Marine Molluscs of French Polynesia
Mollusques Marins de Polynésie Français
by M. Boutet, R. Gourguet, J. Letourneux
ISBN 9782367342467, published in 2020 by Editions Pacifique, Au Vent des Iles & Universite de la Polynesie Francaise, hardcover with dust-jacket, about 7.75 by 10.25 inches, 20 by 26 cm., 766 pages, more than 2500 are shown in full-color photographs, the text is bilingual in English and French
Only 10 9 8 7 5 copies of this new book at the introductory sale price
I am delighted to add this new book to our inventory. It is the first survey of marine mollusks from this part of the world since 1984. It dwarfs the coverage of these shells by a factor of more than five times. Polynesia covers thousands of square miles of the Pacific Ocean. It includes the Society Islands, The Marquesas Islands, the Tuamoto Group, The Austral Islands, and the Gambier Archipelago. Shells from the Society Island Group, mainly from Tahiti and, those from some of the islands in the Marquesas group have been fairly easy for us to find. But this is the first time that I have seen a study that includes the other major groups. The book is fully bilingual, and the photographs of the mollusks are clear and color-balanced. There is some interesting material in the first chapters about the mollusks of French Polynesia and includes colored pictures of the Polynesian landscape, shell collection and, other photographs that add interest to the book. The largest part of the book is the survey of the shells that make up the marine mollusks. Each taxonomic family is given an introduction and described, followed by photographs of selected shells within that family. The three authors and the others that contributed their work should be congratulated and thanked for giving us this excellent addition to our shell information libraries. These books are new.
