Rapid Methods for Obtaining Permanent Mounts of Radulae

The taxonomic value of the radula is an established fact and will not be discussed here. Its general morphology will only be touched upon. For both subjects readers are referred to the more advanced textbooks of zoology (an excellent account is, e.g., given by Cooke, 1896) and to Thiele’s „Handbuch” (1929). A historical review was given by Bowell (1928). Popular accounts in the Dutch language will be published elsewhere (Meeuse, 1949a, 1949b, 1950). The study of radulae, necessary when one is dealing with taxonomic problems, requires good mounts, preferably permanent ones, for later reference and for illustration purposes. As was pointed out by Verdcourt (1948) the mounting of radulae is not even mentioned in the standard works of microtechnic and, judging by the scarcity of contributions on the subject, most malacologists seem to rely on the oldfashioned usage of mounting the unstained radulae at once in glycerin jelly in spite of the excellent though laborious methods indicated by Bowell (e.g., 1928).