This is the second issue of the Unitas newsletter for 1996. Reaction to the last issue was generally favourable and, as I stated last time, suggestions for improvement are welcome. The last issue, as promised, is available on WWW, through Mollia at :-http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mologis/mollia.html, as well as being distributed to members in hard copy.

There are many important changes occurring as a result of the Internet. Communication has never been so easy. The listing of literature, websites and resources in the newsletter will be continued, in future issues if only to encourage some of our "unwired" members to get connected. However, I anticipate a lesser emphasis on these services because such listings are now readily available in many locations on the Net. Unitas needs a larger presence on the Net and it is very important that our organisation develops its own home page soon. We even have a volunteer to do it! (see letters).

As noted in my last editorial, I want to provide news and information about projects, laboratories and individuals in malacology around the world. This issue has the first of these. In future issues it is hoped that at least two or three accounts from laboratories, programs or individual scientists in various parts of the world can be included.

Remember that this newsletter will only be useful and informative if you make the effort to provide information, ideas and comment.

Note from the President

Malacology, like all other fields of biological sciences, is undergoing rapid change. New methodologies and concepts, from molecular techniques to cladistic approaches, are influencing current work, our daily communication has been revolutionized by the Internet, and the general public (and even some politicians) is beginning to take note of environmental issues. It seems timely that Unitas Malacologica should reevaluate and, possibly, redefine its role. Our organization went through its own evolution, from a modest start in western Europe it became Unitas Malacologica Europaea, and now UM is looking at a more truly international membership and audience (the fact that this newsletter is being produced in Australia is good evidence for this). Traditionally, most malacologists view UM as the organization that provides an international congress once every three years. I think that UM can and should be more than that and invite you to share your thoughts about its future role - this newsletter, in both its paper and electronic forms, seems the best place for such a discussion.

Nevertheless, our congresses fulfil important roles, and this note addresses the preliminary plans for the next one, to be held in 1998 in the USA. Sharing and discussing our research results, introducing our students, planning joint projects, and getting to know one another in formal and informal settings, are all important components of these meetings. Rather than doing this in the compartmentalized fashion that seems so "natural" (land-freshwater-marine; "prosobranchs" - "opisthobranchs"- pulmonates), these international meetings should allow us to integrate our individual projects with those of others, inside and outside our own specialist community. Our plans for the 1998 UM Congress thus focus on broader, more integrative topics, as outlined in the announcement below.

Rüdiger Bieler, President, UM, Dept. of Zoology/Invertebrates, The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, U.S.A. Phone 312 922-9410 (ext. 270), fax 312 663-5397, email bieler@fmnh.org.

Message from the Secretary

On July 12-13, the U.M. Council will meet in London, to discuss current affairs, including the Congress on Palaearctic Mollusca (1997) organised by the Friedrich-Held-Gesellschaft, with U.M., and especially the next U.M. Congress in Washington (1998). Our financial situation continues to limit U.M. activities. Please remember that U.M. works without any financial support other than membership dues and its endowment fund. Everything is done by volunteers, like producing this Newsletter. We need funding for a range of activities, including postage and printing for the Newsletter, and providing Travel Grants to assist some students and colleagues who would otherwise be unable to attend a Congress. An increase in membership assists in providing necessary funding as well as more members supporting our goals.

Edmund Gittenberger, Secretary, U.M.

The Treasurer's Column

In 1990 Unitas Malacologica created a Trust Fund with the aim to serve Malacology in various ways. Since no formal rules exist the U.M. Council decides upon request. So far three main activities have been funded:

- $US11.300: editing and printing of the Edinburgh Congress Proceedings (1992),

- $US3.600: support to CLEMAM working group (1995),

- $US10.320: travel grants for 11 participants to the VIGO Congress (1995).

This makes a total expenditure of $US25.220.

The income to the Trust Fund comes from six sources: - external sponsors, so far only one (The National Museums of Scotland) paid $US8.000; member sponsors, so far six donations of $US1.000 each were received from A. Mead, B. Morton, J. Van Goethem, J. Burch, J. Knudsen and A. Kay, total $US6.000; regular transfers from Unitas, every 3 years roughly one third of the income for that period is transferred to the Trust Fund, total so far $US14.500; occasional transfers from Unitas, if a Congress organizer does not ask for financial help from Unitas, the congress subsidy goes to the Trust Fund. C. Meier-Brook did not ask for much, F. Giusti did not need any help at all and even transferred an excess of congress balance, total so far $US12.500; interest, so far roughly $US5.000; this is tax exempt!; small donations from various members, ranging from $US5 to $US80. A total of 830 USD was received so far from K. Arakawa, R. Bank, K.-H. Beckmann, Ph. Bouchet, D.S. Brown, R.A.D. Cameron, M. Colling, G.I. Crawford, H. Dijkstra, G.B.J. Dussart, A. Guerra, G. Haszprunar, J.M. Hernandez Otero, J.J. Kim, F. Lancastre, K. Lohrum, Cl. Meier-Brook, H. Nordsieck, W.D. Russell-Hunter, G. Schmid and J.-A. Sneli, plus voluntary contributions paid with the subscription to the Tübingen congress by many members.

At present the assets of the Trust Fund are in the order of $US22.000. Not bad but too little for an effective operational process. Thus, any donation small or (preferably) generous is warmly welcomed!

Jackie Van Goethem, Treasurer, U.M.

International Congress on Palaearctic Mollusca, Munich, 1-4 Sept. 1997

The congress will focus on continental Mollusca and plenary lectures will be given by E. Gittenberger, 'Aims and perspectives of research on continental Mollusca; V. Lozek, 'Palaeoecology of Quaternary Mollusca'; and P. Bouchet, 'Endemism, endangerment and conservation'. Free-lecture sessions, symposia and workshops are planed to cover many aspects of the systematics, ecology and biology of palaearctic Mollusca, and posters will be welcome. The congress is organized by G. Falkner on behalf of Unitas Malacologia, and held under the auspices of Friedrich-Held-Gesellschaft, and Deutsche Malakozoologische Gesellschaft.

This congress will include a two-part conference on the Ecology and Taxonomy of Freshwater Mollusca, the first part to be held in Salzburg, Austria, between 19th and 21st February 1997 (see below), and the second part between the 1st and 4th August 1997, in Munich.

For further details and the first-circular, contact any of the following:- G. Falkner, Raiffeisenstrasse 5, 85457 Hoerlkofen, Germany, phone/fax 49 8122 93780; Dr S.A. Ridgway, Zoologische Staatssammlung Muenchen. Email ridgway@zi.biology.uni-muenchen.de; Prof. Dr. D. Herm Bayerische Staatssammlung Palaeontologie. Email 100071,1711@compuserve.com.

Ecology and Taxonomy of Freshwater Mollusca, 19th to 21st of February 1997, Salzburg, Austria

This regional symposium will cover the ecology of freshwater gastropods and Bivalvia; taxonomy; zoogeography; endangered freshwater Mollusca; bioindicators; population ecology; reproductive biology; feeding; parasitology; and others. The language will be mainly German, but lectures and posters in English are also appreciated.

Contacts: Dr. Robert A. Patzner, Mag. Doris Mueller, Ursula Rathmayr. Institute of Zoology, University of Salzburg, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, A-5412 Salzburg, Austria. Phone 43 662 8044 5619, fax 43 662 8044 5698, email: robert.patzner@sbg.ac.at.

Plans for the 13th International Congress, Washington D.C., USA, 1988.

