Preface 



This book wrote itself in response to the many hundreds of inquiries on 

 seashells and other mollusks that have been sent to such museums as the 

 Smithsonian Institution. Our natural heritage of seashore treasures has always 

 been of keen interest to Americans, and in recent years there has been such 

 an increase in shell collecting and biological investigations of mollusks that 

 the need for a book like this has become apparent. 



American Seashells belongs to the amateurs, for it is their enthusiasm in 

 searching beaches and bays and their limitless curiosity into the ways of mol- 

 luscan life that have dictated the contents of this book. How do shells grow? 

 How do they form their color patterns? How do they breed and what do 

 they eat? are the kind of questions asked. But the greatest demand has been 

 for a reliable and up-to-date identification work. This need has been felt 

 not only by private collectors, but particularly by students of marine biology 

 and those undertaking research in fisheries and ecology. In meeting these re- 

 quirements, there has been an attempt to strike a balance between the palat- 

 able, popular accounts and the more technical material. The illustrations, the 

 standardization of popular names and the natural history accounts will be of 

 particular interest to the beginner, and it is hoped that the monographic re- 

 views, identification keys and the bibliographies will adequately serve the 

 serious student. 



There are over 6000 species of mollusks living in North American marine 

 waters, and a thorough treatment of them all would call for a book many times 

 the size of this. The conchologist will find that the 1500 species discussed or 

 illustrated within these pages include every kind of shell likely to be found 

 in shallow waters, whether collecting is done in Labrador, Florida or along 

 the western shores from Alaska to Lower California. 



While considerable original research went into many parts of this book, 

 it should be kept in mind that a popular book covering such a vast fauna is 

 merely an expression of the present state of knowledge of our science and 

 that time and research by others will inevitably render sections of it obsolete. 



I would like to express my thanks to Dr. Leonard Carmichael, Secretary 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, for granting permission to publish on and illus- 

 trate specimens housed in the United States National Museum. Although the 

 efforts involved in this project did not encroach upon official time, I would 



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