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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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.