{{italic title ''Synopses of the British Fauna'' is a series of identification guides, published by

The Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

and The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. Each volume in the series provides and in-depth analysis of a group of animals and is designed to bridge the gap between the standard

field guide A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife (flora or fauna) or other objects of natural occurrence (e.g. rocks and minerals). It is generally designed to be brought into the "field" or local area where such objects exi ...

and more specialised

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

or treatise. The series is now published by

The Field Studies Council Field Studies Council is an educational charity based in the UK, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and engage with the outdoors. History It was established as the Council for the Promotion of Field Studies in 1943 with the ...

on behalf of The Linnean Society and The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association. The series is designed for use in the field and is kept as user friendly as possible with technical terminology kept to a minimum and a glossary of terms provided, although the complexity of the subject matter makes the books more suitable for the more experienced practitioner.

History of the series

On 11 March 1943, at a meeting of

in Burlington House, TH Savoy presented his "Synopsis of the Opiliones" (Harvestmen). It was so well received that a decision was made there and then to publish it as the first of a series of "ecological fauna lists". Re-launched by Dr Doris Kermack in the mid-1960s, the New Series of ''Synopses of the British Fauna'' went from strength to strength. From number 13, the series had been jointly sponsored by The Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association and Dr RSK Barnes became co-editor. From 1993, the series has been published by

and benefits from association with the extensive testing undertaken as part of the

AIDGAP AIDGAP is an acronym for Aid to Identification in Difficult Groups of Animals and Plants. The AIDGAP series is a set of books published by the Field Studies Council. They are intended to enable students and interested non-specialists to identify ...

project.

Volumes

The series contains the following volumes, many of which are out of print. Many of the volumes have been updated and reprinted under slightly different names to reflect either

taxonomic 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. ...

changes or advances in the understanding of a group. * Volume 62: Marine Gastropods 3:

Neogastropoda Neogastropoda is an order of sea snails, both freshwater and marine gastropod molluscs. Description The available fossil record of Neogastropoda is relatively complete, and supports a widely accepted evolutionary scenario of an Early Creta ...

(Wigham and Graham) 2018 * Volume 61: Marine Gastropods 2: Littorinimorpha and other unassigned

Caenogastropoda Caenogastropoda is a taxonomic clade, a large diverse group which are mostly sea snails and other marine gastropod mollusks, but also includes some freshwater snails and some land snails. The clade is the most diverse and ecologically successfu ...

(Wigham and Graham) 2017 * Volume 60: Marine Gastropods 1: Patellogastropoda and Vetigastropoda (Wigham and Graham) 2017 * Volume 59: Athecate hydroids and their medusae (Shuchert) 2012 * Volume 58: Centipedes (AD Barber) 2009 * Volume 57: Barnacles (AJ Southward) 2008 * Volume 56:

Echinoderms An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea li ...

(EC Southward and AC Campbell) 2005 * Volume 55: Lobsters, Mud Shrimps and Anomuran Crabs (RW Ingle and ME Christiansen) 2004 * Volume 54: Polychaetes: British Chrysopetaloidea, Pisionoidea and Aphroditoidea (SJ Chambers and AI Muir) 1998 * Volume 53: Free Living British Nematodes, Part 3

Monohysterids Monhysteridae is a family of nematodes The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are ...

(RM Warwick, HM Platt and PJ Somerfield) 1998 * Volume 52: Ticks of North-West Europe (Paul D Hillyard) 1996 * Volume 51: Marine and Brackish Water

Harpacticoid Harpacticoida is an order of copepods, in the subphylum Crustacea. This order comprises 463 genera and about 3,000 species; its members are benthic copepods found throughout the world in the marine environment (most families) and in fresh ...

Copepods, Part 1 (R Huys, JM Gee, CG Moore and R Hamond) 1996 * Volume 50: North-west European Thecate Hydroids and Their Medusae (PFS Cornelius) 1995 * Volume 49: Woodlice Keys and Notes for Identification of the Species (PG Oliver and CJ Meechan) 1993 * Volume 48: Marine Planktonic

Ostracods Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea (class Ostracoda), sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 70,000 species (only 13,000 of which are extant) have been identified, grouped into several orders. They are small crustaceans, typical ...

