Felix Lorenz Bücher

813 schw.-w. Abb., 72 Tab., 124 Ktn, 112 farb. Taf. mit 3040 farb. u. 12 schw.-w. Taf. mit 152 schw.-w. Abb.

This book is a comprehensive treatment of the family Cypraeidae. 260 species taxa and 193 subspecies of living cowries, placed in 9 subfamilies and 49 genera, are discussed. The systematics follows molecular data as well as shell and animal morphology. A selection of fossil taxa is presented to understand the evolutionary history and the modification of the cowrie's shapes over millions of years. Diagnostic plates guide the reader to the taxa. For each taxon the original reference, synonyms, descriptions, as well as habitat and distribution are given. Introductory chapters treat the different aspects of biology and systematics and are entitled „Cowries and Man“, „Animal Morphology“, „Reproduction and Development“, „The Adult Shell“, „Habitat and Distribution“, „The Molecules“ and „History of Cowries“.

This book is the first comprehensive comparative and iconographic revision of the gastropod family Ovulidae since Cate published his famous „Systematic Revision“ in The Veliger (1973). Although we have spent six years discussing and carefully evaluating the literature, an immense number of shells and animal pictures, we are unable to give conclusive answers to all the open questions, but we both feel that we have made progress. An introductory chapter shows the most important morphological features of the ovulid animal and the shell, followed by a section on the biology and ecology of these animals. The systematic part enumerates and discusses all taxa and all the information we could gather. Colour plates depicting and discussing more than 2000 shells, and hundreds of photographs of living animals illustrate the diversity of the group.