Editorial

In the old film version of Dr Doolittle, Rex Harrison says ‘the point of the journey is science and finding the snail’! In this issue there are several articles about journeys with just such an aim; although the molluscs found were perhaps anything but giant and pink! Yet real life often turns out to be more fascinating than legend. A report in this issue of an expedition to record landsnails in the republic of Georgia explores a habitat that had remained stable for many thousands of years only to be threatened by the machine of war. The spread of the alien snail Hygromia cinctella in the UK continues to feature again in several contributions. After a summer when many members will, no doubt, have been on holiday or working in the field, there must have been many experiences and discoveries to inspire some future contributions to Mollusc World. Looking forward, the March 2010 issue promises to be of great interest with some articles focusing on the recent Conchological Society field trip to Skye which will highlight the huge diversity of our often hidden marine fauna whose habitats and diversity are in many cases coming under ever increasing threat; however contributions on any mollusc related subject are always welcome and the copy deadline for the March 2010 issue is January 31st 2010. Please also continue to send me any comments (both positive and negative) you may have about the magazine to help build an exciting and informative publication for the Society.