Planning for the 13th International Malacological Congress of Unitas Malacologica is well under way. It will be held together with the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Malacological Union, as The First World Congress of Malacology. The two societies have formed an organizational committee (see list below to jointly plan the major themes and symposia with input solicited from the worldwide community. The Congress will be an opportunity to take an in-depth and critical look at the past, present, and future of our specialty in the biological sciences. A committee subgroup, headed by AMU President for 1998 and local organizer Dr. Robert Hershler of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, has produced a preliminary list of symposium topics. The primary topics, currently under further discussion and refinement, are:-

A. Refining Molluscan Characters (an in-depth look at the various types of characters used in phylogenetic analyses)

B. Interactions Between Mollusks and Humans

C. The Molluscan Fossil Record.

In addition, there will be numerous focus sessions of invited and contributed papers covering a wide range of other topics.

The Congress will be convened in Washington, DC, July 25-31, 1998. The Smithsonian Institution will host the meeting, which will take place at the S. Dillon Ripley Center. Inexpensive dormitory housing and meal plans will be available at George Washington University, which is situated a short distance from the Smithsonian Institution in Georgetown. Those seeking other accommodations can choose from a variety of local hotels. Washington is served by three major airports, including Dulles Airport, which is a hub for international arrivals.

Within the Washington area, transportation is facilitated by an excellent local subway (Metro) system. The site of this meeting, the nation's capitol, offers a tremendous variety of cultural activities for visitors, including many museums, galleries, monuments, historic and government buildings, as well as the National Zoo.

We still have two years to go - but it's not too early to stick a reminder note to your monitor/microscope/sequencing rig. We hope to see you at the 1998 Congress in Washington, DC!

Rüdiger Bieler, President, UM, Dept. of Zoology/Invertebrates, The Field Museum, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605-2496, U.S.A. Phone 312 922-9410 (ext. 270), fax 312 663-5397, email bieler@fmnh.org.

1998 Congress Organizing Committee

Dr. Rüdiger Bieler (bieler@fmnh.org), Dr. Philippe Bouchet (bouchet@cimrs1.mnhn.fr), Dr. Robert Hershler (mnhiv007@sivm.si.edu), Dr. David Lindberg (davidl@ucmp1.berkeley.edu), Dr. Elinor Michel (emichel@biology.lsa.umich.edu), Dr. Pablo Penchaszadeh (ppenchas@usb.ve), Dr. Winston Ponder (wponder@extro.ucc.su.oz.au), Dr. John Taylor (j.taylor@mailserver.nhm.ac.uk).

Worldwide mollusc species database

Elizabeth Platts reported in UMNL 9 on the Unitas CLEMAM project (Checklist of the European Marine Mollusca) and its affiliation with my Malacolog project for Western Atlantic molluscs. As editor-in-chief of the CLEMAM/MALACOLOG project, I report here on progress towards our objectives.

Objective (a): with Michael Thollesson and Jacques le Renard, achieve a common standard for existing and developing databases. Partially completed at the time of the Unitas meeting, it became apparent that the working group had identified a set of fields that could track all of the kinds of taxonomic, geographic and bibliographic information desired. Only partially completed is a description of these fields and an information model showing how the fields can be efficiently grouped and linked together.

Objective (b): produce relevant software by January 1996, validating it and distributing it to participants by June 1996. Software has not yet been produced and, in retrospect, four months to do this from scratch was too optimistic. We now have a talented person, Sam Garst to help with designing the database and Jacques is visiting Philadelphia in June to work with us on software development. Once the information model is finished we commence a data entry manual and the production of authority files. Jacques will develop software in FoxPro, Sam in Microsoft Access. The new deadline is December 1996.

Objective (c): investigate the feasibility of a decentralized system with regional taxonomic and geographical editors with multiple entry points. In March 1996 I attended the Species 2000 workshop in Manila, as the representative for Mollusca. Representatives for 18 major taxonomic databases ranging from viruses and bacteria to legumes and Diptera, were present. A demonstration was given of a common access system for disparate databases. So long as the appropriate fields of information are available, the structure of the database can be made transparent with a query about a taxon directed to a central computer (which could be mirrored elsewhere) and routed to the appropriate database to get full information about the taxon. CLEMAM/ Malacolog has joined the Species 2000 federation, which has a goal of producing global species databases for all organisms. Each member of the federation can adopt its own database structure and access policies, so long as it freely provides a minimum set of information allowing the taxonomic status of species names to be evaluated. The mollusc databases will also form a loose federation, although with greater coordination in gathering data. Serge and Jacques have produced a WWW site for European molluscs (see below) and my Western Atlantic site, gopher://erato.acnatsci.org will soon be moved onto WWW.

Objective (d): evaluate the problems of copyright and access of information via Internet. All electronic data, including email messages, are automatically copyrighted. Use of a copyright symbol is not necessary, but secures stronger legal protection. Enforcing copyright, however, is difficult. Our current model is to make information available freely on a species by species basis via gopher or similar search function. Larger sets of information would be provided on request to academic users. Fee structures need to be established for other classes of users requesting large blocks of data. Perhaps an easier solution would be to sell regional data sets on CD-ROM, rather than trying to monitor usage and fulfill requests for various data subsets.

The project has been slow because no external funding has been available to support it. In December I had discussions with program officers at the United States National Science Foundation (NSF) about possible funding for a worldwide molluscan database. However, NSF is not interested in being the sole supporter for such a project; it would have to involve other governments. NSF might be interested in discrete parts of such a project (e.g. Western Atlantic bivalves, North American freshwater gastropods). The Species 2000 federation should be able to coordinate international funding for species databases.

Once the software discussed above is available, three things will be needed: lists of names, lists of geographic localities, and lists of references. Integrated lists can serve as authority files to standardize data entry not only for species databases, but also for museum collection databases. Anyone who is able to contribute such lists, or other information, please contact me.

Gary Rosenberg, Academy of Natural Sciences, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195 USA. Email rosenberg@say.acnatsci.org.

Announcing CLEMAM (Check List of European Marine Mollusca)

The initial version of the CLEMAM list can now be consulted on the web. It is a comprehensive database of the families, genera and species of European marine molluscs (South to 26°N, West to the Mid Atlantic Ridge) containing ca. 3000 valid names and their synonyms (ca. 15000 names in total). As such, it is a companion project of Gary Rosenberg's MALACOLOG database of Western Atlantic Mollusca, and we are working towards a common format. The address to access CLEMAM is http://www.mnhn.fr/base/malaco.html.

One can consult either the whole list of valid names without the synonyms, or a name with its synonyms by clicking on it. Some bridging to other sites of interest is implemented; for example as an experiment the nudibranch names point to Bernard Picton's web pages of his "Guide to British Isles Nudibranchs".

The database is based on documents supplied by the initial contributors (Riccardo Giannuzzi-Savelli - Mediterranean checklist, Societa Italiana di Malacologia; Elizabeth Platts & David Heppell for the British checklist; Jon-Arne Sneli for Tore Hoisaeter's Norwegian checklist). We are pleased to announce CLEMAM through the Unitas Newsletter, as Unitas has actively supported the project (see UMNL 9, page 3) and funded the initial meeting (Paris, December 1995).The next step, on which we are actively working, will be adding references, subsequent citations, and so on. The home page address will remain the same.

Jacques Le Renard and Serge Gofas, gofas@cimrs1.mnhn.fr.

Working Group on Nomenclature of FHG becomes CLECOM-Group of U.M.

The "Working Group on Nomenclature of European Land and Freshwater Mollusca" of the FRIEDRICH-HELD-GESELLSCHAFT (FHG) was founded in Munich in June 1989 by H. D. Boeters, G. Falkner, H. Nordsieck and T. von Proschwitz. Later, B. Hausdorf, E. Gittenberger and R. A. Bank joined the group which now has seven members. The group intended to aspire to the status of a "Specialist Nomenclature Committee" as defined by the ICZN [Bull. zool. Nomencl. 47(4): 246]. During the first meeting of the Working Group it was decided to establish a computerized European list to be produced by technical support of the Naturhistoriska Museet of Göteborg, ideally placed through Westerlund's work on the "Fauna der in der paläarctischen Region ... lebenden Binnenconchylien".

