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Studies in the History of Natural Sciences  2020, Vol. 39 Issue (3): 336-354    DOI:
ARTICLES     
Research History of Terrestrial Molluscs in China, 1840-1949
CHEN Zheyu1, WU Min2
1. College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023,China;
2. School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023,China
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Abstract  China has a rich diversity of terrestrial molluscs. Specialized research on Chinese terrestrial malacofauna commenced at the time of the First Opium War, following which most specimen collection and research were actively carried out by foreign missionaries, embassy staff and malacologists. Taxonomic studies were performed by more than seventy malacologists and resulted in the recording of more than 1500 new terrestrial mollusc species. Such activities by foreign scientists were terminated in 1949, but most of their research publications are still available. Nevertheless, some materials are imprecise or contain errors necessitating their screening and collation. Based on a variety of published material and the current situation of the location of specimen collections, the history of the discovery of China's terrestrial malacofauna during this period is reconstructed.

Key wordsChina      terrestrial malacofauna      expedition      natural history      research history     
Received: 07 December 2018      Published: 22 June 2021
ZTFLH:  N09  
Cite this article:

CHEN Zheyu, WU Min. Research History of Terrestrial Molluscs in China, 1840-1949. Studies in the History of Natural Sciences, 2020, 39(3): 336-354.

URL:

http://www.shns.ac.cn/     OR     http://www.shns.ac.cn/Y2020/V39/I3/336

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