Category: Mollusca

Having (fairly recently) re-approached the gastropod book with a view to updating the systematics and taxonomy, I have taken the opportunity also to make a new start on its sister book on bivalves.

Since the above entailed reviewing the species checklist, I have made checklists of the other molluscan classes for Britain and northwest Europe: Monoplacophora, Aplacophora, Polyplacophora (or Amphineura; chitons), Scaphopoda (tusk-shells), Cephalopoda.

Another group, the Brachiopoda, while not molluscs, are in the same superphylum, Lophophorata – and the list for the group is now completed.

Lophophorata Systematics:

Domain: EUKARYOTA Whittaker & Margulis, 1978 (= Eucarya Woese)
Subdomain: UNIKONTA Cavalier-Smith, 2002
Superkingdom:OPISTHOKONTA Cavalier-Smith, 1987
Clade: FILOZOA Shalchian-Tabrizi, Minge, Espelund, Orr, Ruden, Jakobsen and Cavalier Smith, 2008
Clade: APOIKOZOA Budd and Jensen, 2015
Kingdom: ANIMALIA Linné, 1758 (= Metazoa Huxley, Polycytozoa auctt.)
Subkingdom: EUMETAZOA Butschli, 1910
Unranked: BILATERIA Hatschek, 1888
Clade: NEPHROZOA Jondelius, et al., 2002 (= Protostomia [see below] + Deuterostomia Grobben)
Clade: PROTOSTOMIA Grobben, 1908(= Gastroneuralia Harschek, Protostoma auctt.)
Clade: SPIRALIA Nielsen, 1995(≡ Lophotrochozoa Halanych)
Superphylum: LOPHOPHORATA Hyman, 1959 (=PlatyzoaCavalier-Smith, Tentaculata Ax)

As well as my Cleethorpes book (see separate post), I have been preparing a book entitled, ‘A Field Guide to the Marine Gastropods of Britain and northwest Europe’.

The Field Guide describes over 800 species (from northern France to the North Pole) in detail, as well as their habits, habitats, ranges and European distributions.

The book was originally intended as a sister-guide to Kerney and Cameron’s ‘Land Snails of Britain and northwest Europe (Collins) – but, again, I have been unable to find a publisher.

As with the Cleethorpes book, I shall keep trying…