Journal of Conchology 44/4

The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland (founded in 1876) is one of the oldest existing societies devoted to the study of Mollusca with an international membership. It promotes the study of all molluscs in diverse ways through publications, field and indoor meetings and distributional recording schemes. The Society publishes papers on the shells, anatomy, ecology, distribution and nomenclature of British and worldwide molluscs. The Society’s members range from amateur shells collectors to professional malacologists and it embraces all levels of expertise including novices. Members of the Society receive the Journal of Conchology twice yearly and the magazine, Mollusc World , three times a year and other occasional publications. Molluscan biogeography The Conchological Society maintains recording schemes for northeast Atlantic marine molluscs, British & Irish non-marine molluscs and has had an involvement in biogeographical studies for over a century. The recording schemes provide data on the conservation status of molluscs and their habitats; the main objective of these schemes is to provide a detailed picture of the changing distribution of the fauna. Recording for the scheme is ongoing with emphasis on promoting more detailed recording at a local level as well as some species specific projects aimed at getting more knowledge on their lifecycle and distributions. The Society has published distribution atlases for both British marine and non-marine Mollusca. Conservation Molluscan conservation is an important aspect of the Society’s activities. The Society’s Conservation Officer advises and liaises with other organisations on conservation and related matters and arranges assessments of threatened sites. Activities The Conchological Society runs a series of six lectures throughout the winter, usually at the Natural History Museum, London, and a varied programme of field meetings throughout the country in summer. The indoor meetings include a lecture and members’ exhibits and a chance to meet other members. Sites for field meetings often include areas managed by local and national conservation organisations where there are opportunities to examine terrestrial, freshwater and marine molluscs as well as fossils. Workshops and special events, such as joint meetings with other Societies, are usually held annually. More information on field and indoor meetings can be found in Mollusc World or on the Society’s website www.conchsoc.org. Manuscripts should be emailed to h on . e diTor , Anna Holmes, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales: Anna.Holmes@museumwales.ac.uk. Papers will be accepted for consideration in the form of a Word document with low resolution images as separate jpegs (not embedded) or as a low resolution (under 9MB) pdf document with figures and figure legends at the end of the document. On acceptance we will request high resolution copies of your figures. Communications should be research notes of an original nature and simple structure and may include one figure or table. For full instructions please see i nsTrucTions For auThors section of J ournal of C onChology page on website (www.conchsoc.org) INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS