THE MAGAzINE OF THE CONCHOLOGICAL SOCIETy OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND32
ISSN 1740-1070
contents2
Society informationSociety website
3Letter from your president
Bas PayneSkye news
Jan Light
4Field meeting
Shell gravel from the River LoddenJanet Ridout Sharpe
5Snailing in Georgia
Robert Cameron, Beata Pokryszko, Levan Mumladze
8Society activities in 2008
Rosemary Hill
11Hon. Conservation Officer’s
Report 2008 Martin Willing
Book reviewChannel Island Marine Molluscs
by Paul ChambersJan Light
12Pearls: a quilting exhibition
Caren Topley
16Childrens book review
Snails Don’t Burp & Snail Park by Sarah Lucas
Jane Bonney
17New research on snail slime
Peter Topley
18Field meeting to Sandford Mill
Ron Boyce
20Launch of the new book
Land and PeopleMike Allen
21Hygromia cinctella
Terry Wimbleton
23Snails & slugs & churchyards
Peter Topley
25The snail in the amphitheatre
Janet Ridout Sharpe
26Hygromia cinctella. Still on the move.
David Harfield & Adrian Brokenshire
27Sea shells at the
end of the UniverseA.S. Naylor
28Love darts of Common Garden
SnailsJune Chatfield
29Out Skerries shell sand
Christine Street
30Shell sand workshop
Christine Street, Bas Payne, Jan Light
31Diary
on how shells spread. Some families presenton Lord Howe Island show high diversity andshare many species with the Queenslandcoast, the Barrier Reef and New Caledonia.These clearly have no problem colonisingdistant islands provided suitable habitats areavailable. Others, however, show much lowerdiversity, and many of the species in thesefamilies are found nowhere else. Thesefamilies are presumably less good atcolonising distant islands, probably becausetheir larvae settle more rapidly.
FIELD - Wednesday 8 September - Sunday 11 September 2010 [provisional]
Isles of ScillyMarine meeting. Joint meeting with thePorcupine Marine Natural History SocietyCo-ordination and contact for details: Andy Mackie <[email protected]>
This is advance information on a proposedjoint meeting with Porcupine in the Scillies.The entire meeting is expected to run from
Monday 6 September until Monday 13September, but the best tides for shore workare 8 - 11 September.
Accommodation on the Scillies in very shortsupply, so if you are planning to attend thismeeting, early booking of youraccommodation is vital.
The Malocological Society of LondonMolluscan ForumThursday 12 November 2009, 10.00am -6.30pm, Natural History Museum, LondonAn annual meeting designed to bring togetherpeople starting their research on molluscs, togive them the opportunity to present anddiscuss their work and to compare notes onmethods and problems.For further details contact: Prof. Mark Davies,Fleming Building, University of Sunderland,Sunderland, SR1 3SD, UK. Telephone UK(44) + 191 515 [email protected]
Product group from well-managedforests and other controlled sources
BOOKSELLER’S ADVERTISEMENTI buy, sell & exchange new, secondhand & antiquarian items (books,periodicals & reprints/offprints/separates) on recent & fossil Mollusca.Large stock, with new material coming in on a regular basis, representinga wide variety of subjects, periods, authors & prices. Regular e-mail-listsavailable, offering the most recent new publications. Website: http://www.xs4all.nl/~anvdbijl/welcome.html Contact: A.N. van der Bijl, Burgemeester van Bruggenstraat 41, 1165 NVHalfweg, The Netherlands, [email protected]
Fo r Sa l eA collection of tropical shells (5,500+ specimens)
Most families represented and most areas represented. Particularly strongon Sri Lankan shells, where the owner formerly lived.
(3 Harpulina arausiaca, c.10 Marginella brinkae, c10 M.verrauxi, 4 Conus abbas etc.) though all beach collected and
condition corresponding. Incorporates large ‘old’ collection (c1890 - 1920)with many smaller species and numerous multiples (e.g. 8 Oliva
porphyraia). All largely unidentified and without data. Also incorporatessmaller collection of tropical landshells - 2spp Madagascan Helicophanta, 20 Polymita picta etc. To include 3 wooden cabinets and library c.10 shell
books. Price negotiable.
For further information contact:Ms L. Mulrenan, 25 Eleanor Close, Woburn, Milton Keynes, MK17 9QU. 01525 290049.
Mollusc iss 21 visual 1:visual 09/10/2009 10:20 Page 1
Mollusc WorldThis magazine is intended as a medium for communicationbetween members on all aspects of Molluscs fromarchaeology to life in the sea, field collecting at home andabroad and even eating molluscs. If you look back on thecontent over the last three years we include articles, fieldmeeting reports, research news, results from the mappingschemes and identification keys. We welcome allcontributions in whatever form they arrive.
How to submit articles:
Copy (handwritten, typed or electronic) should be sent to theEditor at the address below. If sending electronic copy usinge-mail please include a subject line “Mollusc Worldsubmission”. When emailing several large file attachments,such as photos, please divide your submission up intoseperate emails referencing the original article to ensurereceipt. Electronic submission is preferred in Microsoft Word,but if other programmes (e.g. Works) are used, pleaseindicate the programme used with the accompanying e-mail.
Images and Artwork may be digitised, but we recommendthat a digital image size no larger than 8” x 6” and 300 dpi besent with your submission. For line art we recommend thatyou send hard copy, all originals will be treated with care andreturned by “snail-mail”.
Please send articles to:
Peter Topley, c/o The Hon. General Secretary, Miss R.E. Hill
The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland is oneof the oldest societies devoted to the study of Molluscs. Itwas founded in 1876 and has over 300 members worldwide.
Members receive two publications Journal of Conchology whichspecialises in Molluscan Biogeography, Taxonomy andConservation and Mollusc World, our newsletter for members.New members are always welcome to attend field meetingsand indoor meetings before joining.
How to become a member
Subscriptions are payable in January each year, and run forthe period 1st January to 31st December.
Ordinary membership £33.00
Family/Joint membership £35.00
Institutional membership (UK & Ireland) £47.00
Institutional membership (Overseas) £50.00
Student membership £15.00
Payments in sterling only, to membership secretary at addressbelow. For UK residents we suggest payment by standingorder, and if a UK tax payer, please sign a short statementindicating that you wish the subscription to be treated as GiftAid. It is no longer necessary to sign a formal declaration.
Another simple and secure way of paying for both UK andoverseas members is by credit card online via PayPal fromhttp://www.conchsoc.org/storefront/seesubs.php Overseasmembers may also pay using Western Union, but a namedperson has to be nominated, so please use the HonTreasurer’s name, Pryce Buckle.
In the old film version of Dr Doolittle,Rex Harrison says ‘the point of thejourney is science and finding thesnail’! In this issue there are severalarticles about journeys with just such
an aim; although the molluscs foundwere perhaps anything but giant andpink! Yet real life often turns out to bemore fascinating than legend. Areport in this issue of an expedition torecord landsnails in the republic ofGeorgia explores a habitat that hadremained stable for many thousandsof years only to be threatened by themachine of war. The spread of thealien snail Hygromia cinctella in theUK continues to feature again inseveral contributions. After a summerwhen many members will, no doubt,have been on holiday or working inthe field, there must have been manyexperiences and discoveries to inspiresome future contributions to MolluscWorld. Looking forward, the March2010 issue promises to be of greatinterest with some articles focusing
on the recent Conchological Societyfield trip to Skye which will highlightthe huge diversity of our often hiddenmarine fauna whose habitats anddiversity are in many cases comingunder ever increasing threat; howevercontributions on any mollusc relatedsubject are always welcome and thecopy deadline for the March 2010issue is January 31st 2010. Please alsocontinue to send me any comments(both positive and negative) you mayhave about the magazine to helpbuild an exciting and informativepublication for the Society.
Peter Topley
3
Dear all,
I hope you have had a good summer, with plenty of shell-hunting and good finds.
I enjoyed my first non-marine field meeting in June, toCrab and West Woods in western Hampshire. A largegroup, led by June Chatfield, and a lot of fun – includingmy first live Helicodonta obvoluta. [a report on this meetingwill appear in Mollusc World Issue 22 – Ed.]. We had agreat time as well on the marine meeting on Skye inSeptember, organised by Celia Pain, about which moreelsewhere in Mollusc World. A holiday on Euboea incentral Greece in August (too hot…!) also produced lots ofshells and considerable problems with identification, whichI’m still struggling with. If anyone is interested in particularfamilies, please let me know – I could use the help!
Away from the field, Conch. Soc. is making progress onvarious fronts. Peter Topley has taken over as editor ofMollusc World, and MW continues from strength tostrength; J Conch also has a new editor, Roy Anderson,and you may already have received his first number by thetime you are reading this. I am hoping that CS can publishfield identification leaflets in collaboration with Fred Naggsat the Natural History Museum; our funding application toOPAL was unsuccessful, but we are talking to theMalacological Society about taking this forward as a jointproject. Developing recording forms that can be
downloaded from thewebsite, sent in by e-mailand uploaded into thedatabase without needingmanual re-entering, is acurrent initiative for whichwe are grateful to WilliamPenrice. Another priority isto keep the website goingfrom strength to strength.and, in particular, to buildup the Encyclopedia; we are enormously grateful to SteveWilkinson and Pryce Buckle for their hard work on this.
The Conchological Society has also been contributing towider initatives over the summer, including MarLIN’sStrandlines project, and the Linnean Society’sdeliberations on the national systematic strategy.
We have a splendid programme of lectures over thewinter; I look forward to seeing those of you who canmanage to come to them.
Very best wishes,
Bas
Figure: Bas looking for bivalves in lower shore sediments at TheBraes, Skye (photo: Peter Topley)
Disco Doris was found to bepartying it up at Ardmore on Skyelast week. Sporting a star-studdedmantle, its ‘acid’ habit is wellknown…………
Now placed within the genusGeitodoris, the former Discodorisplanata is an uncommon northerndorid which may reach 65mm inlength. It is often confused with itsubiquitous relative Archidorispseudoargus, commonly known asthe Sea Lemon. G. planata can bedistinguished from A. pseudoargusby the light coloured stellatepatterns on the mantle (the acidglands), and also by the moreflattened shape. The colourationusually shows a brown or purpledominance. The underside of theanimal is also important with
Geitodoris having brown spots onthe mantle, and conspicous oraltentacles, both characters lacking inA. pseudoargus. There is a widerange of colour in the latter species,ranging through yellow, orange,brown, pink, green and whitepigments. In living animals there isalso a difference in texture,Geitodoris being crisper, harder andflatter. Another species that mightbe confused is Jorunna tomentosa.This species is characterised by thevelvety appearance of the mantlewhich is often very pale (with pairedbrown blotches running down thedorsum) – very different from thewarty surface of Geitodoris.
There is much more Skye News tocome in the next issue of MolluscWorld….
Skye News: Doris reveals all asNudibranch of the Week Jan Light
l etter from your President Bas Payne
Geitodoris planata (Photo: Steve Wilkinson)
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Here in Britain, as across northern Europe generally, theslugs and snails we find today are those that were ableto move north as the ice sheets of the last glaciationretreated and the climate got warmer. We have a snailfauna with relatively few species at national level, though
individual sites can be very rich. Most have very largegeographical ranges. Further south, and especially roundthe Mediterranean, far more species were able to survivethrough glaciations and other climate changes. There aremany species with very limited ranges (“restrictedendemics” in the language of biogeographers), so thatthe faunas of countries like Greece, Spain and Italy arefar richer than ours.
