Malacology

Miscellaneous gastropods A.Cassis madagascarensis (Cassididae), B.Charonia variega (Cymatiidae), C.Chicoreus brevifrons (Muricidae) D.Tonna galea (Tonnidae), E.Nerita pelotonta (Neritidae), F. Tonna maculosa (Tonnidae), G.Turbinella angulata (Turbinellidae), H.Turritella variega (Turritellidae), I.Vasun muricatum (Turbinellidae).

Miscellaneous Bivalvos A. Codakia orbicularis (Lucinidae), B. Donax denticulatus (Donacidae), C. Donax striatus (Donacidae). D. Lyropecten nodosus (Pectinidae).

malacology (Greek μαλακός, "soft" and -λογία, "treated") is the branch of zoology in charge of the study of mollusks, the second phylum with the largest number of described species. A division of malacology, conchology, is responsible for the study of shelled mollusks. Research fields of malacology include taxonomy, ecology, paleontology, and evolution. Knowledge of malacology is used in medical, veterinary and agricultural applications.

Malacology contributes to the knowledge and study of biodiversity, through inventories of mollusk specimens and their study.

Knowledge of mollusks can be used in environmental impact assessments, since they are good bioindicators of the physical, chemical and biological conditions of the environment. This characteristic, that is, the sensitivity of mollusks to changes in the habitat, facilitates the detection of factors that disrupt the balance in the ecosystem.

In archeology, malacology is commonly used to determine changes in the climate, landscape or natural history of a site, since the vast majority of mollusks can fossilize by having calcareous shells.

Malacology is also associated with the study of various phenomena of symbiosis and parasitism, since many shellfish and fish used for human consumption can be hosts or vectors for other organisms. Mollusks can act as intermediate hosts for human pathogens of diseases such as schistosomiasis angiostrongyliasis meningoencephalica, or paragonimiasis westermani

Some molluscs (land snails, mussels and clams) have also been used locally for their biointegration quality, thus allowing the evaluation of environmental contamination by heavy metals.^{[citation needed]}

Society

• Asociación Argentina de Malacología (ASAM)
• Association of Polish Malacologists (Stowarzyszenie Malakologów Polskich)
• Associazione Malacologica Internazionale (International Malacological Association)
• Conquiliologists of America (Conchologists of America)
• European Quaternary Malacologists
• American Society of Malacology (American Malacological Society)
• Sociedad Malacologica Alemana (Deutsche Malakozoologische Gesellschaft)
• Malacological Society of Australasia (Malacological Society of Australasia)
• Sociedad Belga de Conquilogía (Belgische Vereniging voor Conchyliologie)
• Belgian Society of Malacology (Société Belge de Malacologie)
• Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society
• Society of Great Britain and Irish Conquilogia (Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland)
• Sociedad Española de Malacología
• Estonian Society of Malacology (Eesti Malakoloogia Ühing)
• Dutch Society of Malacology (Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging)
• Italian Society of Malacology (Società Italiana di Malacologia)
• Sociedad Malacologica de Las Philippines Inc. (Malacological Society of the Philippines, Inc.)
• London Malacological Society (Malacological Society of London)
• Sociedad Malacológica de Uruguay
• Sociedad Malacológica de México
• Western Society of Malacologists (Western Society of Malacologists)
• Sociedad Venezolana de Malacología (SOVEMA)

Specialized magazines

Bivalvia: Placopecten magellanicus

Cephalopoda: Nautilus

Scaphopoda: Antalis vulgaris

• American Journal of Conchology (1865-1872)
• American Malacological Bulletin
• Archiv für Molluskenkunde (in German)
• Argonauta, edited by the Associazione Malacologica Internazionale (in Italian and English)
• Avicennia (in any modern language with an English summary, more than 200 new species of Atlantic molluscs described).
• Basttery
• Bulletin of Russian Far East Malacological Society
• Communications from the Malacological Society of Uruguay (in Spanish, Portuguese and English)
• Festivus
• Fish " Shellfish Immunology (in Spanish, Fish and Moluscos immunology)
• Folia Conchyliologica
• Folia Malacologica (in English, Malacological Sheet)
• Heldia♪ Iberus (in Spanish, Revista de la Sociedad Española de Malacología)
• Johnsonia
• Journal de Conchyliologie
• Journal of Conchology
• Journal of Medical and Applied Malacology (in English)
• Journal of Molluscan Studies
• Malacologia
• Malacologica Bohemoslovaca (in English and Czech)
• Malacological Review
• Mollusca (in English)
• Molluscan Research
• Occasional Papers on Mollusks
• Ruthenica (in Russian and English)
• Strombus
• Tentacle
• The Nautilus
• The Veliger
• Venus
• Vita Marina (in Spanish, Life Marina)
• Voluta (in Spanish, edited by the Venezuelan Society of Malacology)
• Zeitschrift für Malakozoologie (1844-1853) (1854-1878)

Malacologists

A malacologist is someone who studies molluscs. Shell scholars are called conchologists.

Museums

Museums that have malacological collections

United States

• Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum Sanibel, Florida – United States presents an interesting collection of marine and terrestrial shellfish from Florida
• Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
• American Museum of Natural History
• Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard
• Maria Mitchell Association
• Smithsonian Institution

Spain

• Cau del Cargol San Ginés de Vilasar, Catalonia – Spain private museum the collection includes 16000 shells of the worlds of environments, marine, fresh and terrestrial water.
• Museum of Natural Sciences of Valencia with an interesting Malacological collection of shells of mollusks, which represent the malacological fauna of the Valencian Community.

Argentina

• Museo del Mar Located in Mar de Plata - Argentina and inaugurated on 22 September 2000 it has a collection of 30,000 snail specimens.

Azerbaijan

• Rinay Baku - Azerbaijan private museum featuring an exhibition of 5000 bivalves from around the world

Belgium

• Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Brussels- Belgium with a collection of shells of more than 9 million (mainly from the collection of Felipe Dautzenberg), which belongs to the three largest collections in the world.

Further reading

• Cox L. R. & Peake J. F. (eds.). Proceedings of the First European Malacological Congress. September 17–21, 1962. Text in English with black-and-white photographic reproductions, also maps and diagrams. Published by the Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the Malacological Society of London.
• Götting, K.: Malakozoologie. Grundriss der Weichtierkunde. G. Fischer, Stuttgart 1974
• Heppel, D. 1995. "The long dawn of malacology: a brief history of malacology from prehistory to the year 1800." Archives of Natural History (in Spanish, "The long dawn of malacology: a brief history of malacology from prehistory to the year 1800") 22 (3): 301–319
• Mizzaro-Wimmer, Maria. Luitfried Salvini-Plawen, Hans Kothbauer, Ferdinand Starmühlner: Praktische Malakologie: Beiträge zur vergleichend-anatomischen Bearbeitung der Mollusken: Caudofoveata bis Gastropoda-"Streptoneura". Springer, Wien / New York 2001, ISBN 3-211-83652-7.
• Welter-Schultes, Francisco W. Die Landschnecken der griechischen Insel Gávdos, der südlichsten Insel Europas. In: Schriften zur Malakozoologie aus dem Haus der Natur - CismarHaus der Natur Cismar, Grömitz 1998 (hne ISBN, zugleich Diplomarbeit an der Universität Göttingen 1998). - Das Haus der Natur Cismar verfügt über die größte Sammlung von Schnecken und Muscheln in Deutschland, im Haus der Natur Cismar sind etwa 4,000 verschiedene Molluskenarten ausgestellt.