The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland

About us

Founded in 1876 the Conchological Society is one of the longest established societies devoted to the study of molluscs. The Society:

Policy documents such as the Societies Privacy Policy, Data Release Policy and Health and Safety Policy are available on this website, as are the Rules of the Society.

Follow us on Twitter / X @conchsoc for news on the latest events, research papers and a general celebration of all things conchological! If you are new to Twitter / X you can find out more from their 'Help Center'.

Or why not check out our YouTube Channel where we upload talks given by people active in the field of molluscan research. For example, the incredible breadth of knowledge shared by David McKay in his talk, "The role of serendipity in shell collecting", given in July 2023:

Or perhaps these:

Dr Matt Law talks about snails from an archaelogical perspective in, "Reflections on 50 years of Land Snails in Archaeology", given in February 2023.

Dr. Corina Ciocan talks about the impact of fibre glass boats on coastal ecosystems, particularly in relation to bivalves in, "The impact of boating on coastal ecosystems", given in October 2022.

In July of 2022 Professor Jeremy Biggs gave engaging and informative talk on, "Understanding and protecting freshwater Mollusca: The work of the Freshwater Habitats Trust".

Rosemary Winnall's truly fascinating talk on, "The Nature of Wyre - a Celebration of Ancient Woodland", given in February 2022.

Ian Killeen's talk on, "Thirty years of Margaritifera research – Pearl Anniversary".

Imogen Cavadino's talk about her PhD research into the slug species found in UK gardens, "Using citizen science to explore slug species diversity in UK gardens".

Ben Rowson's talk about the creation of the new identification guide to the freshwater snail fauna of Britain titled, "Brought to the Surface: A new beginning for freshwater snail identification". Some may only be available for a limited time so be sure to visit soon!

Field Meetings 2023

Details of this years Field Meetings are now available (last checked on 5th February 2024). Alternatively, see the most recent Mollusc World.

NOTE: Occasionally dates need to be changed or, meetings are subject to cancellation. Please check this website for updates which will appear, wherever possible, no later than two weeks before the meeting.

Main Meetings 2023

For details, please visit the Main Meetings page (last checked on 5th February 2024); or, check out the back page of the most recent Mollusc World.

Species Accounts, image browse and index

Join or renew membership

Membership of the Society is open to everyone. Find out more about the benefits of membership and how to join the Society or renew your membership.

Make a payment

Use the above link to make a payment or donation to support the work of the Society.

Land Snail Identification Guide

New 3rd edition now available. No new species have been added, but the nomenclature of many genera and species has been updated and the clarity of the images improved.

Laminated card, folded into 12 sides of 25 X 16 cm with photographs showing multiple views of each and every known British and Irish species and 11 hothouse non-natives.

Price: £3.50 each for 1-4 copies or, £15.00 for five copies. For larger orders write to: sales@conchsoc.org

Click here for more information.

Click here for FREE back issues of Mollusc World (as PDFs)!