This richness, and the presence of lots of rare andrestricted species is attributed to the existence of“Pleistocene refugia”. This works very well for species ofopen country, but although forest species feature too, theMediterranean area seems not to have supported largeareas of forest, because it was too dry. The one placewhich stayed wet and warm enough to support largeareas of deciduous forest throughout the Pleistocene iceages seems to be the Caucasus. So the snail faunas inforests there should tell us how things develop in an areawhich has been stable for millions rather than tens ofthousands of years.
Two of us (Beata and Robert) have been studying forestsnail faunas around the world for several years. Levan(as far as we know, the only mollusc enthusiast inGeorgia) was studying variation among populations ofHelix species in Georgia. (Figure 1). We managed toarrange a collaborative project to look at forest faunas inthe Lesser and Greater Caucasus in the summer of2008, backed enthusiastically by the Dean of Biology at
In places, along the stretches of theRiver Loddon examined during thefield meeting on 11 July, the river bedwas seen to consist of patches of finegravel intermixed with dead shells. Asmall sample of this shelly gravel wastaken close to the river bank, about100 m upstream from Black Bridge onSandford Lane at SU 77984 72898(with thanks to Tom Walker for thegrid reference and loan of his shellscoop), and examined for its shellcontent.
As with a shell assemblage takenfrom an archaeological deposit, suchas the bottom of a prehistoricdrainage ditch, the speciesrepresented in the sample as deadshells might be expected to representother habitats than the gravel itself.This accumulation of species occursthrough the processes of taphonomy.This term is used to describe all thedifferent factors that act on deadshells to produce the actual collectionof shells that we see. For example,dead molluscs could have fallen offadjacent aquatic weeds, empty shellscould have been swept in by thecurrent from elsewhere in the riversystem, shells could have beenredistributed by flooding, and landsnails could have fallen in from theriver bank, all over an indeterminateperiod of time. And this, in fact,appears to have been the case withthe sample in hand.
This small sample from the river bedcontained the remains of at least 681individual molluscs (the number ofvalves being divided by two toproduce a Minimum Number ofIndividuals (MNI) of bivalves – theactual number, of course, since thevalves do not necessarily makematching pairs, is likely to be muchhigher). The overall MNI of 681 shellscomprised 30 species (Table 1).
Most of the gastropods wererepresented by dead shells and mostof these again were opaque andchalky with age: some may have beenin the assemblage for a relatively longtime and might even representspecies that do not live in the vicinitytoday. For example, Acroloxus lacustriswas not recorded live anywhere onthis occasion or on the previous visitto the Loddon almost exactly one yearbefore. A few small Theodoxusfluviatilis and some adult Bithyniatentaculata were collected live,indicating that the gravel could formpart of their natural habitat; the othergastropods were probably washed infrom elsewhere, most obviously thefour land snails. It is noteworthy thatthe majority of specimens were deadjuveniles, their light shells beingeasily transported through the water.Species with the highest proportion oflive-collected shells were the smallbivalves. Out of an MNI of 192Sphaerium corneum, 72 (37.5%) wererepresented by joined valves. Asimilar proportion of Pisidium spp.and three of the four Musculiumlacustre were also complete shellswhich were either live or recentlydead on collection. These bivalvesappear to have successfully colonisedthe river gravel.
Numerically, Sphaerium corneum andPisidium spp. comprised 54.62% of thetotal number of individuals. The nextmost frequent species was Bithyniatentaculata (10.87%), followed byBithynia leachii (6.61%), Potamopyrgusantipodarum (6.31%) and Theodoxusfluviatilis and Ancylus fluviatilis (bothat 4.11%). This small sample clearlydemonstrates that river gravel can beextremely prolific in terms of shellmaterial. These samples can be easilycollected and used to assess speciesrichness and diversity – with theprovisos that the assemblages will be
biased by their taphonomy and thatthe dead shells of yesterday may notnecessarily represent the living shellsof today.
Table 1: Species recorded from theRiver Loddon gravel.
*Owing to their large number and thepresence of juveniles, no attempt was madeto identify all the pisidia to species level.However, six species were identified, ofwhich the most frequent appeared to bePisidium subtruncatum and Pisidiumcasertanum, followed by Pisidiumhenslowanum, Pisidium milium, Pisidiumamnicum and Pisidium nitidum.
Shell gravel from the River LoddonJanet Ridout Sharpe
l and snailsDiscus rotundatus 1 0.15Vitrea crystallina 1 0.15Trichia hispida 3 0.44Cepaea sp. (fragment) 1 0.15
Total 681 100.00
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Ilia Chavchavadze University, Tbilisi, David Tarknishvili. Inthree weeks, we sampled 30 forest sites, from Batumi onthe Black Sea coast through to the magnificent naturereserve of Lagodekhi near the border with Azerbaijan. Wewere lucky to complete our fieldwork before the Russian
invasion in August, especially as Russian forcesfirebombed at least one of the unique nature reserves inwhich we had worked, an act of gratuitous environmentalvandalism (Figure 2).
What did we find? To our initial surprise, collecting washarder than in N. Europe, except where there wasexposed limestone. On reflection, however, this isperhaps not so surprising, as most of the forests were onacid soils with very heavy rainfall (up to 4000 mm peryear near Batumi); Rhododendrons are the commonestunderstory shrub, and we soon learnt to associate it withdifficult sampling! As might be expected, it took us sometime to identify all the material we had collected. Theliterature is good, but mostly in Russian, and there arefew specimens from the area in accessible museums.The new (English) edition of Schütt’s (2005) compendiumof Turkish snails was also useful. The families with themost species were Clausiliidae (Figures 3-5) andZonitidae (in the old, inclusive sense). Fortunately we hadthe expertise and collections of Dolek Riedel to assistwith the latter, and Andrzej Wiktor identified the slugs:large and spectacular but hard to find (Figures 9 & 10).There were relatively few Helicoids (e.g. Figure 8) (arelief, as those in open habitats are hard to tell apart, withmany taxonomic revisions). There were also a largenumber of Leiostyla species (e.g. Figure 7), which Beatawill use to analyse the biogeography of this strangegenus: many species in Madeira and the Caucasus, veryfew in between (L. anglica, found in Britain, is the onlywidespread species surviving). Just a handful of speciesare found also in Britain (for example Nesovitrea
hammonis, Punctum pygmaeum and Carychiumtridentatum). The highlight was the first discovery ofliving Carychium schlickumi, a species knownpreviously only as a Pliocene fossil and possibly frombeach debris on the Black Sea (identity determinedby Ewa Stworzewicz). In the most disturbed sites wealso found Paralaoma servilis; this species seems toget everywhere!
The faunas of individual sites are not rich, usuallyless than 20 species, significantly poorer than thosethat can be found in N. Europe. But overall, we foundmore than 90 species, most of them endemic to theCaucasus (including north eastern Turkey). Individual
sites differ far more in their faunas than we wouldexpect in England or Poland, but many species seemto have rather wide but discontinuous geographicalranges, rather than being very narrowly restricted. Sothere is a geographical pattern in the faunas, but it ismessy. Many of our records extend the knowndistributions within the region. Except that the kinds ofsnails (medium to large species such as clausiliidsand helicoids) are typical of Europe, the pattern lookssimilar to that seen in some tropical and subtropicalforests where most species involved are muchsmaller. Levans’s work on the molecular genetics ofthe endemic Helix species (at the BiodiversityResearch Centre of Chavchavadze University) willhelp us determine how long isolated populations of aspecies have been separated. His preliminary resultsshow that there is at least pre-glacial isolation in theclosely related species of the genus found in differentparts of Georgia. Very few of these Caucasianspecies have managed to spread elsewhere since thelast glaciation.
Apart from people mentioned already, RobertCameron thanks the British Ecological Society for aSmall Ecological Project Grant, Beata Pokryszkothanks Wrocław University for assistance, and all ofus thank Giorgi Chaladze for magnificent driving andhelp in the field.
Reference: Schütt, H. 2005. Turkish Land Snails (4thed), VNW, Solingen.
Figures:-
1. Levan Mumladze and Robert Cameron sorting samples at Lagodekhi.
Figure 1 by Beata Pokryszko, all others by Robert Cameron
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CouncilFour Council meetings were heldincluding a full day meeting inOctober. Amongst the issuesconsidered by Council were: placingan advertisement for the Society inBritish Wildlife; the work of theConservation and RecordingCommittee; biological record datasharing agreements with the NationalBiodiversity Data Centre, Ireland andwith other organisations; the Society’sinsurance; the Society’s publications;the development of a SocietyRecording Manual; and Societyfinances.
ProgrammeThe programme for 2008 consisted offive indoor meetings held at theNatural History Museum in London,one indoor meeting held at NationalMuseum Wales in Cardiff, nine fieldmeetings and one indoor workshop.The meeting in Cardiff includedlectures by Ben Rowson (Britain’scarnivorous slugs and snails), MurielAlix (Zebra mussels (Dreissenapolymorpha) in Cardiff Bay: a casestudy), Jan Light (Marine molluscs ofcaves and upper shore crevices), SteveWilkinson (Recording, mapping andencyclopedias), June Chatfield (J R leB Tomlin's residence in Reading andSt Leonards near Hastings and hisconnection with the local museums),Peter Topley (Molluscs, churchyarduse and wildlife management: twoBedfordshire examples), and GrahamOliver (The DTI British BivalvesProject). There were also workshopson British slugs and Britishpyramidellids (Odostomia andBrachystomia). Ron Boyce welcomes ideas formeetings of all kinds and for speakersfor the indoor meetings.
Council PositionsDr J D Nunn began her third year asPresident of the Society. Thefollowing Society Officers were
elected: Hon. General Secretary MissR E Hill, Hon. Treasurer Mr P UBuckle, Hon. Membership SecretaryMr M D Weideli, Hon. Editor (Journal)Dr P G Oliver, Hon. Editor (MolluscWorld) Mr I J Killeen, Hon. MarineRecorder Dr J M Light, Hon Non-Marine Recorder Dr A Norris, Hon.Conservation Officer Dr M J Willingand Hon. Programme Secretary Mr RBoyce. New Ordinary members ofCouncil were Mr T Clifton, Mrs C MStreet and Mr J P van Weert. Mr KBrown, Mr P T Wimbleton and Mr SPayne began their second year; andDr M J Allen, Mr R Carr and Dr S BWilkinson began their third year.
MembershipMembership of the Society at the endof 2008 was 293. This includes LifeMembers, Honorary Members,Ordinary Members, Family Members,Student Members and Institutions.There were 20 new members in theyear, but 15 members resigned orlapsed through non-payment, givinga net gain of 5 members for the year.During the year there were 73subscribers to the Journal ofConchology which is one more thanin 2007. Please take every opportunityto recruit new members. Either passtheir details to Mike Weideli orencourage them to join via thewebsite. Recruitment leaflets may beobtained from Celia Pain or RosemaryHill at indoor meetings. The Societydisplay poster may be obtained fromTerry Wimbleton in either A3 or A2size.
