in English – one themed issue a year * ''

Vita Marina ''Vita Malacologica'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal on the subject of malacology, the study of the Mollusca. It is a print journal published in English by the Netherlands Malacological Society. The journal consists of one themed issu ...

'' (discontinued in May 2001)

Museums

Museums that have either exceptional malacological research collections (behind the scenes) and/or exceptional public exhibits of mollusks: *

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading nat ...

* American Museum of Natural History *

* Cau del Cargol Shell Museum *

Maria Mitchell Association The Maria Mitchell Association is a private non-profit organization on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. The association owns the Maria Mitchell Observatory, a second observatory (the Loines Observatory), a Natural History ...

Museum of Comparative Zoology A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

at Harvard *

National Museum of Natural History, France The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

Rinay Rinay is a malacological museum of natural history in Baku, Azerbaijan. It is also the first private museum in the country. The museum exhibits approximately 5,000 clam shells (the shells of bivalve molluscs) from 86 genera worldwide.''Yol'' magaz ...

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...

, Brussels: with a collection of more than 9 million shells (mainly from the collection of

Philippe Dautzenberg Philippe Dautzenberg (20 December 1849, in Ixelles, Brussels – 9 May 1935, in Paris) was a Belgian malacologist, a biologist who specializes in the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with mollusks. He was an amateur and autodidact, who w ...

) *

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

References

External links

Periodicals about molluscs
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

{{Authority control Subfields of zoology Marine biology

Malacologists

Societies

Journals

Museums

See also

References

Further reading

External links