During the Vigo Congress in September 1995, it was decided by the UM Council that the already established FHG-Group should act on behalf of both associations and under the auspices of UNITAS MALACOLOGICA. A project was initiated, and approved by the Council, to establish a "Check-List of European Continental Mollusca" with the acronym CLECOM, in parallel to the very successful CLEMAM-Project for the marine Mollusca (see Newsletter 9 and herein). The geographical limits of CLECOM are still somewhat vague, although there is a consensus that all Europe (as geographically defined) must be covered. Eventually the Mediterranean and Caucasian regions , as well as the Macaronesian archipelagoes, should also be included but this will depend on the availability of contributors.

The names of species and subspecies considered to be valid and, as far as possible, synonyms, will be listed. Names that often have been used as valid should be included. References to the original descriptions and important revisory works and, where known, the location of type specimens should be included. Initially the lists from those European countries for which check-lists are available will be merged and these will be supplemented and updated using monographs and other sources such as H. D. Boeters' computerized index of all nominal taxa of the continental Prosobranchia of central and western Europe, the check-list of the Mollusca of centraI France, prepared for the EG-STEP project by G. Falkner and, as an important step towards the Mediterranean region, the check-list of Turkish landsnails by R. A. Bank and a working group of the FHG. National check-lists as well as lists from zoogeographical regions will be able to be retrieved from the list.

The CLECOM activities are fully supported by G. Andersson, Director of the Göteborg Museum, and will develop the software together with CLECOM.

Gerhard Falkner, Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und historische Geologie, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10/II, D-80333 München, Germany. Phone/fax 49 8122 7132 and Ted von Proschwitz, Avdelningen für entomologi och malakologi, Naturhistoriska Museet, Box 7283, S-40235 Göteborg, Sweden.

Unitas fine the way it is. Regarding the issue of changes that should or should not happen to Unitas, my colleagues here and I are of the opinion that Unitas is fine as it is. We feel that its purpose to bring together people interested in molluscs and actively working with them is a sufficient goal for the organization. We support the tendencies of the last meetings to integrate paleontological research even more, especially when it deals with evolutionary and ecological topics - the stratigraphic side of the science should be kept in the paleontological and geological organizations. We welcome a closer connection to the cephalopod researchers as was tried in Vigo. The organization, with its low costs, mainly organizing a meeting every three years that keeps people in contact with each other, and enables newcomers to get acquainted with the established scientists in a relaxed way, suits us well.

Prof. Dr. Klaus Bandel, Universitt Hamburg, Geol.-Palaeont. Inst., Bundesstr. 55, D-20146 Hamburg. Email adam@geomat.math.uni-hamburg.de.

Unitas needs to move with the times. Important changes are occurring within the malacological community and Unitas is leading the way. The decision to meet in Washington, DC in 1998 places Unitas as the undisputed global organization in our field. This role had both proponents and opponents, but no one can deny the necessity or destiny this step means for our organization. At the world level malacology can now have one voice, and that voice needs to be heard on the Internet as well. In the last few years major changes have occurred in how we communicate and interact with colleagues, other fields, and the general public. The Internet is quickly making the world smaller and more accessible. Unitas needs a strong presence here as well. The World Wide Web (WWW) site Mollia (see anouncement below) currently serves as a home for this newsletter and Unitas meeting information, but Unitas also needs a WWW homepage. A homepage, in many ways like a journal, will be a vehicle for promoting Unitas, keeping us informed of issues and activities, and providing colleagues, officials, the public and others with access to our organization, members, and expertise. Mollia could serve as a home for a Unitas homepage, but the Unitas council will need to endorse and sanction its creation and role for our organization.

D.R. Lindberg, Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley. Email davidl@ucmp1.berkeley.edu.

Databank of molluscan types on Internet? With our 'electronic world' it is now possible to develop a combined database of molluscan types on the Internet. Some institutions are providing individual online databases. Linnaeus-software (compatable for Windows and Macintosh), developed by the non-profit organisation ETI (Expert-center for Taxonomic Identification), can be used for this purpose, and also for biodiversity documentation and species identification. By using a compatable system, information on type material becomes more accessible and available worldwide. It could be put on Internet or CD-ROM. ETI has all the facilities for scanning text and digitizing slides or photographs of type material. Let us have some discussion on the idea. On another matter, within a few months ETI will publish Regenfuss (1757), a pre-Linnaean molluscan work, on CD-ROM.

Henk H. Dijkstra, Hon.Res.Ass., University of Amsterdam, Zoological Museum, Department of Malacology, P.O. Box 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone 31 20 525 5422, fax 31 20 525 5402, email: hdykstra@pi.net.

Draft of the new rules for ICZN. There are some contentious changes proposed. These include rules of Latin grammar to be abandoned in future; genera to be treated as words without gender thus not affecting the ending of adjectival specific names in different combinations; existing specific names to revert to original spellings in any future combinations (i.e. spelling of specific names invariant); spelling of existing specific names to be fixed by the spelling in use in the current combination; make provision for some form of registration of names before they become available; make provision for groups of specialists (e.g. international societies) to approve new "lists" of Available and Potentially Valid names which would make names not on the list unavailable in future; as well as a number of changes throughout the Code which give greater weight to usage than to priority. Most of these proposed changes have resulted in heated debate.

Decline in systematists? Extracted from a posting on Taxacom by Dr. Gregory Zolnerowich (Dept. of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2475, USA. Email gzolner@acs.tamu.edu). Howell Daly's survey of 56 academic departments of entomology or related sciences in the U.S. and Canada showed that 40% of the depts. with insect systematists on their faculties had no doctoral students in systematics (American Entomologist, Spring 1995). He also reported there were 111 students in 1992, down from 155 in 1982, and extrapolated dire predictions from those numbers.

Similar comments have been made about malacological postions - does anyone have any good data? (ed.)

Request for information for a museum display. Dr Pablo Penchaszadeh is renewing the Molluscan Exhibition of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" in the city of Buenos Aires, a major museum in South America. This is being done with the help of many people and perhaps will result in the near future in an Argentinian Malacological Society. He specifically needs very good photographs of an Octopus, a Sepia and a squid, material for a display of ethnology and molluscs, and an up-to-date molluscan phylogenetic tree. Contact Pablo Penchaszadeh, MACN, Av. Angel Gallardo 470. 1405, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fax 54 1 8035753, email ana.penchaszadeh@newage.turbo.net.

1996 Red List of Globally Threatened Molluscs. Mary Seddon has been compiling and coordinating comments on threatened and endangered species for the next edition of the IUCN Red List, a project run through the Mollusc Specialist Group of IUCN. There are currently c. 1500 molluscan species on the global list, but there are areas with no data she would like to get information on. There are declining habitats and threats to species in practically all regions but the threatened molluscs of relatively few regions are currently listed. Although the deadline for the current update has passed, additional revisions will occur regularly. Data on the status of commercially exploited species are also required. The current list of Threatened Molluscs is accessible by WWW from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre http://www.wcmc.org.uk

Mary Seddon, Curator (Terrestrial Mollusca), Nat.Mus.Wales, Cardiff, UK, CF1 3NP. Tel. 44-1222-397951x244, fax 44-1222-239009, email Seddonm@cardiff.ac.uk.

