Pelagic snails : the biology of holoplanktonic gastropod mollusks /

Dealing with a rather esoteric group of fewer than 150 species, this informative work treats the biology of those gastropod molluscs that are permanently planktonic. These snails have unique characteristics based on their unusual life in the open oceans and thus are not a well-known group. Each family is treated separately with chapters on the janthinid snails (raft builders), heteropods (visual predators), thecosomes (shelled pteropods), gymnosomes (shell-less pteropods), and the planktonic nudibranchs (swimming sea slugs). Their ecology, ethology, external features, behavior, mating habits, and evolutionary trends are featured for each taxon. The text is copiously illustrated with a large number of line drawings, halftones, and 16 exquisite color photographs. A number of tables of data, up-to-date listings of references, a glossary, and an index all add to the book's usefulness. A much-needed treatment of these engrossing but poorly-known molluscs, this book will be essential for libraries supporting marine biologists, plankton specialists, marine invertebrate zoologists, and workers in related fields. -P. E. Lutz, University of North Carolina at Greensboro