Weichtiere

This attractively presented pocket-sized hardback covers 660 species of European marine and non-marine molluscs. The text is in German, but for those who do not read German, it is useful for the colour photographs alone. These include smaller species of non-marine molluscs not often illustrated photographically, making this book a welcome addition to the library.

After a short introduction to molluscs, information is presented as double page spreads with numerous good colour photographs and captions alongside. Colour-coded tabs in the top right hand comer help to separate the different sections of the book for ease of use in the field. It covers the whole of Europe south to the Mediterranean and including the eastern countries. The book concludes with a glossary of terms, list of further reading and details of societies in Germany. The end boards have an attractive snail design.

The text for each marine species is clearly laid out into categories - diagnostic description (Merkmale), habitat and distribution (Lebensraum), way of life (Lebensweise) and reproduction (Fortpflanzung) and all are concise. There are more species of marine than non-marine species living in Europe, especially with the inclusion of the rich Mediterranean fauna. Perhaps the book is targeted for use mostly in Germany which has little shoreline, for there are only 86 pages devoted to marine species, therefore many common and most small-sized species are omitted while the opisthobranchs are reduced to only two double page spreads. There is no mention of recently recognised species of Littorina. The colour photographs are clear and will be useful - some are shells, others of live animals.

More economical use of space is made in the non-marine section (Binnenmollusken) which packs an amazing amount of information into 161 pages. The book will be particularly useful for the freshwater section with the European species of Theodoxus and other prosobranchs like Bythinella that are not on the British list. Slugs are realistically portrayed as colour photographs, while those of snails show the shells from several viewpoints as well as the living animals in some cases. These are particularly useful in species of the Vitrinidae and Oxychilus where body colour is a diagnostic feature. As is to be expected in a book originating on the Continent there is good coverage of the Clausiliidae which are well represented in the eastern countries of Europe.

The notoriously difficult small freshwater bivalves of the genus Pisidium are usually omitted at species level in elementary books. In the bivalve section the plate showing a range of Pisidium species portrays the differences in shell outline that are useful in initial sorting.

A number of the non-marine species in Europe are in decline and are considered threatened. The text of this book gives up-to-date information on the status of the species, identifies those which are threatened and the causes of their decline and thus makes a practical contribution to the future conservation of molluscs.