Prof. Klaus Bandel, University of Hamburg (Germany) has provided this report on the paleobiological research on molluscs by him and his colleagues mainly at the University of Hamburg, the Free University Berlin and the Natural History Museum, Berlin.

Cephalopods: Paleobiology of ammonites - especially shell traumata, ontogeny and shell composition in Mesozoic ammonites, siphon construction and early ontogeny in Palaeozoic species and observations on, and interpretation of, muscle scars (Helmuth Keupp, Thomas Becker, Wolfgang Weitschat, Klaus Bandel, with Rudolf Fischer, Univ. Hanover). The evolution of the Neocephalopoda in the late Silurian (largely based on "orthoceratids" housed at the N.H. Museum in Berlin; T. Engeser and T. Becker). Also planned: - construction of shells older than late Silurian and the evolution of the shelled coleoids in the late Cretaceous and Tertiary. Ontogeny of modern Cephalopoda as a model to interpret the fossil species (Kerstin Warnke, Berlin, and Andreas Scharenberg, Hamburg, with Sigurt von Boletzky, Lab. Arago, Banyuls-Sur-Mer).

Gastropods: Several ongoing projects. Frank Riedel, K. Bandel and collaborators are studying fresh water gastropods in fossil, and extant ancient lakes. Planorboids (C.Harlos) and thiarids and neritids (Yves Rossi) from the Pannon Lake (in the Pannonian Plain) that existed for about 5my during the late Miocene. Evolutionary lineages will be analysed, as with the older Miocene Steinheim Lake (studied by Ntzel & Bandel, 1993) and this work is being refined by Imme Finger (Hamburg), Horst Janz and Elmar Heizmann (Natural History Museum, Stuttgart). The extant gastropods of Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika (Matthias Glaubrecht & Klaus Bandel) and Lake Baikal (Frank Riedel & Peter Rpsdorf, Berlin, with Tanja Sitnikova, Limnological Inst., Irkutsk) are also being studied. One aim, using data from Late Cretaceous freshwater species, is to compare modes of evolution in long-lasting lakes with those in more short-term bodies of water.

Ctenoglossan evolution from Early Carboniferous to Recent (Alex Ntzel) has been traced as a monophyletic group and independent unit that merges with other caenogastropods in the Silurian. Work on other caenogastropod groups has connectioned the Cerithioidea with Triassic fossils (Klaus Bandel), but well known Palaeozoic groups such as Loxonematoidea, Subulitoidea, Euomphaloidea and Murchisonioidea remain problematic. Our research (K.Bandel & A. Ntzel) has shown that they represent polyphyletic units, often from different subclasses. We are continuing especially with Carboniferous material, but also with Devonian material jointly with Jiri Fryda (Prague). Thorsten Kowalke is examining cerithioidean protoconch morphology from Cretaceous to Recent and J. Gründel (Berlin) is tracing the group back into the Jurassic. Gründel is also investigating Cossmann's genera of Mesozoic caenogastropods, by tracing these in French museums and original outcrops.

The evolution of modern caenogastropods (Neomesogastropoda and Neogastropoda) has been fixed at the Mid-Cretaceous and we (K. Bandel, F. Riedel) are collecting more data in cooperation with David Dockery (Mississippi Geological Survey) and through field work by Drte Kortum in India and Steffen Kiel in South Africa (both Hamburg). Drte Kortum will trace Cretaceous gastropod evolution in Texas and S. Kiel is assembling data on the Cretaceous stromboids. Revision of the taxonomy of these groups will be necessary and we have some reservations regarding the monophyly of the Neogastropoda. The evolution of the whole group was probably hastened by plate tectonics as well as by the evolution of long term planktotrophic veligers.

Protoconchs on about 250 species of the Triassic gastropods from the St. Cassian fauna are now known. Allogastropod diversity was greater in the Late Triassic than previously realised (as published by Bandel) and their Jurassic members are being studied by J. Gründel and Bandel. St. Cassian Neritimorpha have been analysed by A. Schwardt. Both Neritopsidae and Neritidae are diverse.

So far it has not been possible to differentiate gastropods from other Cambrian molluscs. Hoping to achieve this, Andreas Scharenberg has been investigating the formation of the early shell on molluscan embryos using critical point drying. This study has revealed few clues regarding the interpretation of the Cambrian fossils but has provided new data regarding molluscan ontogeny, especially for Scaphopoda, some bivalves and a number of different gastropods. Species with small eggs solve this problem quite differently than those with large eggs. The uptake of yolk during embryonic ontogeny resulted in a number of very different solutions.

Klaus Bandel, Geologisch-Palaontologisches Institut und Museum, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany. Email adam@GEOMAT.math.uni-hamburg.de.

A brief review of the current state of malacology in Russia. The first eminent Russian malacologists - G.Fisher von Waldheim and A.Th.Middendorff, were German originally but lived and worked for decades in Russia, and died there. Malacology in Russia, for a long time, was largely ignored by the western community. There were three main reasons for this; firstly, the iron curtain prevented international contacts; secondly, the hardly understandable Cyrillic letters and, finally, there was no specialized malacological journal. Papers were published in journals and proceedings of various institutes, such as the Zoological Institute (St. Petersburg) or the Institute of Oceanology (Moscow), but these had only a limited circulation in the West. At the same time, however, malacology was very well developed in the former USSR. In the reference book of Soviet malacologists (compiled by O.V.Amitrov and published in 1983), 844 malacologists were listed, mostly being palaeontologists (570), and with a sex ratio close to 1:1. If only half of those listed were active, the malacological community must be considered as been well established in the USSR. The Zoological Institite was the main center of malacology for decades. The school of marine malacology was led by Prof. A.N.Golikov, freshwater molluscs by Prof. Ya. I. Starobogatov, and land-snails by Prof. I. M. Likharev. The Zoological Insitute published two main series of zoological revisions: 'Fauna of the USSR' and 'The Guide books to the Fauna of the USSR'. Several volumes of both series were devoted to marine, freshwater and land molluscs. Similar series were published in Ukraine ('Fauna of the Ukraine') and Armenia ('Fauna of the Armenia'), and included regional revisions of respective faunas. Deep-water molluscs were studied at the Institute of Oceanology.

By the end of 1980s molluscan fauna of the USSR and adjacent territories was rather well studied: the entire fauna of land and fresh-water molluscs had been revised, as were the faunas of several large water bodies, such as the Black and Azov Seas, Caspian Sea, White Sea and Lake Baikal. Revisions of bivalves of temperate waters and gastropods of the Arctic Basin were also published (the latter one in 1994).

Since 1961, once every four years, the All-Union malacological meetings were held in the Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg) organized by the Malacological Committee. Nine meetings have been held, the last in 1991. The 8th meeting was the largest, with a total of 300 papers and the printed Abstracts of Communications totalling 536 pages.

Perestroika resulted in a substantial, if not catastrophic, reduction in the financing of science in the USSR which has led to a decrease in malacological activity. However Russian malacologists have managed not only to survive, but to continue their activities. At the last All-Union meeting (1991), the Malacological Society was established. Surprisingly, it is the first malacological society in the history of Russia. In the same year, independently from the establishment of the society, 'Ruthenica, Russian Malacological Journal' was started (Editor-in-chief - Dr. Kir Nesis, Associate Editors - Drs. D.L.Ivanov, Yu.I.Kantor, A.A.Schileyko and A.V.Sysoev). The journal, published twice a year, was the first bi-lingual scientific journal in Russia. It is mainly published in English, with bilingual figure captions, abstracts and descriptions of new taxa. At present Vol. 6, No. 2 is in preparation. Although 'Ruthenica' does not officially belong to the Society, the Editorial Board works in close co-operation with the Society Council (the Editor-in-Chief and one Associate Editor are currently the Vice-Presidents of the Society).

