SHELL HUNTER'S HANDBOOK

Conchology and shoreline foraging is a fascinating hobby and seashells are wonders of nature that have been linked with the human story since the dawn of civilisation. Scientifically known as marine molluscs, seashells are the hard outer covering of highly adaptable snails and other creatures. The 'golden age' of shell collecting was during the 200 years of discovery up to the end of the 20th century. Three quarters of the world's molluscs are included in the Class gastropoda with a hard shell like that of the garden snail and there are between 20,000 and 30,000 known species including limpets, cowries, murexes, cones and olives. Class bivalvia comprises two pieces joined by a supple ligament and they include oysters, mussels, cockles and clams. Some species have no shell such as the octopus and others are known as chitons or 'coat of mail' shells and resemble woodlice with eight segmented plates. Beautiful fossils of shells like the ammonite with its ribbed, snail like form are proof of now extinct species like the cephalopods. To understand scientific names and identify the more exotic specimens, more than 200 photographs and illustrations and expert advice on what to look for, hints and tips and where and when to forage are given in this special handbook. And enjoy the beautiful photographs of razorshells and jackknife clams, ark shells, the spindle with raised edges and colours of very pale pink or cream or reddish mauve, bright white, almost purple, spiny or the incredible giant worm and scaled worm shells which are squiggly. 192pp, colour illus. throughout.