Conchiglie
Riconoscere le Cipree
by G. Zobele
Lipparini & O.Negra
Published
in 2006, Muzio Pocket Guide, 328 pages, page size 3.5 by 7.5 inches (9
by 19 cm), plasticized board covers with stitched binding.
I recently came
across this pocket
guide and while generally I am not a big fan of this sort of
book
I was really impressed with this one. The book is written entirely in
Italian which I guess is entirely appropriate since Italy probably can
boast of more Cypraea collectors per capita than any place else on
earth. But almost anyone with even a rudimentary
knowledge
of the Italian language or who has access to an Italian to
English dictionary will get a lot of use from this guide. It is very
well done. In spite of its small format the photographs of he shells
are extremely well done and they are clear and the detail is easy to
see. In most cases there are two to three photos on the right
hand page and a description of them which includes
identification
characteristics and range and habitat information of the
shells
on the left hand page. The authors are conservative in their approach
to speciation and they recognize 210 living species
which they group into 46 genera.
There is an excellent and fully illustrated introductory section that
covers the basic as well as some very complex concepts of cowrie
nomenclature, development and evolutionary record. and the last few
pages offer a spot where you can catalog your own collection. The small
size of the book makes it easy portable and it can also serve as a desk
reference book that will appeal to even the most specialized cowry
collectors. While this book will not replace Lorenz and Hubert's "Guide
To Worldwide Cowries" it offers a quick and easy guide to the most
popular family of shells.