The newly established Malacological Society (President - Prof. Ya.I. Starobogatov) held two meetings, in 1994 under the title 'Morphological basis for systematics and phylogeny of molluscs and in 1995 'Molluscs of Russia and adjacent countries and seas', dedicated to the memory of the late Academician O.A.Scarlato. The abstracts of the latter meeting were published in 'Ruthenica' (Vol. 6, No. 1). In November 1994 the Far-Eastern Malacological Society (President A.I. Kafanov) was organised in the Institute of Marine Biology in Vladivostok. The society has not yet produced any publications, although a volume is now in press.

After the splitting up of the USSR, four main centres of malacological studies of Recent molluscs remained in Russia: in Moscow (malacologists from different Institutes, grouped around 'Ruthenica'), St.Petersburg (mainly the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Vladivostok (Institute of Marine Biology and Pacific Research Center of Fisheries and Oceanography) and Kaliningrad (the Atlantic Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography - only cephalopod studies). Beside these main centers many malacologists work in other places. Of the former republics of the USSR, there is still some malacological activity in Ukraine (Institute of Zoology, Kiev; Institue of the Biology of Southers seas, Sebastopol). Ukranian colleagues deal mainly with freshwater molluscs and molluscs of the Black Sea fauna. Some malacological (palaeontological and neontological) books continue to be published. The most important of these are reviewed in 'Ruthenica'.

Additional information is available from Dr. Yu.I.Kantor [email: yuri@invert.sevin.msk.ru] or A.N.Severtzov; Institute of Problems of Evolution, Lenin Av. 33, Moscow 117071, Russia..

Conus toxins being put to good use. My research interests are in the alpha conotoxins which target the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, in particular the neuronal-type nicotinic receptor that is implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. My group has a project funded by the ARC and works in collaboration with Dr. Paul Alewood at the Centre for Drug Design and Development, University of Queensland. Our work on the toxins has proceeded well and three papers describing novel toxins that target the neuronal nAChR are about to be submitted. I am relatively new to the field of Mollusca but find many aspects of the evolution and adaptation at the behavioural and molecular levels fascinating. We maintain a URL giving information about cases of envenomation by cone shells or about their biochemistry, molecular biology and toxicology on http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/~bgl/content.htm

I think the recent report from Neurex, in the USA, on use of a conotoxin (SNX-111 which I understand is Conotoxin MVIIa from Conus magus) to treat intractible pain (in cancer patients and amputees with "phantom limbs"), is particularly interesting. This conotoxin has between 100-1000 times the potency of morphine as an analgesic but is NOT addictive. Moreover, it is effective in countering the addictive properties of morphine. You will find more information and links to this on our Home Page (see below). I would be pleased to be added to any mailing list that may be appropriate to my research interests on cone shells and their molluscivorous targets (eg. Strombus).

Bruce Livett PhD, Reader and Deputy Head, Dept. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Melbourne. Phone 61-3-9344 5920 or 61-3-9344 5911, fax 61-3-9347 7730, email b.livett@biochemistry.unimelb.edu.au.

Comite Para Los Congresos Latinoamericanos De Malacologia (Steering Committee For The Latin American Malacological Congresses).

This is not an Association, in the formal sense. The President is Dr Marta Reguero Meza, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar Y Limnologia, Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, D.F. Email Reguero@Mae.Icmyl.Unam.Mex, the Vice-President (extra-regional international relations) Dr Pablo Enrique Penchaszadeh, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Av.Angel Gallardo 470, 1405 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Phone and fax 54 1 8035753, email Rqpencha@Criba.Edu.Ar (Copy to Ana.Penchaszadeh@Newage.Turbo.Net) and Intecmar Universidad Simon, Bolivar Ap 89000, Caracas I080,Venezuela, email Ppenchas@Usb.Ve. The Secretary is Dr Dalila Aldana (Chairman Of The Future Third Latin American Malacological Congress) Cinvestav, Merida, Km. 6 Ant. Carr. A Progreso, Ap. 73 Cordemex- Cp 97310, Mexico.

The third. L.A. M. Congress will be held in Merida, Mexico. The exact dates are not still fixed by the organizers but it will be in the first half of 1987.

Club Conchylia

Founded in 1969, the club has about 380 members, most from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is open to anybody interested in Mollusca and publishes Club Conchylia Information, with 3 issues a year. Articles are in German with a English summary. Meetings are held once a year. Membership fee per year is 80 DM.

Further information from Prof. Dr. Dr. Guenther Sterba, Suedstrasse 16, D-04416 Markkleeberg, Germany, Phone and Fax 49 (0) 341 3585464, or Wolfgang Fischer, Landtsr. Hauptstr. 81/35, 1030 Wien, Austria. Phone 43 1 47654-3307, fax 43 1 47654-3342, email h330p6@edv1.boku.ac.at

The National Shellfisheries Association

The National Shellfisheries Association (NSA) is an international organization concerned with the biology, ecology, production, economics and management of shellfish resources. The membership is more than 1000 from all parts of the USA, Canada, and 18 other nations. It sponsors an annual scientific conference, publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Shellfish Research and produces a quarterly Newsletter. Subscription $US45 per year ($25 for students). Contact: Christine Hodgson, BC, Ministry of Ag. and Fisheries, 2500 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada V9R 5M6. Information based on text posted by David Bushek (dbushek@belle.baruch.sc.edu) on Mollusca.

Unitas meetings - see listing above.

Tropical Cephalopod Fisheries - Biology and Ecology, 5-7 August 1996, Brisbane, Australia.

To be held in association with the World Fisheries Congress. The meeting has the support of the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC) and is sponsored by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries. It aims to review knowledge of the biology and ecology of tropical cephalopods of fisheries interest, discuss recent advances, consider future research directions and develop collaborations on mutually beneficial themes. The proceedings will be published. Registration c. AU$150 by the end of June, 1996. Contact: Dr Malcolm Dunning, Principal Fisheries Biologist, Fisheries Business Group, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, GPO Box 2454, Brisbane Queensland 4001 Australia. Fax 61 7 3229 8146, email dunningm@dpi.qld.gov.au.

Fifth International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology, August 17-24, 1996, Budapest, Hungary. Updated information can be found on the website: http:/caesar.elte.hu/ICSEB5/ or from Laszlo Peregovits, Zoological Department, Hungarian Natural History Museum. Email h7962per@ella.hu.

Forum on Natural History Collections -A Resource for the Future, 20th-24th August 1996, University of Cambridge, UK. This is the Second World Congress on the Preservation and Conservation of Natural History Collections. This will be a practical Congress, providing practical solutions for the continued development and support of Natural Science Collections around the world. Further information from: The Administrator - World Congress, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ. UK. Phone 44 1223 33 34 21, fax 44 1223 33 34 50.

Fifth International Symposium on Littorinid Biology, 7-13 September, 1996, Cork, Ireland. The latest of a series of symposia on littorinids. Contributions on all aspects of the biology of littorinids and other intertidal gastropods of similar habit. There will be a published refereed volume of the symposium proceedings, as in the three previous meetings in this series. So far, there is a preliminary list of 46 papers and 11 posters, and more than 50 participants from 12 countries are expected to attend. There will be a workshop on 'The importance of marine gastropods for aquaculture'. Registration 70 Irish pounds (approx. $US100), includes abstracts, excursion and conference dinner. If you have already returned the first circular you will receive the second circular shortly. Otherwise contact the organizers, Dr Ruth O'Riordan and Dr Gavin Burnell, Dept. of Zoology, University College Cork, Lee Maltings, Prospect Row, Cork City, Ireland. Phone 353 21 904050, fax 353 21 277922.

