• Man and Mollusc: Uses of Shell-Bearing Molluscs - Past, Present & Future: Article by Avril Bourquin with editing and added NOTES by Ross Mayhew:  This article looks into the relationship between man and molluscs.   Ours is an age-old and fascinating relationship.   This was my first article I’ve ever written and was my original inspiration for developing this site. (September 14, 2003)
  
  Simplified version of the Man and Mollusc Article: Simplified in that some of the Latin scientific terminology has been written in layman’s terms and some areas have been condensed so that it is possibly easier to digest by younger viewers. This article has not been reworked, So kids, you would also be advised to check out the Advanced article above!
  
  

• The Odessa-Oreo Files: Oreo and Odessa, two pet snails penpals talk about the pros, cons and legalities of keeping snails as pets. We, Avril and Joyce - the owners of the two pet snails, hope you enjoy this article and we hope that these fun pages help to educate the public as to being RESPONSIOBLE snail pet owners.

• Personal Observations on Nucella lamellosa
  (Gmelin, 1791) by Dan Yoshimoto

• Rare Canyon Snail at Risk: Triodopsis platysayoides (Brooks, 1933) Cheat threetooth by Ken Hotopp

• Amazing Molluscan Facts: the original idea, and many of the facts for this article came from the COA website (Conchologists of America article:  Just the Facts:  Things You Always Wanted to Know About Shells.  I expanded and added new data to the article and Ross edited and added some comments and notes to it as well:  It's a wild and weird world, and Molluscs certainly do their part!

• Interesting Geoduck Facts: by Avril Bourquin

• Spondylus, Strombus, and Conus: Offerings to the Andean Gods : (Sept. 17): National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History, Peru, Lima: Article by: Manuel Gorriti Manchego and Victor Falcon Huayta: A wonderful article by these gentlemen on the archaeological use of molluscs in Peru. This article will appear in both English and Spanish
  en español
  
  

• Prehistoric Shellfish Gathering by Katherine Szabo: (Feb. 01, 2002) A great article on the the use of of prehistoric mollusc consumption.

• Voyages of the H.M. Bark Endeavour and its Replica: By Dan & Hiromi Yoshimoto:  Voyages of molluscan discovery on the good ship Endeavour, and her modern-day counterpart.

• Ni'ihau Shell Leis : "A Niihau Shell lei is an intricate, individual, hand-sewn perpetual lei made from the tiny shells which populate the beaches of Niihau Island, and each piece of jewelry is unique owing to the selection of shells and the artisan who creates with them..." http://www.hawaiian.net/~niihauisland/aloha.html
  

Do you know an interesting mollusc fact or story??  If so,
Please let me know it and I will add it to this page

• Advanced Introduction to the Molluscs:  by Avril, with just a bit of editing by Ross Mayhew:  This is good stuff, for Secondary-school (i.e., high-school) students (and anybody else!) who really want to "dig deeper"!!.
  
  A Beginner's Guide to the Molluscs:  by Avril Bourquin: An introductory guide to molluscs, briefly describing and telling you about the 7 major divisions ("classes") of these fascinating animals.   Sammy Snail tells you all about:  Andrew APLACOPHORA ,  Paul POLYPLACOPHORA,  Mary MONOPLACOPHORA,  Seymour SCAPHOPODA , Gerry GASTROPODA, Billy BIVALVE & Charles CEPHALOPODA
  
  
• Taxonomy of the Phylum Mollusca  (How Scientists Classify Mollusks):  by Winston Barney, with minor editing by Ross Mayhew (Ross said:  “blame me for any errors or bad jokes!”): Learn how scientists classify the many different kinds of molluscs! This article also contains a good history and explanation of the classification of all living things, as applied to the phylum mollusca.

• Naming a New Mollusk Species By Tom Eichorst: How does one go about naming a new species of mollusc, and can anyone do this?  It's NOT quite as simple as you may think!

• Otopuses are Smart Suckers! By Jennifer Mathers and Roland Anderson:  A well-written and entertaining look at the remarkable intelligence and antics of the Einstein’s of the mollusc world.  The Cephalopods are the Rocket Scientists of the invertebrate world, - you may be shocked at how smart they are!! 

• Cone Wars!:  by Don Barclay:  Life and death in the aquarium!  An experiment designed to expose interactions between cones (Conidae) and their prey ends up providing a lot of humour and solid scientific observati
  
  
• Freshwater Mussels of BC: Identifying Freshwater Mussels in BC by the BC Conservation Data Centre
  

What molluscs are edible? How many can you name? Come on in and see how many are listed on my data base as of December 2001. This list is very much under development and will truly never be complete as there are literally thousands of species of molluscs eaten world wide.

To add a bit of spice to an otherwise boring list of facts; recipes, trivia, URLs to see the species image or to learn more facts, etc., are being added. Many people have contributed species names, dates, facts and much more and for this I am most grateful. To see a list of these contributors, check out the Bibliography.

Data Base by Avril Bourquin

• Ed Heiman's Varialbility of Cowry Populations: Ed's Personal Page

1. David Lubell (2004) Prehistoric edible land snails in the circum-Mediterranean: the archaeological evidence. In, J.-P. Brugal and J. Desse (eds.), Petits Animaux et Sociétés Humaines: du Complément Alimentaire aux Ressources Utilitaires, XXIVe Rencontres Internationales d'Archéologie et d'Histoire d'Antibes. Éditions APDCA, Antibes, pp. 77-98.

Abstract - Edible land snails are often abundant in late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeologicalsites (c. 10000 to c. 6000 BP) throughout the Mediterranean region. This chapter, the firstattempt to summarize the evidence, argues that in almost every instance the land snails found in occupational deposits are the remains of prehistoric meals.

Secondary pdf file source:

2. David Lubell (2004) Are land snails a signature for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition?
In, M. Budja (ed.), The Neolithization of Eurasia - paradigms, models and concepts involved, Neolithic Studies 11, Documenta Praehistorica XXXI: 1-24.

Abstract - Edible land snails, representing food remains, are frequently very abundant in late Pleistocene and early-middle Holocene archaeological sites throughout the circum-Mediterranean region. As such, they appear to represent a signature for a broad spectrum subsistence base as first conceived by Flannery in 1969, and therefore must be in some way related to the transition from foraging to food production. This paper investigates the implications that can be drawn from the presence of these snails through information on their ecology, biology, behaviour and nutritional value as well as the behaviour of the prehistoric human groups who collected and consumed them.

Secondary pdf file source: