Bahamian Seashells: a Thousand Species from Abaco, Bahamas
Colin Redfern
BahamianSeashells.com, Inc.
Boca Raton, Florida
2001
ISBN 0-9711066-0-6
280 pages, 106 b/w plates, 18 color plates
8.5" x 11", soft cover
Firstly, this is not just a book on seas slugs. It is a comprehensive account of the mollusc fauna of the Bahamas, off the east coast of Florida. It is the first comprehensive study of this fauna and covers a 1000 species. There are multiple photos of many species, and colour photos of many living animals, often for the first time. This book is not just a compilation of published work but contains numerous new records for the Bahamas, including photos of undescribed species. There are detailed descriptions of the shells and habitat summaries, and there is a glossary and extensive bibliography (more than 400 entries). The fauna includes species previously recorded from as far away as Brazil,the Caribbean coast of Central and South America, and the Gulf coast from Texas to south Florida, so this book will be an invaluable guide to anyone interested in the Caribbean and tropical west Atlantic fauna.
Concerning the opisthobranchs. There are color photos of more than 80 opisthobranch species, many of them not previously known from colour photos. For each species there is a good description of the living animal and notes on where the author has found the species. There are also interesting new biological observations such as his discovery of an animal of Favorinus auritulus feeding on the bryozoan Zoobotryon. This is not the final word on Caribbean opisthobranchs - I was disappointed to find that Cadlina rumia and Hypselodoris bayeri were the only chromodorids represented - but it is an excellent addition to the few sources of information available at present. I have posted a scan of one colour plate from the book showing some sea hares and noraspideans. You will see that most species are represented by multiple photos. To anyone with more than a passing interest in the Caribbean mollusc fauna I would recommend this book.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 2002 (February 5) Bahamian Seashells: a Thousand Species from Abaco, Bahamas. Colin Redfern. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/brredfern
