Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca, the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, and cephalopods, along with numerous other kinds, many of which have shells. Malacology derives from Ancient Greek μαλακός (malakós) 'soft', and -λογία (-logía).
Conchology is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includes the study of land and freshwater mollusc shells as well as seashells and extends to the study of a gastropod's operculum.
Tom Iredale was an English-born ornithologist and malacologist who had a long association with Australia, where he lived for most of his life. He was an autodidact who never went to university and lacked formal training. This was reflected in his later work; he never revised his manuscripts and never used a typewriter.
William Averell (1556–1605) was an English pamphleteer.
Henry Augustus Pilsbry was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a century. For much of his career, his authority with respect to the classification of certain substantial groups of organisms was unchallenged: barnacles, chitons, North American terrestrial mollusks, and others.
Robert Tucker Abbott was an American conchologist (seashells) and malacologist (molluscs). He was the author of more than 30 books on malacology, which have been translated into many languages.
Crassispira is a genus of small predatory sea snails with narrow, high-spired shells, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Pseudomelatomidae. They first appeared in the fossil record approximately 48.6 million years ago during the Eocene epoch, and still exist in the present day.
César Marie Félix Ancey was a French conchologist and entomologist.
The Columbellidae, the dove snails or dove shells, are a family of minute to small sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the order Neogastropoda.
John Read le Brockton Tomlin was a British malacologist. He was one of the founders of the Malacological Society of London and was president of the Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland on two separate occasions.
Charles Willison Johnson was an American naturalist who specialized in entomology and malacology, making significant contributions in both fields. He was a mentor and inspiration to many students and young scientists such as William J. Clench. Johnson was Curator of the Wagner Free Institute of Science, 1888–1903, then was Principal Curator at the Boston Society of Natural History, 1903–1932.
David Dwight Baldwin was a businessman, educator, and biologist on Maui in the Hawaiian islands. Within biology he is known for his contributions to the study of Hawaiian land snails, part of malacology.
The Journal of Molluscan Studies is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Malacological Society of London, covering research in malacology.
Yoichirō Hirase was a Japanese malacologist and business man. His son, Shintarō Hirase, (1884-1939) was also a malacologist. The majority of his collection of molluscs were destroyed during World War II.
The Nederlandse Malacologische Vereniging (NMV), known in English as the Netherlands Malacological Society or the Dutch Malacological Society, is a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands. It is a society devoted to malacology as well as conchology. The NMV was founded in 1934, and the members include both professionals and amateurs. The NMV created a European malacological society which later became the global society Unitas Malacologica.
José H. Leal is a Brazilian-born malacologist and American citizen residing in the United States since 1984. Between 1996 and 2013 he was the executive director of the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, in Sanibel Island, Florida, and he is currently the science director and curator of that museum.
Tosatrochus attenuatus is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails.
Bernard Charles Cotton was an Australian malacologist and museum curator of British origin.
Horace Burrington Baker (1889–1971) was an American malacologist.
