David S. Brown. Published by Taylor and Francis, x +487 pp. text illust. with line drawings and photographs, 19 distribution maps. 8@. London, 1980. ISBN 0 85066 145 5.
Originally reviewed by C.R. C.P. in 1981.
Published in Journal of Conchology (1981), Vol.30
Freshwater molluscs have suffered greatly at the hands of man. Either we destroy them by polluting or damming the streams in which they live or, because some of them act as intermediate hosts to medically or economically important parasites, we attempt to eradicate them systematically. Sadly we seem to succeed in polluting the harmless species more than we succeed in controlling the parasitic diseases. It is the latter aim that has led to David Brown's excellent and thorough book, as the title implies. Nevertheless there is a great deal of prime interest to students of molluscs in the book. It is not primarily a medical text, although I am sure it will prove very useful to field and research workers who need to identify economically and medically important parasites.
After a brief introduction, the bulk of the book falls into two roughly equal parts: the systematic synopsis (sections 2 introduction and key, 3 prosobranchs and 4 basommatophora; pp. 8-248) and the remaining sections (5-12; pp. 249-433) which contain the medically significant information but a lot that is of interest to freshwater biologists and malacologists as well. The systematic synopsis starts with a key which is illustrated, so that non-specialists can recognize immediately the morphological features or taxa referred to. The illustrations briefly cover shells, opercula and anatomy. The next two sections cover the prosobranch and basommatophoran faunas, are well illustrated with line drawings, photographs and the occasional scanning electron micrograph (not stereo electron micrographs as the explanations put it) and cover 81 genera and 326 species. They include brackish water species and those from north of the Sahara Desert. At the ends of these two sections some distribution maps are given. They serve to emphasize how much in its infancy this aspect of the study of African freshwater molluscs still is.
The second part of the book includes sections on: Snails and schistosomes; Other snail-borne diseases; The biology of Bulinus; Snail control; Local faunas; Chemical and physical factors; Reproduction and growth and finally, Regional faunas and biogeography. It can be seen from these headings that members will find much of interest even in this more medically orientated part of the book.
This broad overview is very useful and it puts previous specialist regional studies, like those on Lake Tanganyika for example, into a continental perspective. The book is well produced and indispensible to anyone interested in African freshwater snails, as well as those to whom the medical and economic aspects are more important.
For once the illustrations ofsinistral snails on the dust jacket are correct. They depict species of Bulinus, one of the medically most important genera.