William Wood (1774–1857), trained as a physician, soon turned his attention to natural history book publication and sales. Working in London, his chief malacological publications were the General conchology (1814–1815; reprinted in 1835), two editions of the Index testaceologicus (1818, 1823–1825; the latter reprinted in 1828), and a Supplement (1828) to the Index containing many new species. He made available 282 specific names, of which 109 are now considered valid. Type lots of many of his species are present in The Natural History Museum, London, some newly located during the present study.

Syntypes of fourspecies of bivalve molluscs — Nucula laternaria Valenciennes, 1846; Nucula amygdalea Valenciennes, 1846; and Nucula oeolica Valenciennes, 1846, all Yoldiidae; and Cardium californiense Deshayes, 1839, Cardiidae — collected from Kamchatka during the historic voyage of the Vénus (1836–1839), are illustrated and their taxonomic status and distribution are discussed.

The effects of four stocking densities of 20, 40, 60, 80 mussels/m² on growth of Unio tigridis were investigated. The growth of the freshwater mussel U. tigridis in cages was studied for a year from March 2003 to April 2004 in Lake Gölbaşļ. Juvenile mussels with the initial weight of 0.64 ± 0.08 g were stocked in metal cages placed on the lake bottom. Growth in live weight, shell length, width and height was measured monthly for the four different stock groups. Chlorophyll a, magnesium (Mg), nitrite (NO₂), nitrate (NO₃), amount of organic matters, ammonia (NH₃), phosphate (PO₄), silica (Si) and calcium (Ca) were also analyzed monthly. All water quality parameters were within proper limits for mussel culture. At the end of the study, the greatest live weight (5.55 ± 0.03 g) was obtained from 40 mussels/m², with 3.5 2 ± 0.02 cm and 1.47 ± 0.03 cm as length and width values, respectively. The greatest height was determined in a stocking rate of 60 mussels/m², with 1.99 ± 0.03 cm. Therefore, juveniles should be stocked in early spring for U. tigridis at a level of 40–60 individuals/m².

A recent study revised the generic level taxonomy of the family Octopodidae, and several species groups that were previously included in Octopus are now recognized as independent genera. However, knowledge regarding phylogenetic relationships among taxa in the family Octopodidae is still poor. The phylogenetic relationships of shallow-water benthic octopus species in Japan and adjacent waters were examined in the present study using mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and III (COI and COIII, respectively) sequence data, and the taxonomic statuses of the octopus species were compared to those derived by morphological identification. We obtained COI (657 bp) and COIII (464 bp) sequences from 45 taxa assigned to 34 species of seven genera. Samples used were voucher specimens stored in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. Sequences of the genes of both Haliphron atlanticus and Tremoctopus violaceus from GenBank were included as outgroup taxa. Additionally, sequences of the genes of Octopus vulgaris obtained from Mediterranean coast of France, which is type locality of this species, was also included from GenBank in order to discuss about status of Japanese O. vulgaris. Through phylogenetic analyses, we recognized Callistoctopus and a distinct group including four Octopus species and an Enteroctopus species, which was designated the “Enteroctopus group” in the present study, with high bootstrap support. Amphioctopus was not completely distinguished because it sometimes formed a clade together with Hapalochlaena, which shows morphological affinities with Amphioctopus. Abdopus O. laqueus O. cyanea and O. vulgaris O. oliveri were recognized as distinct groups, but the phylogenetic support for these groups was weak. For identifying species using short DNA sequences, sequence divergences were calculated using COI sequences. Sequences within and among species were generally divergent enough to discriminate the species, but several overlaps with intra- and interspecific divergence caused by poor taxonomic resolution were also observed. Although performing species identification using DNA sequences from shallow-water benthic octopus species is premature, the results in this study indicated the possible application of COI sequences in octopus species identification, thereby providing a preliminary dataset for future DNA barcoding of octopus.

Gastropod movements have been studied in the context of habitat selection, finding food and mates, and avoiding predation. Many of these studies were conducted in the laboratory, where constraints on spatial scale influence behavior. We conducted a field study of Florida apple snail (Pomacea paludosa) movements using telemetry. We hypothesized that Florida apple snail movements were driven by reproductive activity, and that gender differences would be evident. We documented male and female directions and distances traveled. We also conducted a trapping study that included conspecific bait to test if the presence of females attracted more males as measured by M:F ratios in traps. The greatest distances traveled were by males, and males were more likely to maintain a consistent bearing compared to females. Male distances peaked in what typically corresponds to peak breeding season. M:F ratios in traps were positively associated with reproductive activity in the study population as measured by egg cluster counts. Conspecific bait had no effect on the number of males or females captured. However, if a female crawled into the trap, we observed greater numbers of males compared to those with no trapped females. Males may have tracked females to increase mating encounters, following slime trails, as seen in other aquatic (including other Pomacea) snails. The capacity for mate finding has implications for reproductive success in the relatively low density populations often seen for Pomacea paludosa.