PublicationsTwo issues of the Journal of Conchology(Volume 39: 4, 5) and three issues ofMollusc World (Numbers 16-18,March, July and November) werepublished. The Society also publishedthe Members’ Guide. The new versionof the Society’s websitewww.conchsoc.org was launched inFebruary and is attracting an
impressive number of visits from atleast 114 countries.
r esearch GrantsOne application for research grantswas received and granted toAlexandra Zieritz on ‘Assessing therole of genetic variability versusphenotypic plasticity in intraspecificmorphological variation of freshwatermussels (Unionoidea) on a smallgeographic scale.’A grant was also given to thePrehistoric Society towards theproduction cost of a book: ‘Land andPeople: Papers in Memory of John GEvans.
l egacies and donationsThe Society is most grateful to MissStella Davies for a legacy of £2000 inaddition to books and papers.The Society is also grateful to MissHelen Rhoden for the donation of alifetime collection of marinespecimens mainly from the UK andIreland and for books.
a nnouncements of deathsThe death of the following memberwas announced at an Indoor Meeting:Miss Stella Davies (member since1948).The Society would like to thank allmembers of Council and Societyvolunteers for their valuablecontributions during the year.
Society activities in 2008 – selections from some o fficers’r eports presented at the a nnual General MeetingRosemary Hill, Hon General Secretary
AnnouncementMembers may be interested tolearn that member and regularcontributor, Alex Menez, fromGibraltar, has been awarded thedegree of Doctor of Philosophy byCardiff University. Dr Menez’sdoctoral thesis is entitled: ‘Patternand process in southern Iberianland mollusc diversity’.
r eport of the Hon.Conservation o fficer 2008 A selection of some of the key items of interest from theyear 2008 are described below.
a dvice and help:Has been given to many individuals and organisationsincluding specimen identification and advice on habitatmanagement. One exciting specimen confirmation wasthat of P. Wilson’s new vice-county record of Pisidiumtenuilineatum for Cambridgeshire.
Assistance was given in the production of (1) a LocalSpecies Action Plan (LSAP) for the depressed river musselPseudanodonta complanata for Bedfordshire and (2)information provided to give assistance with a review ofthe Lincolnshire BAP river mussels (Pseudanodontacomplanata and the Witham orb mussel Sphaerium solidum)for the Lincolnshire Biodiversity Partnership.
British Wildlife: The production of a molluscan wildlife report for thispublication continued with the inclusion of submissions inApril and October 2008. Key items in the reports included(1) news that the Roman snail, had been added to theWildlife & Countryside Act (see below); a review of a newpublication documenting recent work on all of the Vertigospecies of Norfolk; news of a newly discovered Vertigomoulinsiana population in an unusual habitat in Wales; (2)interesting key points from the marine and non-marine2007 Officers’ reports included mention of the wealth ofnew Irish non-marine records; the rediscovery ofSegmentina nitida in Yorkshire and the first discovery of aliving population of Heleobia stagnorum; news of a newConchological Society non-marine species checklist andthe designation of a new SAC for Vertigo angustior atGarron Point in Aberdeenshire.
Invertebrate l ink and The Invertebrate ConservationTrust (Buglife): Membership of Invertebrate Link and Buglife continues toprovide useful contacts with members from other NGOsand governmental organisations (e.g. Natural England,Countryside Council for Wales, Royal EntomologicalSociety) concerned with invertebrate conservation.
Biodiversity Matters:
1. BAP Action Plans:In my last report I gave details of the governmental launchof the new UK BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) PrioritySpecies and Habitats in August 2007, which resulted in theincreased number of 19 BAP priority non-marine molluscs(these are: Vertigo moulinsiana, V. geyeri, V. genesii, V.angustior, V. modesta, Quickella arenaria, Margaritiferamargaritifera, Pseudanodonta complanata, Pisidiumtenuilineatum, Truncatellina cylindrica, Valvata macrostoma,Sphaerium solidum, Anisus vorticulus, Segmentina nitida,Myxas glutinosa, Gyraulus acronicus, Omphiscola glabra,
Heleobia stagnorum and Mercuria similis.). At the close of2007, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)contacted the Society requesting that draft keyconservation actions proposals, submitted earlier in early2007, (which had now been now further refined andexpanded by Invertebrate BAP Working Group) be re-examined and checked to ensure that the conservationactions plans for the 19 BAP species were:1. appropriate;2. correctly assigned to each UK principality;3. reflected known distribution;4. and included ‘SMART’ success criteria (or at least
milestones towards these criteria).The final upgrading process took place in the first monthsof 2008 and involved contributions from a wide range ofexperts both within and outside the Society. At the end of2008 the definitions of the priority habitats and theinformation supporting the selection of the priority specieswere published on the UK BAP website which can beviewed by following the links on the UK BAP home pagehttp://www.ukbap.org.uk.
2. JNCC Workshop – BAP Priority Species Actions:In early December 2008 the JNCC in conjunction with theBiodiversity and Reporting and Information Group (BRIG)and the Biodiversity Research Advisory Group (BRAG)ran a workshop in Peterborough to try to prioritiseimmediate actions for BAP priority species. The projectlooked at some of the actions identified for the 1149 BAPpriority species. The aim of the workshop, which Iattended, was to rationalise the signposting database,produced as part of the UK BAP process, into actionshighlighting:• one-off species specific surveys and species specific
research that can be taken forward immediately, and• identification and rationalization of general research
priorities to be taken forward in the near future. The workshop sought to identify key knowledge gaps forthe BAP species and those actions which are the onesessential for taking forward the conservation of a speciesnow and also where groups of species plans could becombined. Time was spent working in groups (with allinvertebrate attendees working together) to examine theactions submitted earlier in 2008. Ideas taken from theworkshop will be presented at a BRIG meeting early in2009.
3. 2008 BARS Reviews:The last months of 2008 saw several Society memberscommenting on the annual reviews for the BAP prioritymolluscs (only the first ‘tranche’ of species and not thenew priority species added in 2007). Review documentsare compiled by lead partners working for variousgovernment bodies such as Natural England, CountrysideCouncil for Wales and the Environment Agency.
4. Updating Red Lists:Work on the 2008 revision of the Red Data lists isunderway; it is hoped that a submission will be completedbefore the end of 2009.
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5. Habitat management guidance for European ProtectedSpecies:Natural England were given habitat management adviceto assist them in dealing with applications fromlandowners / managers with populations of Anisusvorticulus on their land. As A. vorticulus is a EuropeanProtected Species (EUHSD Annex IV), managementoperations actually or potentially affecting this snail nowneed to be approved and then licensed.
Wildlife & Countryside a ct: (1) a ddition of the r omanSnail Helix pomatia:In early March 2008 it was learnt that Helix pomatia hadbeen added to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and CountrysideAct 1981 (see figure). From 6th April 2008 wild caughtRoman Snails were protected from intentional taking,injury or killing as well as possession and sale (the snailsare in good company for they will also be joined by otherbeneficiaries of the 4th Quinquennial Review such aswater vole, spiny and short-snouted seahorses and angelsharks!). The whole saga started way back at the end of2001 when the Joint Nature Conservation Committee(JNCC) invited the Conchological Society to submitproposals regarding the fourth review. After consultationswith Society members I sent proposals for the addition ofthe two species H. pomatia and the freshwater bivalveSphaerium solidum together with the removal of two others,Paludinella littorina and the Thyasira gouldi. In December2002 it was learnt that JNCC were recommending that H.pomatia be added to Schedule 5, although they rejected theaddition of Sphaerium solidum (pleasingly it now has BAPpriority status as a result of our BAP campaign!) and hadalso decided not to remove any species from the Act. Allseemed well until, following a long wait; we learnt in early2005 that DEFRA, whilst not rejecting H. pomatia, hadnevertheless placed it into a 'neutral' category pendingwider consultations. They were concerned about the
commercial impact upon the restaurant trade. ‘Informedopinion’ believed that this would rapidly lead to RomanSnails being dropped from WCA consideration. At thispoint I embarked upon an urgent fact finding exercise todiscover exactly what 'top' restaurants actually served inthe 'escargots' line. Restaurant suppliers were alsocontacted to reveal where they got their snails. The resultswere very interesting and showed that, of the outletscontacted, none used 'native' wild-caught pomatia. Arobust defence was sent to DEFRA together with the initialproposal documents. We were also given valuable supportby Matt Shardlow of Buglife. A three year wait thenfollowed resulting in the announcement of WCAacceptance in March 2008. Of course legal protection is notnecessarily going to guarantee instant protection. Thegeneral public now need to know that these snails are now'off-limits' for the pot. It is hoped that DEFRA may be ableto produce leaflets and other publicity material topublicise this protection (without any disclosure of RomanSnail locations) and a partner role for the Society will bediscussed in 2009.
Wildlife & Countryside a ct: (2) The 5th Quinquennialr eview of the Wildlife and Countryside a ct, 1981In early May 2008 we learnt that JNCC were providingopportunities for comment on revisions to Schedule 5 ofthe Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (only weeks afterdelivering the good news on Helix pomatia – an outcome ofthe 4th Quinquennial Review which started in 2001!). Weonly had until 21st May to return submissions, butfortunately we were able to work together with Buglife.After consultation with Robert Cameron we were able toinclude our recommendations within a larger Buglifeproposal covering many other invertebrate species.Most molluscan recommendations repeat proposals thathad already be included in our response to the 4thQuinquennial Review. The latest Molluscan proposals are:-
Species: 5th Quinquennial Review Rationale for recommendation:recommendation:
Add to Schedule 5 and the ditches thatsnail lives in be protected under Section9(4)(a)
Downgrade from full protection toSection 9(4)(a) only
Removal from Schedule 5
There is no threat from collecting or sale, althoughkilling during ditch management is often aproblem. Grazing marsh drains are readilyidentifiable structures. Inappropriate managementof these ditches and the surrounding land couldlead to the loss of this species.
There is no evidence of risk of decline or extinctionfrom intentional collection of these species.Similarly there is no evidence of a market for them.There is, however, still pressures on the habitatswhich continue to be at risk from coastalrealignment and flood defence works, pollution,drainage and other activities.
Recent surveys have shown that these species aremuch commoner than previously thought. Removalof these species from Schedule 5 will allow betterfocus of legal enforcement measures where therewill be real benefits to other species in greater needof protection. Additionally removal of these specieswill foster greater faith in the legal process,showing that it can be flexible and kept up to datewith conservation developments.
1. Little whirlpool ram’s-horn snail Anisus vorticulus
2. De Folin’s lagoon snail Caecum armoricum
3. Lagoon sea slugTenellia adspersa
4. Lagoon SnailPaludinella littorina
5. Northern hatchet shell Thyasira gouldi
‘l eGIPo l ’ (l egislation Policy) – Invertebrate l inkstatement.In March 2008 the Conchological Society gave itsendorsement (together with many other memberorganisations of Invertebrate Link) to a statement detailingthe appropriate role of legislation in controlling activitieslikely to harm specified species of terrestrial andfreshwater invertebrates, with particular reference totaking and killing. The full document can be viewed onthe Invertebrate Link website:www.royensoc.co.uk/invlink/index.html
a ssociations with other organisations: The Conservation Officer continues to attend conservationcommittee meetings of The Sussex Wildlife Trust. I wrote afurther report highlighting new vice-county molluscanfinds made during 2008 for the ‘Adastra’ magazine. I wasalso able to publicise details of the forthcoming OpenUniversity ‘Megalab’ initiative in order to encouragemembers throughout the county to get out in 2009 and
record and then submit details of Cepaea spppolymorphisms (Adastra 2008, Sussex Biodiversity RecordCentre, Henfield, West Sussex) .