(MV Angel) 1993 * Volume 47: Copepods Parasitic on Fishes (Z Kabata) 1992 * Volume 46: Commensal and Parasitic

Copepods Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthic (living on the ocean floor), a number of species have p ...

Associated with Marine Invertebrates (and Whales) (V Gotto) 1993 * Volume 45: Polychaetes British Phyllodocoideans, Typhloscolecoideans and Tomopteroideans (F Pleijel and RP Dales) 1991 * Volume 44: Polychaetes: Interstitial Families (Second Edition) (W Westheide) 2008 * Volume 44: Polychaetes: Interstitial Families (W Westheide) 1990 * Volume 43: Marine and Brackish Water

( Superfamilies Cypridacea and Cytheracea) (J Athersuch, DJ Horne and JE Whittaker) 1990 * Volume 42: Freshwater Ostracoda (PA Henderson) 1990 * Volume 41: Entoprocts (C Nielsen) 1989 * Volume 40: Pseudoscorpions (G Legg and RE Jones) 1988 * Volume 39: Chaetognatha (AC Pierrot-Bults and KC Chidghey) 1988 * Volume 38: Free Living Marine Nematodes Part II British Chromadorids (HM Platt and RM Warwick) 1988 * Volume 37: Molluscs

Caudofoveata Caudofoveata is a small class within the phylum Mollusca, also known as Chaetodermomorpha. The class is often combined with Solenogastres and termed Aplacophora, but some studies have cast doubt on the monophyly of this group. Anatomy Caudofo ...

, Solenogastres, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda (AM Jones and JM Baxtyer) 1987 * Volume 36: Halacarid

Mites Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear evid ...

(J Green and M Macquitty) 1987 * Volume 35: Millipedes (J Gordon Blower) 1985 * Volume 34:

Cyclostome Cyclostome is a biological term (from the Greek for "round mouth") used in a few different senses: * for the taxon Cyclostomi, which comprises the extant jawless fishes: the hagfish (Myxini) and the lampreys (Petromyzontidae). This was thought for a ...

Bryozoans (PJ Hayward and JS Ryland) 1985 * Volume 33: Ctenostome Bryozoans (PJ Hayward) 1985 * Volume 32: Polychaetes British

Amphinomida Amphinomida is an order of marine polychaetes. The order contains two families: * ''Amphinomidae'' Lamarck, 1818 * ''Euphrosinidae The Euphrosinidae are a family of polychaete worms. The name is from Greek ''Euphrosyne'', meaning merriment; s ...

, Spintherida and Eunicida (JD George and G Hartmann-Schroder) 1985 * Volume 31:

Earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

(RW Sims and BM Garard) 1985 * Volume 30: Euphasiid, Stomatopod and Leptostracan Crustaceans (J Mauchline) 1984 * Volume 29: Siphonophores and Velellids (PA Kirkpatrick and PR Pugh) 1984 * Volume 28: Free-Living Marine Nematodes Pt 1: British

Enoplids Enoplida is an order of nematodes. It is one of two orders in Enoplia, which is one of two subclasses in Class Enoplea.

Free Living Marine Nematodes (HM Platt and RM Warwick) 1983 * Volume 27: Tanaids (DM Holdich and JA Jones) 1983 * Volume 26: British

Polyclad The Polycladida represents a highly diverse clade of free-living marine flatworms. They are known from the littoral to the Sublittoral zone, sublittoral zone (extending to the deep hot vents), and many species are common from coral reefs. Only a ...

