Catalogue of Marine Molluscs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Catalogue of Marine Molluscs of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
by N.V. Subba Rao & A.Dey

2000, Zoological Survey of India, paper bound,323 pages, size 7" by 9.5"

This is a catalog list of the molluscan fauna found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (off the Western coast of Thailand) which are part of the Indian nation. This area is very rich in molluscan fauna and as far as I know this catalog is the first one to attempt a complete listing of these molluscs. There are 1282 species listed in this catalog and all the major 5 classes of the Phylum Mollusca are included. There are listings for 12 species of Polyplacophora, 880 Gastropoda, 33 Cephalopoda,350 Bivalva and 7 Scapholopoda. As well as a listing of the species under their classification the authors have given us a synonymy for the species. They have also included the other localities where these shells are found outside of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Since there is no illustration in this book the user will be forced to go elsewhere for pictures of shells that are of interest, but overall this is a very large and well done catalog. The authors have been able to verify that 1017 of the species that they list are from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and of these 177 are endemic species and 66 species are known only from the type. This is a new book but it is slightly shopworn, causing a few light creases on the cover. It looks as if the glue used to secure the cover has caused a wrinkled surface on the spine.