Martin Willing
Paul Chambers grew up on Jersey with a strong interest inmarine biology and collecting shells. In his late teens he startedcompiling Jersey marine invertebrate references and kept acard catalogue. As a London-based student inGeology/Palaeontology he continued to search out usefulreferences using several London libraries. The last hour of astudent day was applied to combing the literature: Forbes &Hanley, Jeffreys, Montagu, Donovan, Alder & Hancock……….
It was an article by the Jersey pharmacist Eugene Duprey onthe shells of Jersey that prompted Paul to assess those records,many of the names being old, and compare it with his cardcatalogue. This was the stimulus to draw up a Checklist ofJersey molluscs. He returned to Jersey to look again, combiningpractical collecting with a new tool in the form of a microscope.It was the moment to expand his catalogue to cover allmarine/maritime species of the Channel Islands.
This published version under review is restricted to the marineMollusca and contains information on identification whichfocuses on the salient features highlighted by others andincludes Paul’s own local observations. But, despite theimplications of the book’s title, it is not an identification guide,and it should be clear that the book is not aimed at thenewcomer to marine molluscs. There are other books andseveral websites to help the novice get started.
Distributional information only goes up to Seaward’sDistribution of the Marine Molluscs of North West Europe (1990).All documented records that Paul unearthed are incorporatedincluding ‘doubtfuls’. The author has included almost none ofhis own records, Caecum vitreum being an exception. He hasdrawn on figures from old publications to illustrate the species.
In their reproduced formthese can give no morethan an idea as to theappearance of theanimals.
Channel Islands MarineMolluscs is an “eccentricand self-published”book. The set-up costswere low and copies areprinted on demand. It isan “imperfect” document in that there are errors but these arecontinually being corrected on the master version as they aredrawn to the attention of the author. There is a partial previewon Google Books where you can take a look at the openingsections and selected pages from the body of the book,including the index.
As you leaf through the book you will be struck by the wealthof marine mollusc species that the Channel Islands support(479). Jersey has a spectacular diversity of shore types and themagnitude of some beaches means that on the lowest of springtides the island’s area is effectively doubled. The islandpresents a rewarding opportunity to record a wide range ofmolluscs including several Southern species rare outside theChannel Islands, and to collect their shells. Armed with a copyof Paul’s book you will know which shores to visit, and whatyou might expect to find there. It also presents a challenge toexpand our knowledge of Jersey localities and what speciesthey support.
Book review by Jan Light
Channel Island Marine Molluscs: An Illustrated Guide to the Seashells of Jersey,Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm. Paul Chambers published by Charonia Media, 2008. Paperback, 322pp. £12.49 from Amazon.
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I was delighted, during a visit to York in May, todiscover that the Quilt Museum and Gallery inYork (situated in the 15th century guildhall, St.Anthony’s Hall) was holding an exhibition on thetheme of ‘Pearls, Pearls, Pearls’. The quilts weredesigned and made by members of The Quilters’Guild of the British Isles who were invited tosubmit a new piece of quilted work to celebrateThe Guild’s 30th (i.e. Pearl) anniversary.
The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles is anational membership organization, which wasformed in 1979 and is made up of about 7,000individual members, mostly from the UK, but alsofrom Europe and other parts of the world. TheGuild is an Educational Charity, which provideseducational resources and services for itsmembers, lends support to teachers within theGuild and liaises with educational bodies beyondthe quilting world. Membership is open to anyonewho works in patchwork, quilting or appliqué orhas a special interest in quilts.
The pieces chosen for the exhibitiondemonstrated a wide interpretation of the ‘Pearls,Pearls, Pearls’ theme. The designsencompassed a range of contemporary, pictorialand traditional styles. The techniques usedincluded appliqué, both hand and machinequilting, together with the use of stencils andfabric painting. The materials utilised includedhand dyed, digitally printed and commercialfabrics, tissue paper, felt and feathers and ofcourse much embellishment with beads andpearls. The exhibits varied in size and weremainly wall hangings; the largest being140cmx140cm and the smallest 32cm x 46cm,but also included quilted garments, a softfurnishing and a 3D piece. There was a goodmix of entries from both professional and nonprofessional quilters who are all members of theQuilters’ Guild.
In her book ‘Oyster’, Rebecca Stott commentsthat pearls rarely appear along with oysters inwestern art. However, among the many inspiringexhibits I have selected items which exploredmore explicitly the “shell” theme in their designs.I have also used extracts from descriptions bythe designers themselves which were included inthe exhibition guide.
In earlier times, before the era of modern science andnatural history, many legends surrounded the pearl oyster.Early Greek and Roman writers thought that pearls wereformed when oysters migrated to the surface of the sea,
opening their valves to obtain drops of dew and thenreturning to the sea bed where the dew was transformedinto pearls (figure1). The pearl is, in reality, a by-product ofcertain molluscs evolving a way of protecting their bodyfrom the roughness of the shell by secreting a smoothnacreous lining, also known as mother-of-pearl. Pearlsoccur when a foreign particle that has entered the shell iscoated by layers of nacreous secretion, in order to reduceirritation. Thus the iridescent pearl is formed - a mixture ofcalcium carbonate and an animal substance calledconchiolin (Figure 2).
Pearls are not only white, as Osias Beert and Jan Vermeernoted: ‘the whites of wet oyster flesh, of mother of pearland of pearls were never just white’ .....No two pearls arethe same for each is made from the mother-of-pearl liningproduced by a particular place. Mother-of-pearl can bepink, rose, white, yellow, cream, golden, green, blue andblack (Figure 3).
The pearl industry has a long history. For example pearlswere collected in the Persian Gulf as long ago as thesecond millennium BC. An inscription in cuneiform fromthe ancient Assyrian city of Ninevah details a king’sinterest in ‘the sea of changeable winds’ where hismerchants fished for pearls. Methods of diving for oystershave changed surprisingly little throughout the centuries.Since the end of the time of enslavement of the pearldivers, these men and women have inspired enormousrespect from their own communities for the skill, courageand risk they undertook (See figure 4).
Pearls have been a part of culture since the 6th centuryBC and pearl necklaces are described in the ancientHindu religious poem, the ‘Ramayana’ written about500BC (See figure 5). However, when eventually in the19th century developments in oyster farming andtransportation led to a drop in the market price of oysterswhich turned them into the food of the poor, the pearl alsobegan to change it’s status of exclusivity. For manycenturies pearls had been worn by the wealthy andpowerful. But in the 19th century, mass productiontechniques of pearl buttons made possible by theIndustrial Revolution enabled the very poor to mimic andeven subvert the use of pearl as a marker of wealth. Pearlbuttons, carved out of the mother-of-pearl lining of theoyster shells by new cutting machines, were striking butrelatively easy to produce. In 1875, Henry Croft, amunicipal road sweeper, collected the pearl buttons thathad fallen to the market floor from the clothes ofcostermongers, stitching each by hand onto his ownclothing until every inch of cloth had been covered.Dressed in this suit he collected money for hospitals,orphanages and workhouses in the slums of London; thisbecame the origin of the London ‘Pearly Kings andQueens’ (See figure 6)
Pearls, Pearls, Pearls: a QuiltingExhibition Caren Topley
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Lastly, figure 7. This particular quilt summed up allthat is beautiful and enduring about a pearl,conveying a sense of the power of art to transformthe ‘ordinary stuff of life into something beautiful andenduring and rich and strange’.
Photos(1) ‘Pearls from Moonlight’ by Jane Edmonds,
Beaconsfield, Bucks. Her quilt was “inspired by Greek and Roman legends that pearls are formed when dewdrops filled with moonlight fall into the ocean and are swallowed by seashells.”
(2) ‘The home of the pearl.’ By Chris Dixon, Gosforth, Newcastle.‘The design is developed and stylised from an oyster shell drawing. I have described the rough ribbed and textured nature of the oyster shell, a contrast to the smooth contained pearl inside.’
(3) ‘Pearls are not just white’ By Liz Heywood, Chandler’s Ford, Hants. ‘Quilt inspired by the contrast between the rough outside rim of the oyster shell and the smooth lustrous interior where the pearl is found.’
(4) ‘Pearl Divers’ by Penny Armitage, West Horsley, Surrey. ’My quest to capture light on the sea goes underwater along with oysters, divers and my textured textiles and a wonderful excuse to collect pearl beads.’
(5) ‘Pearl Necklace’ by Pam Stanier, Malvern Wells. ‘Pearls, pearls, pearls, made me think of a pearl necklace casually thrown onto a patchwork quilt.’
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(6) ‘Pearls. Pearlies, Pearlies’ by Pat Salmon, Leatherhead, Surrey ‘Young Pearly King and Queen against a background of Lambeth walk.’
(7) ‘Full Fathom Five’ by Anne Tuck, Gosforth, Newcastle. ‘Those are pearls that were his eyes..Nothing of him.. but doth suffer a seas change’Words spoken by Shakespear’s sprite Ariel.
AcknowledgementsImages and descriptions from the exhibition are publishedwith the kind permission of the artists themselves and ofthe Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles. Particular thanks aredue to Fiona Diaper, Museum Director of the Quilt Galleryand Museum, York, for proof reading this article prior topublication and liasing with the quilters concerned.
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The l impetI dislike the Limpetalways have and always willwatching it needs overtimeall it does is stay quite still
I so dislike the Limpetto kill it would be easyperpetrating such a crimewould not make me feel queasy.
Oh I dislike the Limpetclamped so far as I can tellon the same old rock all dayjust a sucker in a shell.
S. Peter DanceCarlisle, 25 June 2009
Any poems in response to Peter’swould be welcome! Ed.
The secretion of Cornu aspersum has been underinvestigation for some years for its therapeutic propertiesin the area of skin ageing, which is accompanied bydiminished structural integrity and wound healing. Inwound healing, dermal fibroblast cells must proliferate andmigrate into the injured tissue. Research into naturalproducts by pharmaceutical companies has discoveredthat the secretion of snails may have potential as the basisof a regenerative treatment. Snails retract their orientationorgans upon detection of solar radiation and secrete largeamounts of protective mucous. Snails also never sufferfrom skin infections. A paper published in 1999 (Ledo A. etal, Radioprotección 1999;23) demonstrated that asecretion from C. aspersa (abbreviated SCA) induced skinregeneration after wound healing impairment fromradiodermatitis. Researchers at the Hospital Universitariode la Princesa in Madrid (Brieva A. et al., Skin PharmacolPhysiol 2008;21:15-22) have now performed research to
evaluate these regenerative properties. They have foundthat SCA possesses antioxidant properties, inducesfibroblast proliferation and promotes extra cellular matrixremodelling, all essential for wound healing and tissueplasticity. They have also found that SCA inhibits anenzyme called matrix metaloproteinase (MMP), thuslimiting the extent of damage during wounding and scarformation. The authors go on discuss possible future usesin regenerative therapy.
For the less squeamish it may be of interest to learn thatthere is a patent filed for the method of extraction of thesecretion from C. aspersum, which was used by theresearchers. This involves stimulating the living snails toproduce their natural secretions from the mucinous,albuminous and salivary glands by centrifugation and thencollecting the fluids from the living animals.
