Here is a very welcome guide (A4 size) to the shells of the non-marine molluscs of Italy. It is valuable as a gap filler because there is nothing else comparable for Italy or any other southern European country. The book consists of a list of species and subspecies, in taxonomic order, followed by colour plates, mostly photographs, in the same order. These are accompanied by a brief note of the habitat in which each taxon is found, a small inset map showing in which part of Italy it.occurs, and an indication of its size range.

For many years the Museum of Natural History in Goteborg has undertaken faunistic studies in the Province of Dalsland in SW Sweden. This region is of special interest not only because of its ecological diversity but because it straddles the border between the Boreal and S. Scandinavian regions, a boundary reflected by the northern limit of oak. Moreover, calcareous rocks occur within the Precambrian Dal series in the central and northern parts of the Province and these contribute to the ecological diversity of the region.

As this fascinating book received excellent reviews when first published in 1993 the aim of this review is to draw attention to its availability as a paperback. Its treatment of shells is based on 3 questions by the molecular biologist, Sidney Brenner, as the author points out - "How does it work? How is it built? How did it evolve?" - so it has 3 parts: "The Rules of Shell Construction: Life in a Dangerous World," "How Shells Work"; and "The Dimension of Time".

The author characterizes the species of the freshwater prosobranch family Ampullariidae on a conchological basis (61 pp + 4 photographic plates) and describes the anatomy of 36 species (104 pp.). He distinguishes ten genera, for which he gives the classic shell characters (i.e. without ultrastructure descriptions).

It is over 20 years since the publication of C. S. Weaver &J. E. du Font's "The Living Volutes". In that time much new information has been discovered about Volutes and some 100 new species proposed, such as the beautiful Lyria doutei and Amoria yosukei. The authors of the present work aimed to provide a summary of current knowledge on Volutes and in this they have largely succeeded.

The series of Monographs entitled Fauna Iberica will enable publication of the results of studies on the biological diversity of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Written by specialists in their individual fields, volumes on vertebrate and invertebrate groups will be produced. If the first volume in the Series is anything to go by, then the publishers have set themselves a very high standard to follow.

The bane of any historian using primary sources is the finding, or in many cases, not finding relevant archival material. Until now his success in the natural history field has relied on a happy combination of expertise, familiarity with existing catalogues of individual depositories and sheer luck. The work in question aims to reduce the tedious task of fruitless enquiries by attempting to catalogue, in one volume, all natural history manuscripts in the British Isles.

Kerney & Cameron's excellent field guide (1979) has been widely used on the continent. Foreign editions seemed to be a matter of time and market. Already in 1980 Dr E. Gittenberger's Dutch version was published, which also proved to be a success among a section of the western European malacological community. The Dutch book exhibits some additional features, viz., a well illustrated chapter on the snails of the mediterranean parts of France (specially composed by Kerney for this edition) and a nine page key by Gittenberger. The distribution maps of the British Isles were not incorporated.

Shells and shell collecting fascinate a large number of scientists and many laymen who find joy in collecting and arranging these attractive seashore objects. There is certainly a great deal of excitement in the anticipation of discovering a shell new to one's collection or even new to science.

This very handsomely produced book is a welcome addition to books on shells of specific areas. Its contents, after publication details, are a list of contents, a preface, a foreword by R. Tucker-Abbott, three pages on taxonomy, a map of the Sultanate of Oman, a page on 'Geological History Shaping Molluscan Life', a page on Plankton, two on 'Thumbnail Answers to Common Questions', two on Cleaning Shells in Oman and one on 'How Big? Where Found? What Arrangement?'. Pages 26 to 197 deal with the molluscs of Oman in their classes, subclasses, orders, families and sub-families.