Shells of the Hawaiian Islands
The Land Shells
by Mike Severns
2011, Conchbooks, Hackenheim, Germany, laminated boards, A4 size (about 21 by 29.5cm.) about 8¼ by 11½ inches, 459 pages, 186 page size color photographic plates 5 full size color plates in addendum, also maps, charts and illustrations of the shells' habitat.
This is nothing less than an amazing work and it is the only work that has recently been done on the varied and unusual endemic species of land and freshwater mollusks that are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Many of these species show complex variations that are fully illustrated and described. In all there are 3117 images of these in this book. The introductory section is extremely well written and is essential to the understanding of the descriptions and the illustrations that follow. The descriptions that are keyed to the plates are succinct but more than adequate. They contain the name of the species (including author and date), a size for the illustrated shell, a distribution range and a citation for the location of the shell. Many holotypes are included. This book can be purchased separately or can be purchased along with its companion volume on the sea shells as a set at a reduced price and housed in a slip case.