Turbellaria The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from to large freshwater forms more ...

ns (S Prudhoe) 1983 * Volume 25: Shallow Water Crabs Keys and notes for identification of the species (RW Ingle) 1983 * Volume 24: Nemerteans R Gibson 1982 * Volume 23: British and Other Freshwater Ciliated Protozoa (Part 2) Ciliophora: Oligohymenophora & Polyhymenophora (CR Curds, MA Gates and D McRoberts) 1982 * Volume 22: British and Other Freshwater Ciliated

Protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

(Part 1) Ciliophora: Kinetofragminophora (CR Curds) 1982 * Volume 21: British Other Marine Estuarine Oligochaetes (Brinkhurst) 1982 * Volume 20: British Pelagic Tunicates (JH Fraser) 1982 * Volume 19: British Planarians (IR Ball and TB Reynoldson) 1981 * Volume 18: British

Anthozoa Anthozoa is a subphylum of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, Scleractinia, stony corals and Alcyonacea, soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plank ...

(RL Manuel) 1981 * Volume 17: British Brachiopods (C Howard, C Brunton and GB Curry) 1979 * Volume 16: British Nearshore Foraminiferids (JW Murray) 1979 * Volume 15: Coastal Shrimps and Prawns Keys and Notes for Identification of the Species (Ed. G Smaldon, LB Holthius and CHJM Fransen) 1994 * Volume 15: British Coastal

Shrimps Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the Decapoda, decapod order, although some Shrimp#Non-decapods , crustaceans out ...

Prawns Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...

(G Smaldon) 1979 * Volume 14: Cheilostomatous Bryozoa, Part 2 Hippothooidea - Celleporoidea (PJ Hayward and JS Ryland) 1999 * Volume 14: British

Ascophora Ascophora is an infraorder under order Cheilostomatida of the Bryozoa. They are now considered a synonym of Flustrina. Ascophorans are distinguished from other cheilostomes in having a completely calcified wall covering their frontal surface ...

n Bryozoans (PJ Hayward, JS Ryland) 1979 * Volume 13: British and Other Phoronids (CC Emig) 1979 * Volume 12: Sipunculans (PE Gibbs) 2001 * Volume 12: British

Sipunculans The Sipuncula or Sipunculida (common names sipunculid worms or peanut worms) is a class containing about 162 species of unsegmented marine annelid worms. The name ''Sipuncula'' is from the genus name ''Sipunculus'', and comes from the Latin ' ...

(PE Gibbs) 1978 * Volume 11: British

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

Bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

Mollusca (AE Ellis) 1978 * Volume 10: Cheilostomatous Bryozoa, Part 1: Aeteoidea- Cribrilinoidea (PJ Hayward and JS Ryland) * Volume 8: Molluscs:

Benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) (TE Thompson) 1989 * Volume 8: British

Opisthobranch Opisthobranchs () is now an informal name for a large and diverse group of specialized complex gastropods which used to be united in the subclass Opisthobranchia. That taxon is no longer considered to represent a monophyletic grouping. Euopisth ...

Molluscs (TE Thompson, GH Brown) 1976 * Volume 7: British

Cumaceans Cumacea is an order of small marine crustaceans of the superorder Peracarida, occasionally called hooded shrimp or comma shrimp. Their unique appearance and uniform body plan makes them easy to distinguish from other crustaceans. They live in so ...

(NS Jones) 1976 * Volume 6: British Land Snails (RAD Cameron, M Redfern) 1976 * Volume 5: Sea-Spiders (Pycnogonida) of the north-east Atlantic (RN Bamber) 2010 * Volume 5: British Sea Spiders (PE King) 1974 * Volume 4: Harvestmen (PD Hillyard) 2005 * Volume 4: British Harvestmen (J Sankey, TH Savory) 1974 * Volume 3: Intertidal Marine Isopods (E Naylor, A Brandt) 2015 * Volume 3: British Marine Isopods (E Naylor) 1972 * Volume 2: Molluscs: Prosobranch and Pyramidellid Gastropods Keys and Notes for the Identification of the Species * Volume 1: British Ascidians (R Millar) 1970

External links

Linnean Society

Full list of ''Synopses'' in print
Biological literature Fauna of the United Kingdom Natural history Taxonomy (biology) books Zoological literature