Volume III starts with a foreword of the president of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. As far as we could trace back it is unique that the president of an important country as the Philippines, with over 80 million people, supports science this way. This also puts the book on the shelf as a bibliographic curiosity and a treasure for the future. It is followed by an important foreword of two prominent malacologists: Thierry Backeljau and Jackie L. Van Goethem, both of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels. This volume documents 840 different species, with 2 206 images, on 307 plates and counts 665 pages. Collaborating expert authors are: Axel Alf, Rudiger Bieler, Rosemary Golding, Klaus Groh, Karl Kleemann, Philippe Poppe, Bret Raines, Sheila P. Tagaro, Richard Willan. The remaining families are entirely done by Guido T. Poppe. Volume III starts with the Heterobranchia, containing families such as Acteonidae, Aplustridae , Architectonicidae, Mathildidae, Parymidellidae. The Clade Cephalaspidea contains interesting groups such as Haminoeidae and Cylichnidae, Retusidae, Scaphandridae etc. In the Thecosomata, the Cavolinidae get some stunning photographs from open water dives. We then move to an extensive group of over 300 nudibranchs, which makes the book also important for divers in love of these magnificent animals. Before we pass on to Bivalvia there are some amazing shallow water groups such as Siphonariidae and the Ellobiidae with a surprising 38 different species! The Bivalvia start with the Nuculidae and goes down to the Pectinidae. Important families in the Philippines are: Arcidae, Mytilidae, Pteriidae, Isognomonidae, Ostreidae, Pinnidae, Limidae and Pectinidae. Many families in the short overview here are not mentioned and will be a surprise when your copy arrives on your desk.
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