Fourth International Conference on Rudists. 9-16th September, 1996. Marseilles, France. Contact Jean-Pierre Masse, Centre de Sédimentologie-Paléontology, Faculté des Sciences St Charles, Case 67, 13331 Marseille Cedex 03, France. Phone 33 91 106395, fax 33 91 649964.

XI Congreso Nacional de Malacología (Sociedad Española de Malacología). 17-20 September 1996. Almería, SpainSecretary: Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecologia, Area de Ecología, Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almeria, Spain. Phone/fax, 950 257596.

Slug and snail pests in agriculture. (See UMNL 9) 24-26 September 1996, Univ. of Kent, Canterbury, U.K.

4th International Congress on Medical and Applied Malacology (See UMNL 9) 7-11 Oct. 1996, Santiago, Chile.

Molluscan Conservation (See UMNL 9) 19th-21st November 1996, Cardiff, UK.

10th Congress, Societe Francaise de Malacologie. 10-14th December 1996. Agadir, Morocco. Deadline for abstracts and registration 31st July. Secretariat de la SFM, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France. Fax 33 1 40793091, email gofas@mnhn.fr OR Secretariat du Xe congress SFM, c/o A. Moukrim. Dept. de Biologie, Faculte des Sciences, B.P. 28 S, Agadir, Maroc. Fax 212 8 220100.

XVth Meeting Of The Willi Hennig Society, 15-20 December 1996, Cape Town, South Africa. Hosted by the University Of Cape Town. Aims to develop cladistics in South Africa and address major theoretical and empirical issues currently being debated in the systematics/evolution literature. Basic registration $US50.00.

Further information:-Associate Professor Tim Crowe, FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700. Phone 27-21-6503292/7/1, fax 27-21-6503295, email tmcrowe@botzoo.uct.ac.za.

Molluscs 97. Symposium on the molluscs of the Indo-West Pacific and Australasian region (See UMNL 9) 1-4th Feb., 1997, Rottnest Island,.Perth, Western Australia.

11th. International Pectinid Workshop, 10-15 April 1997, La Paz, Mexico. Contact: Esteban Felix Pico, Cicimar-Ipn, A. POstal 592, La Paz B:C:S: C.P. 23000. Fax 52 112 25322, email efelix@vmredipn.ipn.mx.

American Malacological Union, 1997 (See UMNL 9) June 22-27 1997, Santa Barbara, California.

The Seventh Marine Sciences Latin American Congress, 22-26 September 1997, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The languages of the meeting will be Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Information from:- Comissao organizadora do VII COLACMAR, a/c Silvia Helena de Mello e Souza, Instituto Oceanografico da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Praca do Oceanografico, 191- Cidade Universitaria, Butanta, 05508-900, Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil. Email colacmar@org.usp.br.

3rd International Abalone Symposium. (See UMNL 9) October 1997, Monterey, California.

The 3rd. Latin American Malacological Congress, 13-17 October 1997, Ensenada, Mexico. Organised by the Committee for the Latin American Malacological Meetings. The first was held in Caracas, Venezuela in 1991, the second in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1995.

Contact: M.C. Claudia Farfan, Jefe Departamento de Acuicultura, CICESE, Baja California, Apdo. Postal 2732, Ensenada, BC, Mexico. Phone 617 44501/06 or 45050/53 Fax (in Mexico) 617 44880 (in USA) 011 52617/44880. Email contact: Dr. Martha Reguero reguero@unamvm1.dgsca.unam.mx.

Journal and Newsletter Announcements

Tentacle

Newsletter of the Mollusc Specialist Group (MSG) of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN)(see also UMNL 9). Editor Dr. Robert H. Cowie is soliciting articles, information, news, etc for the next issue (anything dealing with molluscan conservation). Send them by fax, mail or email.

Dr. Robert H. Cowie, Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, P.O. Box 19000-A, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-0916, U.S.A. Phone 808 848 4118, fax 808 841 8968, email rhcowie@bishop.bishop.hawaii.org.

Club Conchylia Informationen

Club Conchylia (Germany) magazine will recommence (as vol. 28) publication. It will appear three times a year and is open to any subject in Malacology. The magazine includes Scientific articles as well as newsletter items. The language is German, but all scientific articles have an English summary. The first issue contains articles on fossil trigoniids, Caribbean Fusinus, Melanopsis, shell coiling and Sepia.

Information: Wolfgang Fischer, CC- Redaction, Landstr. Haupstr. 81/35, 1030 Wien, Austria. Phone 43 1 47654-3307, fax 43 1 47654-3342, email h330p6@edv1.boku.ac.at.

American Conchologist

Produced by Conchologists of America. The Editor is Lynn Scheu, 1222 Holsworth Lane, Louisville, KY 40222-6616. Phone 502 423 0469, fax 502 426 4336, email AmConch@ix.netcom.com.

New Books

Bruggen, A.C. van, Wells, S.M. and Kemperman, T.C.M. (eds), 1995. Biodiversity and Conservation of the Mollusca. Proceedings of the Alan Solem Memorial Symposium. xi+228 pp. Paperbound. ISBN 90-73348-47-1. Backhuys Publishers, PO Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, The Netherlands. Price Fl 68 (Guilders). This book contains articles resulting from a symposium held during the UNITAS meeting in Siena in 1992.

Kay, E.A. (ed.), 1995. The Conservation Biology of Molluscs. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. ISBN 2-8317-0053-1. The long awaited proceedings of a symposium held at the 9th UNITAS Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1986. Available from IUCN Publications Services Unit, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 ODL, UK.

Spencer, H.G. and Willan, R.C., 1995. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Index to the Fauna: 3. Mollusca. New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 105. ISBN 0-478 08351-3. The 2507 species and subspecies of Recent and subRecent Mollusca from New Zealand are listed and a comprehensive bibliography is provided. Cost: (New Zealand and Australia) NZ$45; (Rest of World) US$45. Available from Dr. Dennis P. Gordon, N. Z. Oceanographic Institute, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd., P. O. Box 14 901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand.

Goto, Y. and Poppe, G.T., 1996. A Listing of Living Mollusca. ISBN 88 86070-23-3. Approx. 2000 pages, 2 parts, in 4 Volumes. Edited by L'Iformatore Piceno, Ancona, Italy. Price: $US 185 + postage for all volumes (total weight almost 10 kg.!). A listing of species group taxa (41,861 species and 4,409 subspecies) from selected works, arranged into families and genera according to Vaught's systematic list. Over 150,000 references to recent papers are given, so that the user can trace back additional information on the species in the literature. It is estimated that the book contains about 40-50% of known species. Comments on this work by B. Roth, R. Cowie and G. Rosenberg, and a more detailed description of it, can be found on Mollusca. Available from Mostra Mondiale Malacologia, Via Adriatica Nord, 240, 63012 Cupra Marittima (AP - Italy). Phone 39 735 777550, fax 39 735 777232, email conchology@innet.be or Hemmen, Grillparzerstrasse22, 65187 Wiesbaden, Germany. Phone 49 611 81 19 05, 49 611 80 56 49, fax 49 611 80 76 71.

Perera, G. and Walls, G., 1996. Apple Snails in the Aquarium. T.F.H. Publishing Ltd., P.O. Box 15, Waterlooville, PO7 6BQ, England. The book illustrates in color a large number of specimens, has illustrations of living animals, and has a chapter about other families of "aquarium snails".

Anseeuw P. & Goto Y., 1996 - The living Pleurotomariidae. In 4to, pp. 202, 84 color plates. This luxury production costs $US 210.00. Covers all Recent Pleurotomariidae with colour figures of types and other specimens. Includes geographical distribution, habitat, shell strucutre, coloration, taxonomy, SEM plates of radula, in situ pictures taken from submersible, distribution maps, full reference section and bibliography. Order: Naturama, C.P. 28 - Succ. 26, 90146 Palermo Italy. Fax 91 6713568, email naturama@mbox.vol.it.