Peter Topley
New research reveals a molecular basis behindthe regenerative properties of snail slime
Dear r eaders
I am interested in the sea snail Murex (now Bolinus) brandaris. In biblical times itwas used as a source of purple dye used in religious garments and was veryexpensive for many years. It was later that purple dye was produced chemicallyby William Perkin and in Victorian times became a fashionable colour.
The name Brandaris is also used for the powerful lighthouse on the Friesianisland of Terschelling where my husband's family came from and so we calledour house "Brandaris" here in Hertfordshire.
It would be interesting to know how this mollusc got its name. Was it perhapsdiscovered or identified by a Dutchman? Can any reader of Mollusc World helpme answer this question?
Sincerely, Patricia Klijn.
[Any answers to the Editor, please and we may publish them in the next issue -Ed.]
Contacts and help withmolluscs in Pakistan.
Mr Pervaiz Iqbal, a PhD student at theUniversity of Karachi who is working onmarine molluscs for his research andalso as a hobby, recently contacted theSociety asking for help withidentification - the literature available tohim is limited. I have sent him details of variouswebsites that might be useful, andhave also suggested that he might findConch-L helpful.
He would welcome any contacts fromCS members interested in marineshells from Pakistan and neighbouringareas, and would be very grateful forany spare books or pdfs of relevantpublications. His contact details are:
PERVAIZ IQBALResearch FellowCentre of Excellence in Marine Biology,University of KarachiPakistan 75270
The second volume in the adventuresof Old McSlithers the giant snail andhis human friends Amy and Charliecarries on where the first book, SnailTrail, left off (see Mollusc World 16.26).In this story, an American filmproducer wants to make a film abouttheir adventures so far, but the girlshave their doubts. Subsequently theyfall out so Amy teams up with a boyfrom her class, Jack, instead. They tryto hide Old McSlithers but he is illwith an upset stomach (hence the titleof the book) and in any case it’s noteasy to hide a snail the size of a fourstory building. There are some othermysteries to keep the juniordetectives going as well: the newpeople in the village, Mr and MrsCracked-Up, who are acting veryoddly, and trails of glitter that haveappeared from nowhere.
Unfortunately Snails Don’t Burp! lacksthe originality of its prequel, SnailTrail. Despite, or perhaps because of,assistance from various members ofthe Conchological Society, the book
feels a little too contrived. SarahLucas has worked hard to get somemessages across and to get her factsright, and it shows. Snail Trail had amuch more spontaneous feel to itthan this book. The emphasis onhealthy eating and recycling are alittle too clumsy and some of theideas about how a snail might reactadversely to being poisoned areperhaps only relevant to an expert.There are too many new charactersand it feels a little too politicallycorrect. Somehow the author seems tohave lost track of the fact that this is akids’ book.
This is not to say that the book isunreadable. There are still some goodparts to it, and Amy Lucas’sillustrations are delightful, but itdidn’t quite live up to myexpectations. Snail Park, on the otherhand, the third volume in the series,is a much better book. Although theplot still emphasises important issuessuch as conservation and road traffic,it flows better and these subjects areintroduced in a much more believableand naturalistic way. There are a lot
of new characters in this book too,but unlike in Snails Don’t Burp! theyaren’t all indistinguishable schoolchildren. The main child character tobe introduced is the very peculiarLaura Crust, who is weird enough tobe a creation of H P Lovecraft, andthere is a subplot involving MrsSnout, the Headmistress of BourneSchool who is literally falling apart. Ifound this genuinely funny and whenthe villain gets their come-uppance atthe end of the story I laughed aloud.There are also some strokes oforiginality, such as Amy’s good fairyTamanather and as usual a mystery tobe solved by the junior detectivesAmy and Charlie (who of course arenow friends again).
Sarah Lucas has evidently not run outof steam yet as the next book, SnailMovie, is due out this year. Watch thisspace!
r eview by Jane Bonney
Photos: Book launch of “Snail Park”(photos by June Chatfield)
Review of children’s books
Snails Don’t Burp! and Snail Parkby Sarah Lucas, with illustrations by Amy Lucas & Henrietta HellardProfessional Marketing Ltd., ISBN 978-0-9557251-1-1 and ISBN 978-0-9557251-2-8 Price c.£5.99 each
Mollusc iss 21 visual 1:visual 09/10/2009 10:21 Page 9
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One week after a field meeting to this area on 14 July 2007[see Mollusc World 17, p. 16-17] the River Loddon justsouth of Reading experienced record flood levels and allthe sites we had studied were inundated. They wereflooded again on 11 February 2009 but not quite to thesame depth.
It was with this in mind that we decided to revisit the areaand resample the first study site. Seven of us met onLoddon Bridge, Earley and went towards the site near thebridge that we had worked on earlier, only to find a groupof anglers starting to unpack their bait boxes exactlywhere we needed to be; so we surveyed a rather lesspromising site a few tens of yards upstream.Samples of river bed at this point consisted mainly of soilrecently scoured from the river bank and contained nobivalves, but a range of water plants was present wherewe found the gastropods Radix balthica, Potamopyrgus
antipodarum, Anisus vortex, Lymnaea stagnalis, Bithyniatentaculata and Sphaerium corneum.
We then took two vehicles about a mile downstream to thecar park next to the Berkshire Museum of Aviation, anarea best known for Douglas Bader’s air crash and themanufacture of the world’s first reliable ballpoint pen, theBiro, at the aircraft factory that used to be here. Afootpath from this point leads down to a marshy area thathad recently been grazed by cattle [SU 778728]. There wasabundant insect life here including mature adult brownbush crickets Pholidoptera griseoaptera. Here we foundnumbers of Succinea putris including eggs and one matingpair, Zonitoides nitidus, Cochlicopa lubrica agg., Deroceraslaeve and one shell of Carychium minimum.
After a rainy lunch break and some discussion about theFairey Fulmar in the Museum yard with its folding wingsand contra-rotating propellers, we walked along whatremains of the old airfield perimeter road to SandfordMill, where this section of the river Loddon [SU 780729]contained Theodoxus fluviatilis juveniles, Lymnaea stagnalis,Anisus vortex, Potamopyrgus antipodarum and Bathyomphaluscontortus.
June Chatfield pointed out a large net of peacock butterflycaterpillars on the nettles not far from the river bank.
Some fresh water bivalves were collected here and lateridentified as Sphaerium corneum and Pisidium henslowanum.
A little further upstream [SU 779729] we found Theodoxusfluviatilis, Viviparus viviparus, Bithynia tentaculata, Lymnaeastagnalis, Sphaerium corneum, Lymnaea auricularia [deadshells], Valvata piscinalis [dead shells], Bathyomphaluscontortus and Anisus vortex, and more bivalves lateridentified as live Pisidium subtruncatum and Pisidiumamnicum.
Janet Ridout Sharpe collected samples of shell gravel fromthis site and these are reported on separately.
A gravelly area along the river near Herons Lake [SU779727] contained Bathyomphalus contortus, Anisus vortex,Theodoxus fluviatilis, Sphaerium corneum and Lymnaeastagnalis but no Pisidium. We were pleasantly surprisedwhen we fished up a green freshwater sponge here. Apool nearby [SU 7786726] had anoxic sediments but didcontain Gyraulus albus under waterlily leaves.
A concrete platform covered in ivy that once supportedgravel extraction machinery yielded Clausilia bidentata,Lauria cylindracea and Trochulus hispidus.
FIELD MEETINGSandford Mill Berkshire 11 July 2009 Ron Boyce
A walk around Herons Lake near SU 779725 producedPhysella acuta, Planorbis carinatus and live Pisidium milium.The soil was less sandy here and we started to find moreland mollusca [Arion subfuscus, Trochulus hispidus,Aegopinella nitidula, Monacha cantiana and Cochlicopa lubricaagg.].
Sandford Lake [SU 781726] contained more freshwaterspecies [Bithynia tentaculata, Sphaerium corneum,Bathyomphalus contortus, Anisus vortex, Gyraulus albus,Planorbis carinatus, Hippeutis complanatus and Physellaacuta].
Further east along the lake margin [SU 783727] opposite anewly constructed bird hide we found Planorbarius corneus,Valvata piscinalis, Physella acuta and Planorbis carinatus.
From here we retraced our steps towards Sandford Milland crossed the road towards Lavells Lake [SU 782730]which is managed as a waterfowl sanctuary. Here wefound Bithynia tentaculata, Anisus vortex, Sphaerium corneumand Oxyloma elegans.
We would like to convey our thanks to Andy Glencross[the Countryside Officer (Biodiversity) at Dinton PasturesCountry Park] for permission to work these sites, and tothe staff of Loddon Bridge Park and Ride for reservingparking spaces for us.
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Photos
Figure 1 Sphaerium corneum from River Loddon sediments at Loddon Bridge (PT)
Figure 2 Succinea putris in the marsh below the aviation museum (PT)
Figure 3 sampling the Loddon near Sandford Mill (PT)Figure 4 a sieve sample from the Loddon (RB)Figure 5 top side and underside of Theodoxus fluviatilis (RB)
Figure 6 Peter Topley with a net sample (RB)Figure 7 fresh water sponge from the Loddon (RB)Figure 8 looking for land snails on ivy covered concrete (PT)Figure 9 examining samples at Sandford Lake (JC)
Photos by June Chatfield (JC), Ron Boyce (RB), Peter Topley (PT)
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The Conchological Society partneredpublication of Land and People;papers in honour of John G. Evanswas published this year (see alsoMollusc World Issue 19) andlaunched at the Association ofEnvironmental Archaeologists 30thanniversary conference in York inSeptember. This handsome bookdoes the Society proud with itspleasing cut-down A4 hardbackformat produced by the PrehistoricSociety with Oxbow Books. It containsa wealth of papers (20 in all), whichcover aspects of environmentalarchaeology and research that JohnEvans was involved in during hiscareer; typically a number of papersrelate to land snails and shells. Johnwas a former member of the Society,and one of the last public lectures heattended was one of the Society’s onMolluscs in Archaeology.
Papers by Paul Davies and MarkRobinson examine land snails inparticular, with Paul discussing thenature of modern recording andecology of woodland and Markexamining the palaeoecology of Ena montana. Palaeoecologicalsequences of land snails arediscussed from Roman colluviums at Rock Roman villa on the Isle ofWight by George Speller, RichardPreece and Simon Parfitt, and fromsediment cores from mire in Orkneyby Terry O’Connor and Jane Bunting.Data derived from land snail evidence provide the basis ofarguments of prehistoric land-use ofthe chalkands of southern England byMike Allen and Julie Gardiner, and toa lesser extent by Charly French.Land snails were used in some of thepreliminary work examining theprehistory of the Wylye valley,
Wiltshire (Gardiner & Allen).
Marine shells, in the form ofprehistoric middens, are discussed toexamine continuity and change in theMesolithic – Neolithic of the westcoast of Scotland, by Nicky Milnerand Oliver Craig. Their study includedisotope and radiocarbon analysis ofthe shells.
Indeed evidence from snailspublished in this book is rewriting theprehistory of the southern chalklands;a theme taken up by our President inthe next issue of British Archaeology.I will provide a short piece on this fora later edition of Mollusc World.
