Author | Tebble, N. |
Year | 1966 |
Title | British Bivalve Seashells |
Type | Book/Report |
How Complete | All the British species known at the time |
Source | 212pp, British Museum (Natural History) |
Illustrations | Line drawings and 12 plates of colour and half-tone photographs |
Review (by Malcolm Storey) | A handy guide to bivalve sea shells. Keys to 23 superfamiles, each with a key to species. Species accounts describe the shells and its ecology and distribution. |
Errata, Corrigenda & Comments | The rules given for orientating the shell (p.4) are confusing - (hold) "with the beaks and umbones uppermost" - this means with the outside of the shell uppermost. |
Examine | in the Hand ( with x8 or x10 hand lens is also useful) |
Specimen Preparation | Dead shells, ideally with both halves. Sometimes the live animal is also needed. |
Identification difficulty | Many species easy, but some are surprisingly difficult. Identification often relies on faint muscle scars or the structure and arrangement of small teeth near the hinge. These latter differ between left and right valves. Even working out which end is anterior or posterior or whether a single shell is left or right valve and is far from easy. Washed up shells may be worn which adds another complication. |
Notes & Purpose | Status | Taxon | English | Classification |
---|---|---|---|---|
For identification | Current | BIVALVIA | bivalves | Animalia |
Unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material on the BioInfo website by Malcolm Storey is licensed under the above Creative Commons Licence.