A revision of the members of Cuspidaria present on the continental slope (700–2,000 m) of the Campos Basin (22°S) off southeastern Brazil was carried out. Eight taxa are recognized. Two of them were previously unknown to science and are described here: Cuspidaria tamandua, n. sp., and Cuspidaria wapixana, n. sp. Three species are recorded from Brazilian waters for the first time: Cuspidaria papyria Jeffreys, 1876, a poorly described species that is here redescribed; Cuspidaria wollastonii Smith, 1885; and Cuspidaria cf. barnardi Knudsen, 1970. The geographic distribution is enlarged northwards for Cuspidaria platensis (Smith, 1885) and southwards for Cuspidaria monosteira Dall, 1890. Cuspidaria circinata (Jeffreys, 1876) was previously reported for Brazil, but the present record fills a gap in its distribution in the southwest Atlantic. Bathyneaera globulosa Krylova, 1993, is here considered a junior synonym of C. monosteira; Cuspidaria consociata (Smith, 1885) and Cuspidaria munieri Dautzenberg & Fischer, 1897, are both considered junior synonyms of C. circinata. A list of all Cuspidaria species recorded for the Atlantic Ocean is given.

Partula gibba, commonly known as the Fat Guam Partula, is endemic to Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, and it is listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The effects of calcium concentration on its growth and reproductive success were studied.

The snails were divided into six groups, fed ad libitum on a diet based on the one formulated by Frame and Clarke at the Nottingham University approximately 25 years ago or variants in which cuttlebone was substituted by various concentrations of calcium carbonate. Shell height, thickness and width, aperture/lip height and width where recorded every month for a whole year, and all were found to be significantly positively correlated with the percentage of added calcium carbonate in the diet (range 0–40% dry wt:wt). Morphometric growth parameters of snails fed 20% added calcium carbonate did not differ significantly from the diet with added cuttlebone (20%), with the exception of their reproductive success, which was lower with the cuttlebone treatment. Reproduction success (expressed by the number of newborns per adult per month) was also significantly and positively correlated over the range of added calcium carbonate to the diet.

The gumboot chiton Cryptochiton stelleri Middendorff, 1847, is the largest intertidal invertebrate herbivore in the northeast Pacific, but little is known about the fine-scale distribution of this species within its range. In this study, extensive intertidal surveys were used to determine the distribution of C. stelleri within six rocky intertidal sites on the southern coast of Oregon, USA, and found that gumboot chitons show a patchy and clumped distribution. At all six sites, individuals were found at highest densities within small coves, and small specimens (< 15 cm long) were found almost exclusively in sea urchin pits. Age-frequency histograms were created for populations of C. stelleri at all six sites and showed sporadic cohort success, likely as a result of sporadic recruitment. Successful cohorts were indicated by peaks in the age-frequency histograms and were compared between sites in order to determine whether or not successful cohorts occurred at the same time at all sites. There was low similarity between sites, and a negative correlation was found between distance between sites and percent similarity in age-frequency peaks. Combined with other factors, this suggests that larval settlement and cohort success of C. stelleri is driven by local factors, not such large-scale factors as upwelling or El Niño.

A new review of available information, published and unpublished, on the biology and paleobiology of turhtelline gastropods expands our knowledge of this important group, which is among the most abundant and widespread marine gastropod clades of the past 130 million years. It also highlights many areas in which additional research is needed.

Living turhtellines are mainly sessile, semi-infaunal suspension feeders, in shallow waters of full-marine salinity and temperatures below 20°C, but they can occasionally be more active and diverse in their habits, crawling on the surface and thriving in a variety of depths, salinities, and temperatures. They are eaten by a surprising diversity of predators, and infected by numerous parasites, especially trematodes, but little is known about interactions with predators, parasites, competitors, or commensals in nature. Their reproductive patterns (broadcast spawning and spermatophores) appear to depend on high abundance, which may help explain why they are the dominant species in many marine communities. The larvae of most species float (or swim) and feed in the plankton for no more than 2 weeks, but nothing is known about settlement. Several fossils and at least one modern species are brooders. Spermatozoa are dimorphic, and frequently paired and/or multiflagellate.

