best literature for identifying shells

[shell_neuling]

hi!

i`m new to shell collecting.

which good books do you know for identifying shells?
or online encyclopedia?

thanks for help

[david_touitou]

Hi,

usually if you are looking for any shell (all families), try The Compendium Of Seashells (latest version) which will show many species. If you are interested in a particular family, then specialized books exists.

sincerely,
DAvid

[Marlo9]

For an online resource for Florida/Caribbean try:

http://s14.invisionfree.com/Conchologist...p?act=site

Review the Species Index

[dave r]

gastropods.com is the best for Gastropods, but there are very many other websites which cover those and others. Find a decent Mollusc website and look at the 'links' page, there are usually plenty there for everyone!

[paul monfils]

Poppe's online Shell Encyclopedia is very useful, if you have an idea what family your specimen belongs to:

http://www.conchology.be/?t=64
.

[dave r]

Sadly Poppe sometimes gets it wrong so I would not rely too much on his identification.

[jejushells]

Gastropods.com (Eddie Hardy's site) is a good online indentification reference. The Compendium of Seashells is also a good resource.

You will need to use the correct names, if possible. For this, I would recommend WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species) and Markus Huber's book "Compendium of Bivalves", although it is rather expensive.

[mdmshellbooks]

Hi,
The best books for quick identification of worldwide shells are the two volumes, "Encyclopedia of Marine Gastropods" and "Encyclopedia of Marine Bivalves" (they can be purchased separately) and in the first show 5500 species and in the second volume 2000 species. The "Compendium" shows about 5200 species. The "Encyclopedias" are the best selling books on my website mdmshellbooks.com and while the identifications are not all perfect they are usually correct and unlike the "Compendium" the photos are sharp and large in size.
Bob