The definitive resource on the biology and evolution of freshwater mollusks. There are more species of freshwater mollusks—well over 5,000—than all the mammal species of the world. Freshwater mollusks are also arguably the most endangered fauna on the planet. Yet few references exist for researchers, shell enthusiasts, and general readers who are interested in learning more about these fascinating creatures. In Freshwater Mollusks of the World, Charles Lydeard and Kevin S. Cummings fill that void with contributions from dozens of renowned mollusk experts. Touching on 34 families of freshwater gastropods (snails) and 9 families of freshwater bivalves (mussels and clams), each chapter provides a synthesis of the latest research on the diversity and evolutionary relationships of the family. The book also includes • a look at how evolving DNA sequencing data techniques help shed light on mollusk taxonomy • distribution maps of each family's biogeographic locales • a representative photo and distribution map for each of the freshwater mollusk families • the latest information on each family's conservation status—and how to reverse the habitat destruction, modification, and pollution that threatens it • a discussion of the ecological and economic damages caused by invasive mollusk species, as well as their role as disease vectors Mollusks provide us with amazing biogeographical insights: their ancient fossil record goes back over 500 million years, and their distribution patterns are a reflection of past continental and climate changes. The only comprehensive summary of systematic and biodiversity information on freshwater mollusk families throughout the world, this reference is a must for malacologists, limnologists, ichthyologists, stream ecologists, biogeographers, and conservation biologists. Contributors: Christian Albrecht, Rüdiger Bieler, Bert Van Bocxlaer, David C. Campbell, Stephanie A. Clark, Catharina Clewing, Robert H. Cowie, Kevin S. Cummings, Diana Delicado, Hiroshi Fukuda, Hiroaki Fukumori, Matthias Glaubrecht, Daniel L. Graf, Diego E. Gutiérrez Gregoric, Kenneth A. Hayes, Yasunori Kano, Taehwan Lee, Charles Lydeard, Nathaniel T. Marshall, Paula M. Mikkelsen, Marco T. Neiber, Timea P. Neusser, Winston Ponder, Michael Schrödl, Alena A. Shirokaya, Björn Stelbrink, Carol A. Stepien, Ellen E. Strong, Maxim V. Vinarski, Amy R. Wethington, Thomas Wilke

Vinarski, Amy R. Wethington, Thomas Wilke

Species. Freshwater mussels are the most rapidly declining group of animals in North America. This guide represents a first-ofits-kind reference to assist both biologists and naturalists in the identification and study of freshwater mussels. Freshwater Mussels of Texas contains 224 pages with 226 black and white photographs, 144 color photographs and 79 line drawings covering all 52 species found in Texas waters. Introductory sections cover basic anatomy, reproduction.

Mollusks have been important to humans since our earliest days. Initially, when humans were primarily interested in what they could eat or use, mollusks were important as food, ornaments, and materials for tools. Over the centuries, as human knowledge branched out and individuals started to study the world around them, mollusks were important subjects for learning how things worked. In this volume, the editors and contributors have brought together a broad range of topics within the field of malacology. It is our expectation that these topics will be of interest and use to amateur and professional malacologists.

"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee . . . is indispensable to anyone, anywhere, working on this group. Parmalee and Bogan have written a work that sets the standard for future regional guides."--G. Thomas Watters, Ohio Biological Survey "The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee documents a tremendously diverse and unique mussel fauna that is rapidly being destroyed by modern development. Parmalee and Bogan set a new standard for state mussel surveys in their authoritative, thorough, and and highly readable account. The book will be of interest to biologists and conservationists worldwide and will appeal to anyone who cares about the preservation of natural resources in the southeastern United States."--Robert E. Warren, Illinois State Museum With more than 150 species and subspecies recorded in the state, Tennessee has one of the most diverse freshwater mussel faunas in North America. Valuable as indicators of water quality, these mollusks have themselves become threatened as development encroaches on habitat--twenty-three are currently listed as endangered species and at least twelve have become extinct. This is the first book for Tennessee to deal with this biologically and commercially significant group of mollusks. Its authors have been studying and writing about the mussels of Tennessee for more than twenty years and have undertaken a systematic organization of a large and complex body of information to bring order to a difficult field. The book traces the long history of human exploitation of mussels, from aboriginal food gathering to the growth of the cultured pearl industry. It provides an interpretive context for its exhaustive species accounts with background material on biology, distribution, economic utilization, taxonomy, and conservation issues. The authors also review the life cycle of the mussel and describe its many remarkable traits, such as its shell formation and the strategies it employs during the larval stage in parasitizing fish. The species accounts comprise 128 members of Family Unionidae--from pigtoes and pocketbooks to lilliputs and spikes--plus four additional species. The authors cover classification and synonymy, range and distribution, life history and ecology, and survival status. Particular attention is paid to shell description and structure to assist the reader in identification. Each species account includes a distribution map and color photos of two specimens. The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee is a major reference that encompasses historical and modern mussel collections and draws on conservation studies that span two centuries. It will stand as an authoritative guide to understanding Tennessee mollusks and as a benchmark in the study of these species worldwide. The Authors: Paul W. Parmalee is professor emeritus of zooarchaeology and director emeritus of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Arthur E. Bogan is curator of aquatic invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.

Synthesizes the ecology and natural history of North American freshwater mussels for scientists, natural resource professionals, students and natural history enthusiasts.

Abbie Gascho Landis brings readers to a hotbed of mussel diversity, the American Southeast, to seek mussels where they eat, procreate, and, too often, perish. Accompanied often by her husband, a mussel scientist, and her young children, she learned to see mussels on the creekbed, to tell a spectaclecase from a pigtoe, and to worry what vanishing mussels--70 percent of North American species are imperiled--will mean for humans and wildlife alike. Landis shares this journey, traveling from perilous river surveys to dry streambeds and into laboratories where endangered mussels are raised one precious life at a time. Mussels have much to teach us about the health of our watersheds if we step into the creek and take a closer look at their lives. In the tradition of writers like Terry Tempest Williams and Sy Montgomery, Landis gracefully chronicles these untold stories with a veterinarian's careful eye and the curiosity of a naturalist.--

Pearly mussels (Unionoidea) live in lakes, rivers, and streams around the world. These bivalves play important roles in freshwater ecosystems and were once both culturally and economically valuable as sources of food, pearls, and mother-of-pearl. Today, however, hundreds of species of these mussels are extinct or endangered. David L. Strayer provides a critical synthesis of the factors that control the distribution and abundance of pearly mussels. Using empirical analyses and models, he assesses the effects of dispersal, habitat quality, availability of fish hosts, adequate food, predators, and parasites. He also addresses conservation issues that apply to other inhabitants of fresh waters around the globe and other pressing issues in contemporary ecology.

The Ecology of Freshwater Molluscs By Robert T. Dillon