Details of ordering the volume can befound on our website and the OxbowBook catalogue and website. Societymembers are enttled to a 25%discount on the cover price.
Conchological Society launches new book Land and People;papers in honour of John G. Evans by Mike Allen
The Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella (Draparnaud 1801) isa common Mediterranean species of land snail introducedinto England, being first noted in Devon in 1950. It hasspread rapidly and is now found in many areas of southernEngland. This attractive little snail, which measures about1 cm across, varies in colour from a yellowish whitethrough shades to a dark chocolate brown. It has a sharpkeel around the centre of the body whorl, with a lightyellowish white band present around the keel. Given thatits natural habitat is in the warm environs of theMediterranean, I have observed this species in my gardenactive on melting hoar-frost on a sunny winter morning.
While preparing a list of local records of Hygromia cinctella(Draparnaud 1801) to send to the Non-Marine Recorder, Ireceived my July copy of Mollusc World, and discovered itcontained an article by Dr June Chatfield giving sites inHampshire for this species1. This prompted me to writethis account on the sites at which I have collectedH. cinctella, particularly in the county of Hampshire, butalso in Dorset and Cornwall.
In 2003 John Llewellyn-Jones, a close conchologicalfriend, had expressed an interest in finding specimens ofCepaea hortensis (Muller, 1774) with a brown lip. I invitedhim to stay with me for a couple of days and we plannedto visit an old local boyhood collecting haunt on PortsdownHill, where I knew brown lipped C. hortensis could to befound. We set off for the site on the 22nd July 2003whichwas a pleasant warm summer day but a little dry for snailactivity and snail collecting. The site we visited is situatedabove Drayton, Portsmouth, on the lower slopes ofPortsdown Hill (SU 669063) at the northern end of UpperDrayton Lane. It consists of a small chalk pit surroundedby sloe and blackberry bushes, Old Man’s Beard, nettlesand grass. The colony of C. hortensis last visited by me in1958, is sited on the upper east border of the chalk pit. Iam pleased to say that the colony containing the brownlipped variant of the White Lipped Snail still survives here,although in far smaller numbers than was the case allthose years ago. It was a dry warm day and snails wereinactive, and this may in part have accounted for the smallnumbers of snails found.
Quite by chance on the east upper border of the chalk pit(SU 671063) I found a mature living example of the
Girdled Snail Hygromia cinctella. Looking around in theimmediate area, this single specimen was the only one Icould find. However some distance away at the top ofAbadare Ave (SU 669063) (Figure 1), a dead end roadwith steps leading onto Portsdown Hill, a considerablenumber of both live and recently dead specimens werefound among Old Mans Beard. The species was obviouslywell established at this site, which is immediately next todomestic gardens.
Since that time I have discovered a total of some 12Hampshire sites for H.cinctella, with a further 3 inCornwall, and 1 in Dorset. Most of the discoveries havebeen quite accidental, only about four sites were found asthe result of deliberate searching. All of the Hampshiresites are in a cluster in the south east of the county andfairly close to the sea.
Some 5 miles west of the Drayton site and still onPortsdown Hill is another much larger chalk pit, thePaulsgrove Chalk Pit (SU 634066), a site which Idiscovered on the 22nd June 2008. This was the site of alime works vacated some 50 years ago and is now ahaven for a wide variety of animals and plants. It even hasa pond created on a chalk terrace which contains Radixbalthica (Figure 2). A number of live specimens of H.cinctella were found crawling over a wall on the southborder of the pit, next to the entrance gate and very closeto houses. This is an area where local residents dispose oftheir garden waste, grass and privet cuttings, shrubprunings and dead plants etc.
Returning east, I found a cluster of sites for H. cinctellaaround the East Cosham and the Farlington area, all ofwhich are in domestic gardens about a mile both east andwest of the Drayton site. All were live finds and all found inthickly planted domestic gardens: in my daughter’s gardenat Lonsdale Ave, East Cosham (SU 677052) on the12thSeptember 2006; in a garden on the Havant Road, at the
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junction with East Cosham Lane (SU 670053) on the 26thAugust 2008 among thick ivy; in my father’s garden atCopsey Grove, Farlington (SU 675059) on the 22nd July2008.
There are three records of H. cinctella from the Havantarea, all being live finds: in my own garden at RamsdaleAve, Leigh Park (SU 703084) on the 18th April 2008; inthe garden of a veterinary practice in Middle Park Way,Leigh Park (SU 705077) on the 27th October 2008. It wasalso discovered living on a roadside grass verge in SolentRoad not far from the centre of Havant. (SU 715061) onthe15th October 2008.
On the 31st July 2009, three dead shells were found in agarden on an access road leading to a supermarket inWaterlooville (SU 681093). This site will need to be re-visited to determine whether live specimens are present.The final Hampshire site is in the centre of the Gosportpeninsular to the east of Fort Brockhurst, on an area ofwaste land which had been cleared of buildings, near to asuperstore (SU 599022) on the 2nd November 2008. If wetake the Drayton site as a central point, all the S.E.Hantsrecords discovered so far fall within a radius of 4 to 5miles.
The Dorset location is at the side of a car park in HintonRoad Bournemouth (SZ 091903), found on the 24thOctober 2003. Live specimens were found in thick ivy oneither side of the steps leading from a public car park tothe road. Apart from an area of trees around the car parkthe site is within a built up area and not far from the mainBournemouth shopping centre.
Additionally there are three “holiday records” for Cornwall.Firstly on the south coast, on the coastal path at the top ofa shore cliff at East Looe, (SX 258533), on the 6th August1998, where only dead specimens could be found. At WestLooe (SX 254536) on the same day live examples were
found in the garden of an amusementarcade in flower beds, on the west sideof the road bridge which crosses theLooe River. The third Cornwall site wason the north coast at Padstow (SW919753). Specimens were foundcrawling on an outcrop of natural rockforming a wall alongside the roadthrough Padstow Harbour in July 2004.
All of these records occur close tohuman habitation, and have a strongassociation with gardens. This maysuggest that the rapid spread of thisspecies is possibly partly through themedium of potted plants as eggs in theplant soil. Strangely I have never foundit in local Garden Centers or Nurseries,despite searching and also asking staff,who have no recollection of seeing this
distinct little snail at their places of work. I have no doubtthe rapid spread of this snail will continue and many moresites await our discovery.
All these records are in the process of being sent to theConchological Society Non-marine Recording Scheme,and most have been sent to the recording scheme beingoperated for this species by the National Museums andGalleries of Wales, Cardiff.
1see also note by David Harfield and Adrian Brokenshire in this issue.
ReferencesKerney. M.P. Atlas of the Land and Freshwater Molluscs of Britain andIreland, Harley Books, 1999.Cameron R.A.D.& Kerney. M. A Field Guide to the Land Snails of Britainand North West Europe, Collins 1979.Chatfield. J. The Girdled Snail in Hampshire – an interesting mode ofdispersal. Mollusc World 20, July 2009.
Figure 1: The author at the Abadare Avenue, Drayton site withPortsdown Hill in the background (Photo: Shirley Wimbleton)
Figure 2: Paulsgrove chalk pit with pond. (Photo: Terry Wimbleton)
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Page 11: Figure 1 depicts Cardiff City Hall,not the National Museum of Wales asdescribed. The museum is the seconddomed building in the background.
Page 26: The title of this article should read‘Wanted: Nassarius nitidus for aphylogeographic study’.
Errata, Issue 20
Churchyards have long been recognised as having thepotential to be valuable species-rich “islands” within localcommunities. In the previous issue of this magazine, JuneChatfield’s review of last year’s meeting in Cardiff includedthe summary of a talk I gave which included a report of amollusc survey in Clifton churchyard in Bedfordshire. Thissurvey was part of a long term ongoing assessment of thewildlife of this churchyard, the majority of which has beencarried out by local naturalist Alan Outen over many years.In order to give guidance to the Parochial Church Councilon ways to more effectively manage the churchyard areasfor wildlife, Alan presented a wildlife management plan fortheir consideration. At the same time it was also decidedto raise the awareness of local wildlife, including molluscs,not only to church members but to the wider community. Inorder to do this we initiated the following:-
a) A display in the church of photographic images ofwildlife recorded from the churchyard (using the formerConchological Society display boards which hadpreviously been donated for use by the church). (Figure 1).
b) A talk on the wildlife of the churchyard and the villagearea as a whole (ie within the parish boundary). This wasadvertised locally and also through county wildlife groups.The talk, introduced by the parish priest and presented byAlan and myself, covered most of the main groups,including molluscs. (Figure 2). There was also a display ofConchological Society posters’ leaflets and other material,together with living examples of slugs and snails alongwith shells for people to examine (Figure 3). A lot ofinterest was expressed in the exhibit and talk with manypeople expressing their surprise at the variety of speciesto be found.
c) Two wildlife walks through the churchyard wereorganised and publicised in the Parish Magazine, which isdistributed to every household in the village. The walksincluded looking for the presence of molluscs and peoplewere shown how to look for small species by using sieving(Figure 4) and vacuuming (figure 5) techniques.
d) Educational material from the Evolution MegalabCepaea project web site was used to involve youngchildren from the village who attend a church run Saturday
Snails and Slugs and Churchyard Tales:raising local wildlife awareness Peter Topley
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Purely by chance, as she happenedto be on holiday in the South ofFrance at the time, and knowing myinvolvement in the discovery ofPapillifera bidens (formerly Papilliferapapillaris) at Cliveden,Buckinghamshire (Ridout Sharpe,2007), a friend sent me a cutting fromthe local newspaper which shethought might interest me: ‘Unescargot prisonnier des arènesdepuis 2000 ans’ (L’Independant forLanguedoc Roussillon, 29 April 2009).The ‘arènes’ refers to the Romanarena or amphitheatre at Nîmes –and the snail is another clausiliid,Leucostigma candidescens, whichbears an uncanny resemblance to P.bidens, right down to the necklace oflittle white spots along the suture line.Is there any connection betweenthese two species? Yes, insofar asboth of these snails had beentransplanted from their home territorythrough the agency of man and havemanaged to survive in, but not spreadout from, their new localities. Eachcorrelates with a specific event in thepast and provides a tiny piece in thevast jigsaw of historical andarchaeological reconstruction.
Both clausiliids originated in Italywhere Leucostigma candidescenshas an even more restricteddistribution than Papillifera bidens,being confined to the Apenninesbetween Umbria and Campania(Fechter and Falkner, 1990). It isbelieved to have been transported toNîmes by the Romans, hidden increvices within the building stone thatthey imported from Italy in order tocreate their splendid amphitheatreduring the 1st century AD. And therethe snail has remained for nearly2000 years; it has not spread beyondthe amphitheatre and it is not knownto occur anywhere else in France.Whereas P. bidens, which wasimported into Britain from Rome in1896 hidden in the nooks andcrannies of the elaborately carvedmarble Borghese Balustrade,
remained undiscovered at Clivedenfor over 100 years, L. candidescenswas not recorded in the amphitheatreat Nîmes until 1903, after nearly 1900years of anonymity! Its survival at thissite is truly remarkable, since thearena became filled with housingduring the medieval period, wasrestored as an amphitheatre byNapoleon, and was then remodelledas a bullring in 1863 (Mienis, 2009).
