| Accrescimenti Stadi di Accrescimento dei Molluschi Marini del Mediterraneo Stages of growth of the marine molluscs of the Mediterranean Sea by Maria Scaperrotta, Stefano Bartolini, Cesare Bogi
2009, L'Informatore Piceno, Ancona, Italy, in laminated boards, 8 by 11¾ inches (A4 size 20 by 31 cm) 167 pages, includes 121 color plates each ¼ to ½ page size, text in Italian with English translation in the back of the book.
This is volume 1 of a proposed study to document the growth stages of the Mediterranean marine mollusks. I think that this is a unique study and I know of no other book to present a look at the different stages of growth (and the often times very different appearance) mollusks go through from their earliest stages until adulthood. As you can imagine a work of this kind requires a great deal of time to assemble the growth series needed to represent the generally 4 to 6 growth stages of each species presented in this book. And you also have to marvel at the beautiful photographs that represent these shells, most at a maximum size of about 1mm were taken. There are 121 species that are studied in this volume and the Ms. Scaperrotta says that she has about an additional 230 or so growth series that will appear in future volumes of this work. While collectors in the USA do not have a great deal of interest in shells of the Mediterranean Sea this is a fascinating book and one that gives us a good look at things that would otherwise not be seen. The changes in the appearance of many of these shells is astounding and many go throughout their life cycle unchanged. The shells contained in the book are all gastropods or bivalves. The text of the book is in Italian and an adequate if not always "right on" English translation is provided at the end of the book. This book is something quite apart from all of the other titles that we list and it is highly recommended. |