Bosch D., Dance P., Moolenbeek R. and Oliver G., 1995 - Seashells of Eastern Arabia. In 4to, hardbound, dust jacket, pp. 296. Motivate Publishing, ISBN 1 873544 64 2. $US 75.00 [or 50 Pounds] (not including postage). With the assistance of Peter Dance (mainly editing), Graham Oliver (bivalves) and Robert Moolenbeek (mainly gastropods) Donald Bosch has produced a book covering more than a 1000 species, illustrated by original colour-photographs, SEM images and line drawings. Order forms from Robert Moolenbeek, Instituut voor Systematiek & Populatiebiologie, Zoologisch Museum, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94766, 1090 GT Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Phone 31 20 525 6294, fax 31 20 5255402, email moolenbeek@bio.uva.nl.

Golikov A.N., 1995 - Shell-bearing gastropods of the Arctic. In 4to, pp.108 with 22 b/w plates and 66 figures. Softbound. $US 45.00. A comprehensive monograph of the Arctic gastropods. Information for each species includes synonymy, size, distribution, and habitat. Can be ordered from Naturama, C.P. 28 - Succ. 26, 90146 Palermo Italy. Fax 91 6713568, email naturama@mbox.vol.it.

Pin, M. and Leung Tack K.D., 1996 - Cones of Senegal. In 4°, pp. 56 with 63 colour photos and 46 b/w SEM pictures and five drawings. ISBN 88-86463-01-4. LIT. 23,000, DM 23.00, $US 15.30, including postage. Sixteen species of Senegalese cones are examined, with a description of each species, its habitat, habits, bibliography and illustrations. Can be ordered from Naturama, C.P. 28 - Succ. 26, 90146 Palermo Italy. Fax 91 6713568, email naturama@mbox.vol.it.

Kennedy, V. S., Newell, R.I.E. and Eble, A. F. (eds), 1996. The Eastern Oyster: Crassostrea virginica.

772 pages, hard cover, with 400 photographs, drawings and diagrams.Price $ US 95.00. The most comprehensive synthesis about Crassostrea virginica since Paul Galtsoff's landmark 1964 work, The American Oyster. The Eastern Oyster has 21 chapters focusing on such topics as anatomy, the shell, larval biology, feeding, reproduction, genetics, predation, diseases and defense mechanisms, aquaculture and management. Order from Publications Department, Maryland Sea Grant, 0112 Skinner Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA. Phone 301-405-6376. Information on http://www.mdsg.umd.edu.

Boudouresque, Briard & Nolan (eds). 1994. Introduced species in European coastal waters. 112 pp, price 13.5 ECU. Order through the Office for Official Publications of the European Union, European Commission, Luxembourg. Contains several interesting articles with many references to introductions all over the world.

Advance notice: Volume 6 of Microscopic Anatomy of Invertebrates Molluscs will be published in a month or so by Wiley-Liss. Edited by Frederick W. Harrison and Alan J. Kohn, Vol. 6 will include chapters on the pulmonate Gastropoda, by Daniel Luchtel, Ingrith Deyrup-Olsen and Arthur Martin; Scapholopoda, by Ronald Shimek and Gerhard Steiner; Bivalvia, by M. Patricia Morse and John Zardus, Monoplacophora, by Gerhard Haszprunar and Kurt Schaefer; and Cephalopoda, by Bernd U. Budelmann, Rudolf Schipp, and Sigurd von Boletzky.

Note: Some new books advertised by Naturama are listed because it is a non-profit organization that deals in books to raise funds for research on Mediterranean marine biology. However, I would prefer to list books with publishers details etc. and will do so if given the details (ed.).

Erratum and update from UMNL 9. A.W. Janssen's name was spelt "Jansen" and Yves Finet's email address is now finet@mail.ville-ge.ch.

Mollusca mailing list. The first molluscan mailing list and is indexed and fully searchable. To subscribe - email to listproc@ucmp1.berkeley.edu and send the following message:- subscribe mollusca <your full name>. To post items email messages to:- mollusca@ucmp1.berkeley.edu. The WWW address is http://ucmp1.berekeley.edu/mollusca.html or via Mollia (see below). Maintained by Rob Guralnick, robg@ucmp1.Berkeley.Edu.

Mollusc molecular mailing list. A bionet/usenet group (mollusc-molecular-news/bionet.molbio.molluscs) run by Dr. E. Boulding who also produces Mollusc Molecular News, a hard-copy newsletter. The groups discuss the application of molecular biology to molluscan research. Dr. Elizabeth G. Boulding, Dept. of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada. Phone 519 824 4120 x 4961, 519 767 1656, email boulding@uoguelph.ca. If you wish to receive email messages from the mailing list send a blank email message to biosci-server@net.bio.net (if you are in America and Pacific Rim countries) or a message containing the word help to MXT@dl.ac.uk (if you are inEurope, Africa, and Central Asia).

Conchologists of America, Inc. CONCH-L, is the first Listserv expressly for conchologists. Conch-L will provide a forum for conchologists, indeed, for anyone with an interest in molluscs, to correspond on any topic related to conchology. Subscribe: listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu. Leave subject line blank.The first and only line of text "subscribe CONCH-L" Your Full Name. Maintained at the University of Georgia Museum of Natural Science. Their new Web site is announced below.

Mollia, Information for malacologists.http://ucmp1.Berkeley.Edu/mologis/mollia.html

The Mollia World Wide Web Site is for logistic information about malacology - including, but not limited to: periodicals, meetings, primary data (published or unpublished), collections, societies, etc. Current links include access and searches of the archives of the Listserver Mollusca, information on upcoming international malacological meetings, instructions to authors for many of the malacological journals, Unitas Malacologica Newsletters, and links to other repositories of online molluscan information and data. All documents posted on MOLLIA that contain email or URL addresses are linked to the correspondent or site providing dynamic access via the Internet. Under construction are links to molluscan collection resources. MOLLIA will also serve as home to the Mollusca component of the Tree of Life project. Suggestions for other resources are welcome. Mollia is maintained by LindLab in the Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, and powered by the Museum of Paleontology's server ucmp1.Berkeley.Edu. Please contact the appropriate site editor for linking or posting to Mollia. Editor-in-Chief and Molluscs On-line - David R. Lindberg [davidl@ucmp1.Berkeley.Edu]; Meetings - Ross Nehm [rossn@violet.Berkeley.Edu]; Collections - Marta deMaintenon [martajm@uclink2.Berkeley.Edu]; Author's Instructions - Claus Hedegaard [claus@ucmp1.Berkeley.Edu]; Unitas On-line - Brian Simison [simey@violet.Berkeley.Edu].

Internet resources for conchologists http://fly.hiwaay.net/~dwills/shellnet.html. While the title says "Conchologists," this site contains a very comprehensive listing of sites of interest to malacologists and anyone interested in molluscs. Maintained by Deborah Wills, email dwills@hiwaay.net

Zoological Record/Biosis homepage (http://www.york.biosis.org/index.htm) with an excellent list of molluscan resources (http://www.york.biosis.org/zrdocs/zoolinfo/grp_moll.htm).

