Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world's marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research

This book covers one of the most complete activities - bivalves. It combines sports - swimming, snorkeling, diving, walking along shores; people and friends - discussing, exchanging views, admiring other collections; a rt and aesthetics - no human work of art equals a first class shell collection; adventure - traveling and the discovery of our world; science - from speciation, oceanography, and biology to taxonomy, museums and DNA-analysis. I started collecting shells in July 1980 at the age of 25 in Varna, Bulgaria. My later wife and me snorkeled for our first shells, some beautiful Rapana venosa (Valenciennes 1846). Up to now, my fascination for self collected beauties has never ceased. This fascination took us and our children around the world, opened doors to many new friends and created a balance to a demanding business life. Soon after the start of my interest in molluscs I specialized in bivalves. Nonetheless, it then took 27 years until I felt confident enough to describe the first species new to science. Since 2004,1 am affiliated researcher for bivalves at the University of Zurich, Zoological Museum, Switzerland. Unless otherwise stated, the bivalves in this book are from my personal collection. For these shells I would like to thank my wife Monika and my children for their shared love of the sea, my brothers and my parents for their contributions, but also very many dear shell colleagues and exchange partners around the world. Last but not least my thanks go to many dedicated traders. The work in this book covers a span of 30 years. It includes diving in most of the world’s seas, beach­ combing on five continents, a huge literature base and many museum visits. It also encompasses years lived abroad, especially in Tokyo, Japan. Essentially, however, it covers many years of studying bivalves systematically.