Both Leucostigma candidescens andPapillifera bidens appear to have verylimited powers of dispersal, and intheir natural habitat are found oncalcareous rocks that provide thecalcium for their shells and supportthe algae and lichens on which theyfeed. In both cases, the transplantedsnails have remained virtuallyrestricted to the very material onwhich they were originally imported.Further study of the distribution ofthese clausiliids may throw light onthe movement of building stone in thepast. For example, P. bidens is foundtoday in Istanbul, Turkey, where it isbelieved to have been introducedduring the reign of Constantine theGreat around AD 330 when stonewas imported for the rebuilding ofConstantinople. Subsequently, as thisbuilding stone was reused, P. bidensfound its way into two medieval forts,and an Armenian monastery on an
island in the Sea of Marmara (Örstan,2006). I have found it among theruins of Carthage in northern Tunisia,which was rebuilt by the Romans inthe aftermath of the Punic Wars, andMenez (2007) has described itsintroduction into the Garrison LibraryGardens in Gibraltar on gardenornaments in the 18th century AD.
Snails have been introduced into newlocalities for as long as man has beentransporting the commodities – bethey plant material, building stone orwhatever – in which they naturallyoccur, and some may have beendeliberately taken to new areas as aconvenient source of food. With time,some of these ‘alien’ snails haveexpanded out from their points ofintroduction and have becomenaturalised, forming part of the nativefauna. Helix pomatia, the eponymous‘Roman snail’ and its smaller relativeCornu aspersum were both almostcertainly introduced into Britain by theRomans from their Mediterraneanhomeland; both species are edible.When the shells of these snails arefound in archaeological deposits,these deposits cannot predate theRoman period. Several other smallerspecies of snails are believed to havearrived in this country at various timesbetween the neolithic and the presentday (Davies, 2008). Most of these
The snail in the amphitheatreJanet Ridout Sharpe
Club. Activities run by Suzanne Stapleton and her co-leaders also included “snailraces” (Figure 6), hunting for snails (Figure 7) and sieving ground litter. (Figure 8).
All these activities were well received and there have been requests to repeatsome of them. The children were so fascinated that another snail hunting sessionwas organised for the following month. Over 500 species of animals and plantshave now been recorded from this churchyard. Generally speaking, increasing theinterest of local people in the wildlife on their doorstep has to be crucial to thepositive management of such areas and surely must include the message thatslugs and snails are much more than just garden pests!
Photo credits: figures 1&3, Peter Topley; 2, Jane Pavey; 4 & 5 Alan Outen;6-8 Suzanne Stapleton.
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Jackson’s Bay prides itself on being the remotest villageon Earth. There isn’t much here of course: a jetty, a fewhouses, a lobster freezing plant [deserted], no shops, abeach shack; at the end of the village a wooden hut withthe roof partly gone and a notice: Rarely available for sale,huge potential for development, street frontage, sought-after area (6414 m2), with the name of an estate agent agreat distance away... and of course some beaches withsea shells which is after all the point in going. There isalso a memorial to the first, unsuccessful settlers of thiswild coast. It is said that there were so many shipwreckshereabouts at the end of the nineteenth century that theystarted making ship’s hulls out of reinforced concrete.
To get here, start from Heathrow and fly as far as possible(Christchurch, New Zealand). Take a car and drive overthe mountains to the west coast, then travel south until theroad runs out.
The original plan was to visit that lonely beach shack,called the Cray Pot, to sample what are supposed to bethe world’s remotest fish-and-chips; but it wasn’t going tobe my lucky day, the place was closed. So waseverywhere else. Enquiries a couple of villages further upthe coast revealed that the local search-and-rescuehelicopter pilot had died, and the entire population hadgone to pay their last respects.
A footpath at the end of the harbour led through coastalbush to a pleasant rocky cove known as Ocean Beachwhich was well supplied with living and dead molluscs tostudy. This is about as far from modern living as you canget. Despite the remoteness, there was a signboardbearing a well illustrated poster with information about thesteep cliffs made of breccia several million years old andthe broad intertidal platform on which you can findbarnacle drills, radiate and ornate limpets, snakeskinchitons, top shells, green chitons, catseye snails, bluemussels, common octopus, dark rock shells, green-lippedmussels, pauas and tiny snails, as well as hosts of othermarine life. Most of these creatures were indeed there, liveand crawling, but it was a disappointment not to have seenthe octopus.
My further intention was to visit Doubtful Sound in theroad-free district known as Fiordland, but the weatherturned very wet. One group who had managed to makethe journey there said they had seen nothing but rain, mistand a few half-discerned cliff faces. Not such a good ideathen. So headed back across the mountains andsouthwards to visit Stewart Island instead.
At the southern tip of South Island at Stirling Point, afternegotiating the Fairy Chicken Disk [this is pure Bluff:where you buy the boat tickets!] I boarded a wide single-deck enclosed catamaran and headed at 22 knots acrossthe seriously corrugated seas of the Foveaux Strait toOban Harbour in Half Moon Bay. Some very pleasant treefuchsia woodland was found just beyond the harbourwhere many birds were sampling the nectar; I had a verygood sighting of the woodland parrot known as kaka inMaori, and then took the opportunity to hunt for molluscson three beaches.
One of the streets on the way back had what appeared tobe a large mobile home parked in it; but it was in fact afish-and chip restaurant on the point of opening for the lateafternoon.
In conversation with the proprietor, expresseddisappointment at not being able to eat at the Cray Pot;whereupon she produced a photograph of the saidestablishment and then claimed that it was her restaurantinstead that was the remotest on earth!
She then said, have a look in our dining area at the otherend of the caravan and see the sea shells that we haveembedded in resin in the table tops! So I did. There weresome very colourful examples of the extremely variablefan shell Talochlamys zelandiae, the wheel shell Zethalia
Sea shells at the end of the UniverseA.S. Naylor
We were amused to read about H.cinctella occupying a bollard in asupermarket car park in Alton(Chatfield, J., June 2009; MolluscWorld, Issue 20. p.7).
In May 2009 I (DH) collected twodead shells of H. cinctella from thebase of plants in flower pots in mydaughter’s garden in North Llandaff,Cardiff. They were alive earlier in theyear when I pruned the plants.
Sadly I crushed one specimen whenretrieving it from a pocket in my cardoor – it was the specimen intendedfor my friend (AB). Over a cup ofcoffee, by way of commiseration, ABrecounted finding H. cinctella at theruins of the old St. Andrew’s Churchbelow Pennsylvania Castle and aboveChurch Ope Cove, Portland, being thefirst time (03/09) that AB has noticedit on the island. Also recently (AB)received several specimens of
H. cinctella from a collector friendfrom Belgium, collected at Lanage-Kenne with an accompanying notethat H. cinctella was reported fromBelgium for the first time on 21/06/09at the mentioned locality. ABwondered whether this was in factcorrect as it seems to be a very recentdate for a first record of H. cinctella inBelgium.
Hygromia cinctella (Draparnaud, 1801) Still on the move David Harfield & Adrian Brokenshire
were probably accidentalintroductions although some of them,such as Theba pisana, are still eatenin their native Mediterraneancountries. Establishing the time ofarrival and dispersal of these differentspecies is difficult and dependent onwell-dated contexts, but in caseswhere this has been done thesesnails can provide important datingevidence. For example, the chalk hillfigure known as ‘The Long Man ofWilmington’ on the South Downs nearHastings was long thought to havebeen made in prehistoric times. Thediscovery, beneath the chalk debrisproduced during its construction, oftwo species of Mediterranean origin(Candidula intersecta and Cernuellavirgata) which are not known to haveoccurred in southeast England priorto the medieval period, has nowdated this hill figure firmly to the post-medieval (Martin Bell, pers. comm.).This process continues to the presentday, the most notable example beingthe recent and continuing expansionof Hygromia cinctella away from itspoint of introduction in South Devon,where it is believed to have arrivedfrom southern Europe in the 1950s.
The presence of non-native speciesin archaeological shell assemblagescan indicate human populationmovements, invasions, the spread of
agriculture and the dispersal of cropplants, ancient trade routes, and theimportation of specific goods andmaterials. Archaeomalacology is arelatively new discipline which is nowexpanding rapidly, and covers suchdiverse aspects as the use of landsnail assemblages to describe pastenvironments, the reconstruction ofancient diets from shell middendeposits, the analysis of oxygenisotope ratios to model seawatertemperatures in the past, the use ofshells as personal ornaments andritual objects and hence as indicatorsof cognitive development in earlyhumans – and many other thingsbesides. The Archaeo+MalacologyGroup Newsletter, which wasestablished through the pages of thismagazine’s predecessor nine yearsago (Ridout Sharpe, 2000: 385)includes short articles, reports andabstracts of papers on all aspects ofarchaeomalacology, and welcomesnew contributions. Issue number 15was published online in June 2009;this and previous issues are freelyavailable both on the website of theICAZ (International Council forArchaeozoology) ArchaeomalacologyWorking Group(http://triton.anu.edu.au/) and thepersonal website of Aydın Örstan(http://home.earthlink.net/~aydinslibrary/AMGnews.htm).
ReferencesDavies, P. 2008. Snails: archaeology andlandscape change. Oxford, Oxbow Books.
Fechter, R. and Falkner, G. 1990.Steinbachs Naturführer: Weichtiere.München, Mosaik Verlag.
Menez, A. 2007. Papillifera papillaris(Müller, 1774) in Gibraltar. Mollusc World,No. 14: 6-7.
Mienis, H.K. 2009. Leucostigmacandidescens in the Roman amphitheatreof Nîmes, France (Gastropoda,Clausiliidae). Archaeo+Malacology GroupNewsletter, No. 15: 6-7.
Örstan, A. 2006. The clausiliid snailPapillifera papillaris in Istanbul, Turkey.Archaeo+Malacology Group Newsletter,No. 9: 6-7.
Ridout Sharpe, J. 2000. Shells from theancient Aegean. Conchologists’Newsletter, No. 154: 379-385.
Ridout Sharpe, J. 2007. Papilliferapapillaris (Müller, 1774) in Britain: a giantleap for a small snail. Mollusc World, No.14: 12-14.
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Amongst the numerous snails that live on the patio in mygarden I have this year seen various pairs mating. On oneoccasion I observed a cluster of snails, several of whichhad been mating and on the brick wall behind, attached bymucus, were some white chalky love darts and some werealso attached to their intentional target snails. A selectionof the larger helicid snails have a dart sac that secreteslimy harpoons that are detached and ejected prior tomating and thought to act as stimulants to the recipientsnail. Snails are hermaphrodite having both functionalmale and female reproductive systems so darts areformed by all individuals of Cornu aspersum.
Not all helicid snails produce darts. In the Kentish Snail(Monacha cantiana) the dart sac is modified to be a longtentacle, the egersidium.
Photo: A cluster of Cornu aspersum showing love darts by JuneChatfield
l ove darts of Common Garden SnailJune Chatfield
zelandica, and two differently sized specimens of theambiguous trophon Xymene ambiguus. Just before boarding the catamaran for the muchsmoother return voyage, overheard a conversation to theeffect that that the island had completely run out of petrol,to the consternation of the water taxi operators. Such arethe perils of living in remote areas.