Catalogue of Recent and fossil Conus, 1937-1995. This catalogue is now available on the following web site: http://www.biology.washington.edu/bsa/AKohn/title.html. Lists all available species-group names of Conus not listed by Tomlin (1937), through to July 1995. A printed version of the update is available from Alan Kohn, email kohnaj@zoology.washington.edu

Charmaine's Killer Snail HomePage. http://grimwade.biochem.unimelb.edu.au/~bgl/content.htm Deals with cone shells, their venoms, toxins and biology maintained by Bruce Livett (see above for report on activities). Email b.livett@biochemistry.unimelb.edu.au

Hawaii Biological Survey (HBS) information resources, searchable lists of native land and freshwater molluscs of the Hawaiian Islands and a bibliography. The data are from the "Catalog of the native land and freshwater molluscs of the Hawaiian Islands" (Cowie, Evenhuis & Christensen, 1995). The list can be accessed from the Hawaii Biological Survey (HBS) home page by clicking on "Databases" and then on "Mollusk Databases". The address for the HBS home page is http://www.bishop.hawaii.org/bishop/HBS/hbs1.html. The published "Catalog", which contains extensive additional information can be obtained from the publisher Backhuys Publishers, PO Box 321, 2300 AH Leiden, The Netherlands. Phone 31 71 170208, fax 31 71 171856, email backhuys@euronet.nl.

List of marine molluscs from the British Isles, http://www2.tcd.ie/Environmental_Sciences/species/index.html Follow links to contents, Mollusca.

Opisthobranch Web Site, http://www/oz.net/~miranda. Has opisthobranch newsletter and other information and links. Welcomes comments and short notes relating to opisthobranchs and pyramidellids. Steven J. Long, 20220 21st NW, Shoreline, WA 98177, U.S.A. Phone 206 546 5977, fax 206 546 5076, email miranda@oz.net.

EQMal (European Quaternary Malacologists) homepage. http://www.inter.nl.net/users/Meijer.T/eqmal.html Tom Meijer, email Meijer.T@Inter.NL.net & T.Meijer@RGD.NL

In Search of Giant Squid (online version of an exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Inst.) http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/squid.html

Online type catalogue of Recent molluscs, Aplacophora, Monoplacophora, Polyplacophora and Scaphopoda. Division of Mollusks, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). Prepared by Raye N. Germon and Alan R. Kabat. The remaining classes will be added in segments. The catalogue is restricted to name-bearing types (holotypes, lectotypes, neotypes and syntypes). Access by GOPHER at gopher://nmnhgoph.si.edu OR WWW http://www.nmnh.si.edu/gopher-menus/Mollusks.html

Vita Marina and Spirula Web-page, http://www.pi.net/~spirula. Contains information about the contents of their magazine, an up-to-date list of club meetings and conventions on malacology and a list of malacologists, conchologists and book dealers. Information posted by Jan Paul Buijs J.P.Buijs@research.kpn.com

Deepsea mailing list. deepsea@uvvm.uvic.ca has been replaced by a BIONET newsgroup. See http://darwin.ceh.uvic.ca/deepsea/deepsea.html for details. The original uvvm.uvic.ca has now closed. Maintained by Andrew McArthur, amcarthu@uvic.ca

Freshwater mussel information, http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu:80/cbd/main/cbd_home.html. Mussel manual and abstracts from a meeting on conservation and management of mussels. Kevin S. Cummings, Illinois Natural History Survey, Center for Biodiversity, Champaign, Illinois, USA 61820, email cummings@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu

Kevin S. Cummings is also compiling a list of mollusc research collections and would like to expand the list, particularly adding collections outside of the United States. The list can be found in the Mollusca archive (see above). Email him with additions and corrections. He hopes to have the list running as a searchable database on the Illinois Natural History Survey Web Page soon.

The Cephalopod Page has moved to http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/wood.html and is now mirrored in Europe at http://www.vol.it/mirror/cefalopodi/www.html. It contains basic information on cephalopods, a taxonomic breakdown with pictures and example species, infomation on keeping cephalopods in aquaria, and cephalopod related links, mailservers, and databases. Maintained by James B. Wood, Dalhousie University, wood@is.dal.ca

Shellfish, http://www.shellfish.org. Like the international shellfish listserver, the Shellfish Web Site is run by the National Shellfisheries Association. It provides information about the Association, jobs, and related marine-related listservers, and shellfisheries resources on the Web. This is a great page, featuring lots of interesting links. Webmaster Dr. Scott Siddall, email siddall@kenyon.edu.

Scaphopod Page http://www.hamilton.edu/html/Academic/bio/preynolds/scaphopoda/. The most noteworthy feature of the page at the moment is the "Scaphopod Bibliographic Database" that is searchable by character string and currently holds over 1200 references. Organised by Patrick D. Reynolds, Biology Department, Hamilton College, 198 College Hill Rd., Clinton, N.Y. 13323, USA.

Conch-net, created by the Lambis Group of the Conchologists of America, Inc., called COA, opened in mid June and provides current and relevant information for conchologists and malacologists. Address: http://coa.acnatsci.org/conchnet/. It includes a conservation page, news of new species, and information on malacological grants for students, etc. Hosted by the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

Some additional home pages announced recently:-

Hawaiian Shell News (HSN) home page. http://www.hits.net/~hsn.

Western Society of Malacologists home page. http://www.users.cts.com/crash/t/tarnold/WSMPage.html.

Malacological Society of Australasia Inc. home page (accessible, but still in preparation). http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/CRRI/PUBLICATIONS/MSA/MSA.html

President:

Dr Rüdiger Bieler, Centre for Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.

Phone 312 922 9410 (extn 270), fax 312 663 5397, email bieler@fmnh.org.

Secretary:

Prof. Edmund Gittenberger. Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Postbus 9517, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. Phone 31 71 5162614; fax 31 71 5133344, email egitten@compedi.pm.cs.vu.nl.

Treasurer:

Dr. Jackie Van Goethem. Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. Phone 32 2 627 4343, fax 32 2 646 4433, email vangoethemj@kbinirsnb.be.

Retired President:

Dr. Angel Guerra. CSIC Inst. de Investigaciones Marinas, Eduardo Cabello 6, E-36 208 Vigo, Spain.

Phone 34 86 292758; fax 34 86 292762.

Members of Council:

Prof. Klaus Bandel. Geologisch-Palaontologisches Institut und Museum, Bundesstrasse 55, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany. Phone 49 40 4123 5080, fax 49 40 4123 5270, email adam@geomat.math.uni-hamburg.de.

Dr Yuri Kantor. A.N. Severtzov Institute of Animal Evolutionary Morphology and Ecology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Lenin Ave. 33, Moscow 117071, Russia. Phone 7 95 124 7950, fax 7 95 954 5534, email yuri@invert.sevin.msk.ru.

Dr. Beata M. Pokryszko. Museum of Natural History, Wroclaw University, Sienkiewicza 21, PL-50-335 Wroclaw, Poland. Fax 48 71 22 28 17.

Dr. Winston F.Ponder. Australian Museum, 6 College Str., Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.

Phone 61 2 3206120, fax 61 2 320 6050, email wponder@extro.ucc.su.oz.au winstonp@amsg.austmus.oz.au.

Dr John D. Taylor. Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.

Phone 44 171 938 9359, fax 44 171 938 8754, email j.taylor@nhm.ac.uk.

Current annual subscription to Unitas Malacologica is Swiss francs 25. Account no.: 10-941,085.0, Swiss Bank Corporation, CH-4002 Basel. Visa, Eurocard and Mastercard are accepted as are all other kinds of payment mentioned in previous newsletters: international postal money order, payment by eurocheque or personal cheque, by bank draft or even by sending cash. Only in this latter case is a receipt sent unless requested.

Application for membership can be made by writing to (or faxing) the Secretary (Prof. E. Gittenberger) or the Treasurer, Dr J. Van Goethem (address above).

If your address label is incorrect, do not tell the editor but please inform the Treasurer.