Soft anatomy is known for only a few species, and ranges of variation remain largely undocumented. Radulae in particular have been strangely neglected, and this paper presents only the second published SEM image of a turritelline radula. Shell growth rates are variable but can be relatively rapid. Most species appear to live less than three years. Little is known about shell function or development. Although there is strong evidence for a positive correlation of abundance with available nutrients and/or primary productivity, this has not been examined quantitatively or experimentally.

Gathering such natural history information on marine gastropod groups should be as high a priority as systematic and phylogenetic analyses. Information scattered in the literature is now much more available via internet search tools, and this approach should be used for other groups.

The present paper provides a complete overview of the camaenid land snail fauna of the 22 largest islands along the Kimberley coast, northwesternmost Western Australia, which were surveyed between 2007 and 2010. These islands were found to harbour a total of 104 species (83 new) in 15 genera (5 new), including taxa described recently. Species were essentially delimited by means of comparative analyses of shells (size, shape, sculpture, colouration), genital anatomy (in particular penial anatomy), and genetic differentiation in a mitochondrial marker (partial 16S rRNA sequences). Additionally, the radular and jaw morphology of selected species was studied but found to provide little useful information for taxonomic purposes. Species of the following genera are treated: Amplirhagada Iredale, 1933 (22 species), Carinotrachia Solem, 1985 (2 subspecies), Kimberieymelon Köhler, 2010 (1 species), Kimberleydiscus Köhler, 2010 (1 species), Australocosmica Köhler, 2011 (6 species), Kimboraga Iredale, 1939 (4 species), Xanthomelon Martens, 1860 (1 species), Globorhagada Iredale, 1933 (8 species; the name Globorhagada being removed from synonymy of Xanthomelon), Rhagada Albers, 1860 (8 species), Retroterra Solem, 1985 (3 species), Baudinella Thiele, 1931 (5 species), Setobaudinia Iredale, 1933 (14 species), Torresitrachia Iredale, 1939 (17 species or subspecies). In addition, two new genera, Molema, n. gen. (one species) and Kimberleytrachia, n. gen. (12 species), are described. The taxa Torresitrachia umbonis Solem, 1979, T. deflecta Solem, 1979, and T. crawfordi Solem, 1979, are transferred to the new genus Kimberleytrachia. Species previously assigned to Damochlora are transferred to Setobaudinia; the former genus name likely being a junior synonym of the latter. The following species are delimited differently compared to the latest available revisions: “Xanthomelon” (now: Globorhagada) prudhoensis (E. A. Smith, 1894); “Damochlora” (now: Setobaudinia) rectilabrum (E. A. Smith, 1894); “Torresitrachia” (now: Kimberleytrachia) umbonis (Solem, 1979); Torresitrachia amaxensis Solem, 1979; T. bathurstensis (E. A. Smith, 1894). Most species were found to be island endemics. The work increases the number of known camaenids in northwestern Australia considerably and highlights the region as significant hotspot of land snail diversity.

The fissurellid subfamily Hemitominae Kuroda, Habe & Oyama, 1971, has been synonymized under the subfamily Emarginulinae by recent authors. Here it is redefined and characterized by a shell with either a short slit and selenizone, or a small notch without selenizone, and a radula synapomorphy, in which the rachidian and adjacent lateral teeth are of nearly the same size, the central field partitioned by a “transverse ridge.” A generic review treating nine genera, including three new genera, is provided.

Three new genera — Hemimarginula, Octomarginula, and Variegemarginula — are considered basal, differing from the Mesozoic stem genus Emarginula Lamarck, 1801, in lower profile and by the shorter slit and radula synapomorphy. The genus Montfortula Iredale, 1915, is also basal, having a selenizone and notch visible in anterior view. The earliest basal member of the hemitomine lineage is the extinct Loxotoma Fischer, 1885, which arose in the Late Jurassic. Derived genera are Montfortia Récluz, 1843; Montfortista Iredale, 1929; and Hemitoma Swainson, 1840, which lack the slit and selenizone but have a notch in anterior view. Montfortulana Habe, 1961, and Clypidina Gray, 1847, are further derived, with the transverse ridge replaced by clumped pustules.

Instead of progressing to a shell form with an excurrent foramen at the apex (as in the derived emarginuline genera Puncturella Lowe, 1827, and Diodora Gray, 1821), this lineage reduces the prominence of the slit and leads to an imperforate shell that resembles the shell of other limpet groups.

My concept of the Hemitominae differs from that of the recent molecular phylogeny of Fissurellidae (Aptikis et al., 2011), which was poorly resolved, principally because it sequenced species of four rather than nine genera here determined as Hemitominae.