Illustrations by A S Naylor
Figure 1 Austrolittorina antipodarum at Ocean Beach
Figure 2 Ringaringa Bay on Stewart Island
Figure 3 Callochiton pelliserpentis at Ringaringa Bay
Figure 4 Kai Kart fish and chip restaurant on Stewart Island
Figure 5 Dining area in Kai Kart fish and chip restaurant
Figure 6 Talochlamys zelandiae shells inset in table in Kai Kart fish and chip restaurant
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We have always had enjoyable holidays on islands, usuallya good source of shells and shell sand, but when wedecided to strike off into the unknown in 2005, we metwith problems. In choosing our destination in Shetland asthe Out Skerries, a very small group of islands ten miles tothe east of mainland and perhaps five miles to the northeast of Whalsay, there is little room for a range of habitats.Two small islands are linked by a bridge, with one shopon each, having probably less than seventy inhabitants inall. There are quite a surprising number of young familiesforming a close community. I think the main occupation isfishing.
Our house was beside the aircraft runway, with a linkinggate. We could go through the gate to walk up the runway,except when a plane was due, shown by the arrival of thefire tender. As the planes are only eight seaters once ortwice a day, there was little disturbance from them.
For our first trip we strode up the runway to the nearest"beach" consisting of very large rounded stones and a lotof limpet shells. There were no sandy beaches. Shell sandwould be impossible to find, or would it? There were onthat beach very many recently washed up Laminaria stems,with holdfasts, that were still damp and tight. I collected afew and on cutting them up found a treasure trove ofsand, which I was surprised to see complete with smallshells, besides the larger shells which do naturally live insuch habitats, such as distorted scallops and saddleoysters. I did the sorting above a plastic bag to collecteverything. I then washed it and left it in a plasticcontainer to dry on the grass near the house. When I wentout to get it a rogue seagull had upended the container. Itwas easy to pick up the larger shells but the sand andsmall shells were mainly lost in the grass, so I am unableto give a complete list, but I did try collecting again. All the beaches were similarly stony and lacked interestingshells, but on the cliff tops were a collection of larger shellsincluding razorshells which must have been dropped byfeeding gulls. How far can they be carried? There are nosuitable habitats around, except possibly the smalloffshore island called Grunay, but you do get good viewsof whales (mainly Minke) and dolphins, from the hill.
I can only think that the holdfasts are attached to rocks inan area of swirling sand which gets washed in to thenooks and crannies, but how far they come I do not know.At least I was not entirely deprived of shell sand and itwas a very interesting, different place to stay in for threeweeks
The shells found were mainly typical holdfast dwellers. Ifound eighteen species listed as follows, with my thoughtson their likely habitats. Has anyone any further ideasplease?
o ut Skerries Shell SandChristine Street
Chiton sp One worn valve. Probably washed in.
Tectura virginia only two found. They may have been washed in.
Patella vulgata Three found. It doesn't seem a typical habitat.
Helcion pellucidum Thirty plus found. A typical holdfast dweller.
Gibbula cineraria Five fairly large ones found. Asthey are intertidal, not a typical holdfast dweller?
Rissoa parva Forty-seven found. As they lay eggs on weeds, they are to be expected.
Lacuna pallidula Ten juveniles found. As their eggs are laid on weeds, they maybe there for protection.
Alvania punctura Fifteen juveniles found. They breed in weeds and holdfasts.
Onoba semicostata Twenty-one found. They breed in weeds and silt.
Kellia suborbicularis Fifteen plus found, mainly juveniles. They are typical crevice dwellers.
Turtonia minuta Two single valves only, but they do inhabit crevices. Perhaps there were more I lost.
Hiatella arctica Fifty plus specimens. Typical holdfast, crevice dweller.
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IMPORTANT: Pleaseremember to inform the leaderif you are attending a fieldmeeting. If you are held up intraffic or your public transportis delayed, it may be possibleto ring the ProgrammeSecretary on 0794 109 4395on the day of the meeting forinformation on the location ofthe field site being surveyed.
Indoor meetings at the NaturalHistory Museum will take placein the Dorothea Bate Room[Palaeontology DemonstrationRoom] at the end of Gallery30, unless otherwise stated.Please note the earlier starttimes, and also the long indoormeeting in January with anearly start time of 11:00 h.Please bring plenty of exhibitsand demonstration material. The Programme Secretary willbe happy to receive any offersto lead field meetings orsuggestions for speakers forindoor meetings.
WKSHP - Saturday 28 November
Annual Molluscan WorkshopThis meeting is being held bykind invitation of Judith NelsonatHilbre House, PembrokeRoad, Woking, Surrey GU227ED(01483 761210) from 10:00hprompt until approximately17:00hPlease note Hilbre is a non-smoking propertyThose attending should pleasebring a microscope and lamps (a few microscopes areavailable if booked inadvance), Petri dishes or otherdishes for sorting purposes, a
fine water colour paint brush(00), tweezers/forceps, dissecting tools, ifpossible an extension leadand/or double electric plug,books to help identification,and a packed lunch. Coffee,tea and biscuits are provided.As numbers for the workshopare limited, please confirm anybooking made by 1 Novemberso that it can be checkedwhether there are any placesvacant. Those NOT confirmingby 1 November will be takenas not wishing to attend andtheir place will go to someoneelse. No reminders will begiven. A fee of £5 will be charged tocover expenses.PLEASE BOOK EARLY.The programme for November2009 is as follows but subjectto change: small marinebivalves, and helicid landsnails including identificationusing shell fragments from anarchaeological perspective.Other items may be broughtfor identification. If you wouldlike any other subjects dealtwith, please contact Judith.
NHM - Saturday 12 December14:00h in the Dorothea BateRoom [PalaeontologyDemonstration Room],preceded by Council meeting.
Guest speakers at 14:00hGraham Long (Fordingbridge)and June Chatfield (Alton)Non-Marine Molluscs ofHampshire
NHM - Saturday 30 January 2009
11:00h in the Dorothea BateRoom [PalaeontologyDemonstration Room]Please note the revised starttime. No Council meeting.
Please bring plenty of exhibitsand demonstration material.There will be a lunch break atabout 13:00h. Lecture to startat 14:00h.
The programme is still at theplanning stage but willprobably include exhibits and
demonstrations of smallmolluscs.
Members are encouraged tobring specimens of anyMollusca for identification, aX20 binocular microscope willbe available if needed.
Guest speaker at 14:00hNathalie Yonow (University ofSwansea)Opisthobranchs of the RedSea
AbstractOpisthobranchs havefascinated scientists for manyyears. A general overview ispresented, covering aspects ofevolution, biology and ecology,and systematics with respectto Red Sea species. The RedSea is an importantbiogeographical region, and ananalysis of speciescomposition is presented. Thenumber of species recordedfrom the Gulf of Eilat and theRed Sea totals more than 250.Of these, over 70 speciesoccur only in the Red Sea,providing a figure ofapproximately 25% endemism.The geographical range of theremaining 75% is analysed. Ofthese, 30-odd species arefound only in the Gulf of Eilatand 120 species are commonto both seas. Two thirds of theGulf species are west Pacificand Indo-Pacific in distribution,and a few are recorded onlyfrom the Gulf and not in theRed Sea! Transportation ofegg masses in ballast tanksand on hull invertebratecommunities is presented as ameans of dispersal.Publications onopisthobranchs from the RedSea go back 250 years. Ahistorical review is presentedcovering the major expeditionsas well as research carried outat the two marine stations inthe Red Sea, Eilat (Israel) andHurghada (Egypt). Some ofthe old hand coloured platesare reproduced for the firsttime and many of their speciesare readily identifiable today.
NHM - Saturday 27 February 2009
14:00h in the Dorothea BateRoom [PalaeontologyDemonstration Room],preceded by Council meeting.
Guest speaker at 14:00hMax Blythe (University ofOxford)A snail of two cities
AbstractInvestigations at Winnats Passin Derbyshire in 1966-68showed a fascinatingdistribution of Ariantaarbustorum and Cepaeanemoralis, with A arbustorumdominating the main north-facing slope of the gorge andC. nemoralis being largelyconfined to the south-facingone, despite its "foodpreferences" being on theother.
NHM - Saturday 27 March14:00h in the Dorothea BateRoom [PalaeontologyDemonstration Room],preceded by Council meeting.
Annual General MeetingPresidential Address bySebastian Payne Australian shells and thecolonisation of Lord HoweIsland
AbstractThe shell fauna of Australia is,by British standards, verydiverse. Most families withwhich we are familiar fromEuropean waters are alsofound round Australia, thoughthe genera and species areusually rather different, anddiversity is generally higher.But there are also manyrepresentatives of much lessfamiliar tropical Pacificfamilies.
Lord Howe Island is a volcanicisland about 400km NE ofSydney; it emerged about 7million years ago, and issurrounded by water over1000m deep. The shell faunaof Lord Howe Island casts light
Key to meetings:NHM = Natural History
Museum, London, indoor meeting
FIELD = Field Meeting at outdoor location
WKSHP = Workshop on Molluscan topic
yCS = Yorkshire Conch. Soc. events
Diary of Meetings - Conchological SocietyProgramme Secretary: Ron Boyce, 447c Wokingham Road, Earley, Reading, Berkshire RG6 7EL
30 31
We are planning to hold a one-day workshop (orworkshops) on shellsand next April.
Its main purpose is to introduce beginners to workingwith shellsand. The main part of the day will be a longpractical session in which participants working either withtheir own shellsand or with shellsand provided by theorganisers, will
sieve a sample, sort through the fractions, and then identify what they have found with help
(and hand-outs).
Participants will be able to take their finds away at the endof the day, as a starter reference collection, together withcourse handouts.
The day will also include various short talks on topics likehow to find shellsand; how to clean and sort shellsand;identification; and how to handle, label and store smallshells.
All necessary equipment will be provided, includingmicroscopes, sieves, brushes and forceps, gelatine capsulesand specimen boxes, and so on.
Those with some experience would also be very welcome;we will include a show-and-tell session towards the end ofthe day so that participants can see a wider range ofmaterial, using a videomicroscope that links to a PCscreen.
Possible dates are Saturday 10 April and Saturday 24April; possible locations are Cambridge (Dept ofZoology), Godalming, Reading (Dept. of Archaeology) andYork (Dept. of Archaeology).
This is not a Conch. Soc. meeting, and is open to all; asmall charge will be made to cover xeroxing anddisposable equipment costs.
Would anyone who is interested please contact ChristineStreet before 30 December:[email protected]; e-mail preferred, but ifyou don’t have e-mail, 020 8554 8671.
Photo: Example of shell sand from Porth Towyn, LleynPeninsula, Wales.
Shellsand workshop: is anyone interested?Christine Street, Bas Payne and Jan Light
In order to widen the informationprovided to members and to provide aservice for members and others whowish to advertise in the magazine, weare pleased to invite advertisements,provided they are in line with theConchological Society’s charitableobjectives and responsibilities. Typicalexamples might include books andother publications, equipment,
services and collections of (orindividual) shells. The latter will bevetted on a case by case basis andonly accepted if there are no ethicalproblems. Advertisements of shellsfor sale from commercial shell dealerswill generally not be accepted.
A nominal charge will usually bemade for advertisements and will be
required from commercial advertisers.Charges per issue are currently £20per 100cm2 space for a boxedadvertisement or £1.00 per line for atext only advertisement. Any requestsfor advertisements should be sent tothe Editor by the normal route;information on preferred methods ofpayment will be given at the time.
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