Australia's native land snails are an often-overlooked invertebrate group that forms a significant part of terrestrial biodiversity, with an estimated 2500 species present in Australia today.
A Guide to Land Snails of Australia is an overview of Australia's native and introduced land snail faunas, offering a greater understanding of their role in the natural environment. The book presents clear diagnostic features of live snails and their shells, and is richly illustrated with a broad range of Australia's native snail, semi-slug and slug species. Comprehensive coverage is also included of the many exotic species introduced to Australia.
In a unique bioregional approach, the reader is taken on a trek through some of Australia's spectacular regional landscapes, highlighting their endemic and special snail faunas. This section is supplemented with key localities where species can be found.
Features:- Profiles and provides diagnostic features for the 27 native Australian land snail families
- Includes information on the 47 introduced species and their families
- Highlights more than 160 of Australia’s most iconic species with photographs of selected live snails
- Provides a pictorial guide to the common shell shapes of families to assist with identification
- Takes a bioregional approach to snail identification, outlining key localities where species can be found
- Includes tips on how, when, and where to collect Australian land snails.
Arvustused
"This guide presents an overview of both native and introduced snail species around the country, offering a greater understanding of their role in our natural environment. Its packed with information, beautiful photographs and diagrams, which include detailed features of snails and their shells. It also lists a broad range of Australias native snail, semi-slug and slug species, plus many of the large number of introduced exotic species." * Gardening Australia magazine * "Overall, this book is richly illustrated throughout, well presented and is an excellent first introduction to Native Australian Landsnails." -- Ben Schneider * Western Australian Naturalists Club *
Acknowledgements
Preface: A snail whisperer's odyssey
Introduction
1: The discovery and study of Australias native land snails
2: Land snail form and function
3: Land snail behaviour
4: Snails in the environment
5: Identification of land snails
6: Australian native land snail families
7: Snails introduced to Australia
8: Regional land snail faunas
9: Collecting land snails
10: Human uses of land snails
Appendix: Classification of Australia's land snails
Glossary
References
Further reading
Index
Dr John Stanisic, OAM, is Australia's foremost authority on land snails. An Honorary Research Fellow at the Queensland Museum, John has described more than 400 new species.
Darryl Potter, MEnvSc, is Biodiversity Collection Manager (Mollusca) at the Queensland Museum. His major interests are in terrestrial and marine gastropods of Australia.
Lorelle Stanisic, MPhil, BEd, is an Honorary Researcher at the Queensland Museum. She has completed a master's degree on the charopid land snails of mid-eastern Queensland.
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