| Seashells of Southern Florida
Living Marine Mollusks of the Florida Keys & Adjacent Regions - Bivalves
by Paula M. Mikkelsen & Rudiger Bieler
2007, (copyright 2008) Princeton University Press, 503 pages, black cloth binding with printed dust cover, page size is 7.75 by 10 inches (about 20 by 25cm) fully illustrated through out mostly in color photographs mostly 6 species in several views per page.
It is a pleasure to see this new book which is without a doubt the most complete study of the bivalved population of mollusks found in the S. Florida and Florida Keys area. There are sixty six families in all represented and there are over 1500, mostly color photographs of these shells representing more than 300 individual species. Everything that you could possibly want to know about these shells including their anatomy, habitat and classification can be found in this excellent book. The layout of the book makes it a pleasure to work with since in most cases you will find the plates on the right hand side of the book and the detailed description on the facing left hand page. There is also an illustrated glossary that is a big help in understanding the terminology used in bivalve description. The descriptions are concise and clear, and the superspecific material is very well written and well illustrated. Photographs and illustrations of specific shells are excellent. This book is the first volume in a proposed three volume set covering the Molluscan fauna of this area and if the other books in the series are up to the standard that this books sets we are going to be looking at a truly remarkable and long overdue accomplishment.
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