FOREWORD 



This new and revised edition of Dr. Louise M. Perry's "Marine 

 Shells of the Southwest Coast of Florida" will mark another mile- 

 stone in our knowledge of Western Atlantic mollusks. The edition 

 in 1940 was the first serious attempt to monograph a small regional 

 area south of the State of New York. This newly revised edition 

 by Dr. Perry and Dr. Jeanne S. Schwengel, not only adds several 

 more species to this record, but in addition, much detail on the 

 early life histories of many species. This is exceedingly important. We 

 still know little regarding our mollusks other than that they exist. 

 The task of finding life history data is not easy, and it calls for pro- 

 longed study in the field. Casual collecting can add a few details, but 

 only continuity of observation can chain the facts together. 



I can recall vividly the day I spent with Dr. Perry in her little 

 laboratory on Sanibel Island. This was many years ago. As fast as 

 she could locate "live egg cases", they were added to her aquaria, 

 and when the young hatched they were drawn and notes made on 

 their development until they were large enough to be identified with 

 a known species. Dr. Schwengel has screened this large mass of data 

 and added all that were conclusive to the species in this area. 



Cambridge, Mass. William J. Clench, 



March, 1954 Curator of Mollusks, 



Museum of Comparative Zoology, 

 Harvard University 



