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 chorda ...

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, an ...

that deals with the study of the

Mollusca 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 es ...

(mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest

phylum In biology, a phylum (; plural: phyla) is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature ...

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 appropriat ...

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 ...

s and

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced shell, or only a ...

s, clams, and

cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, a ...

, 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,

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 Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, blo ...

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 landsc ...

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 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

conchologist 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 incl ...

Societies

Malacological Society of London The Malacological Society of London is a British learned society and charitable organisation concerned with malacology, the study of molluscs, a large phylum of invertebrate animals divided into nine or ten taxonomic classes, of which two ar ...

* Malacological Society of the Philippines, Inc. * Mexican Malacological Society (Sociedad Mexicana de Malacología y Conquiliología) * Spanish Malacological Society (Sociedad Española de Malacología) * Western Society of Malacologists

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'' * '' 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'' – volumes 1850–1922 at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

; volumes 1850–1938 at

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

* '' 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'' * ''

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'' – volume 1 (1968) – today, contents of volume 27 (1996) – volume 40 (2009) * '' Soosiana'' * '' Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie'' (1844–1853) → '' Malakozoologische Blätter'' (1854–1878) * ''

Miscellanea Malacologica ''Miscellanea Malacologica'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering malacology, specifically papers on the taxonomy, nomenclature, and zoogeography of mollusks. The journal is published by Marien Faber (Duivendrecht, the Netherlands) and ...

'' * ''

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'' * '' Strombus'' * ''

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 main ...

'' – The Newsletter of the Mollusc Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission 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 natu ...

. * ''The Conchologist'' (1891–1894) → ''The Journal of Malacology'' (1894–1905) * '' The Festivus'' – 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. First two volumes were published under name ''The Conchologists’ Exchange''. Impact factor: 0.500 (2009) * '' The Veliger'' – 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'' (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 *

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

* Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum * Cau del Cargol Shell Museum * Maria Mitchell Association * Museum of Comparative Zoology 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 lo ...

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 * Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels: with a collection of more than 9 million shells (mainly from the collection of Philippe Dautzenberg) *

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". Found ...

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