Fields within malacological research include
taxonomy,
ecology and
evolution. Several subdivisions of malacology exist, including
conchology, devoted to the study of mollusk shells, and
teuthology, the study of
cephalopods such as
octopus,
squid, and
cuttlefish. Applied malacology studies medical, veterinary, and agricultural applications, for example the study of mollusks as vectors of
schistosomiasis and other diseases.
Archaeology employs malacology to understand the evolution of the
climate, the biota of the area, and the usage of the site.[citation needed]
Zoological methods are used in malacological research. Malacological field methods and laboratory methods (such as collecting, documenting and archiving, and molecular techniques) were summarized by Sturm et al. (2006).[2]
History
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adding to it. (May 2023)
In 1681,
Filippo Bonanni wrote the first book ever published that was solely about seashells, the shells of marine mollusks.[3] The book was entitled: Ricreatione dell' occhio e dela mente nell oservation' delle Chiociolle, proposta a' curiosi delle opere della natura, &c.[4] In 1868, the German Malacological Society was founded.
Those who study malacology are known as malacologists. Those who study primarily or exclusively the
shells of mollusks are known as
conchologists, while those who study mollusks of the class
Cephalopoda are
teuthologists.
More than 150 journals within the field of malacology are being published from more than 30 countries, producing an overwhelming amount of scientific articles.[8] They include:
^From the French malacologie, contraction of malacozoologie; from the
Neo-LatinMalacozoa, 'zoological group including soft-bodied animals'; from
Ancient Greekμαλακός (malakós) 'soft', and ζῷον (zôion) 'animal'.
^Charles F. Sturm; Timothy A. Pearce; Ángel Valdés (July 2006).
The mollusks. Universal-Publishers.
ISBN978-1-58112-930-4.
Archived from the original on 2022-10-22. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
Cox L. R. & Peake J. F. (eds.). Proceedings of the First European Malacological Congress. September 17–21, 1962. Text in English with black-and-white photographic reproductions, also maps and diagrams. Published by the Conchological Society of
Great Britain and
Ireland and the Malacological Society of
London in 1965 with no ISBN.
Heppel D. (1995). "The long dawn of Malacology: a brief history of malacology from prehistory to the year 1800." Archives of Natural History22(3): 301–319.