The Recent Mollusca 



of 



Augustus Addison Gould 



Introduction 



This study is an attempt to bring together the original references 

 to all the Recent mollusks described by Augustus Addison Gould, to 

 locate as many of the type specimens as possible, and to figure all 

 types previously unfigured, selecting lectotypes when required. 



It is not to be inferred that the author regards the fixation of types 

 as a final goal in systematics. Types are only taxonomic building 

 blocks. We are still faced with the problem of taxonomic stability 

 in mollusks, of making "taxonomy 1864" sufficiently precise to serve 

 the needs of "taxonomy 1964" and, although the old typological 

 concept has been replaced by the population concept, we still have 

 to fix and clarify many of the species. In this regard, we should 

 judge the work of older naturalists such as Gould by the best standards 

 of their own times and not by our own. 



It has not been our purpose to bring up to date each of the species 

 covered; this is a task for individual revisers. If we have helped to 

 make this task easier and their conclusions more precise, our purpose 

 will have been served. 



It gives me pleasure to thank those people whose willing cooperation 

 has eased the task of accumulating data. Special thanks are due to 

 Drs. Harald A. Render and Joseph P. E. Morrison of the United States 

 National Museum for their ever-willing aid in searching for types, for 

 suffering numerous interruptions in their own research, for helping 

 with the mounting and dismounting of specimens for photography, 

 and for performing tiresome but necessary tasks connected with the 

 project. 



Dr. Vincente Conde made available for study the P. P. Carpenter 

 collection at the Peter Redpath Museum, McGill University, Mon- 

 treal, Canada, and loaned types for photographing. Drs. J. W. Wells 

 and W. Storrs Cole of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, made 

 available certain types in the W. Newcomb collection. Dr. W. K. 

 Emerson of the American Museum of Natural History, New York 

 City, and Mr. Peter Dance and Mr. H. M. Muir-Wood of the British 



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