Notice regarding terrestrial and freshwater Mollusc recording
Neil Harvey 22 West Street, Rowhedge, Essex, C05 7HW. Tel. 01206 728816.
e-mail neilh@essexwt.org.uk
At present there is no official county recorder for molluscs in Essex. Although only a
novice in the identification of this group, I am interested in their distribution within the
county and would like to coordinate records from any active, or inactive, field workers.
The records would be entered onto Mapmate, but in most cases would be noted as
unverified until a sufficiently experienced recorder can be appointed, who would then
check voucher specimens of any doubtful records if this was considered necessary to
support the identification - few species are easy to identify!
The species that I would be interested in are those covered by the following identification
guides:
Cameron, R. (2003). Keys for the identification of Land Snails in the British Isles.
AIDGAP, FSC.
Cameron, R., Eversham, B & Jackson, N. (1983). A Field Key to the Slugs of the British
Isles. AIDGAP, FSC
Macan, T.T. (1977). A key to the Fresh- and Brackish-Water Gastropods. Freshwater
Biological Association.
Please send all records, including common garden species such as Helix aspersa and
Arion ater via the contact details listed above.
Desperate male seeks companionship: 'til death do us part?
Adrian Knowles 12 Blackbrook Road, Great Horkesley, Colchester, Essex C06 4TL
In my small garden pond there has been an unusual amount of frog activity, with up to 8
masses of spawn now laid. In the early days, competition for females was intense with
regular attempts from unattached males to lever-off a rival who was clutching a female
in amplexus.
After a while I noticed one pair in which the female looked rather still. As the days went
by I came to the inevitable conclusion that she was dead, perhaps drowned by the intense
battles for her services. This did not seem to deter her suitor, however, who continued to
carry her around the pond. Some 12 days later, the now grey, mouldy and slightly bloated
female is still being hauled around the bottom of the pond. Twice now I have netted the
hapless couple and placed them under cover on diy land in the hope that the male would
resign himself to the obvious. Twice he has hauled the corpse back into the pond.
Charming though this dedication to one's loved one may be, you can't help thinking that
it is a bit of an evolutionary dead-end! After all, there are plenty more fish......
4
Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 47, May 2005