Book Review

The late Fritz Haas was undoubtedly the greatest specialist of all times on the Unionacea. In 1908 his scientific career had started with some short papers on freshwater clams and now, more than sixty years later, his magnum opus on the superfamily Unionacea (written in German) has become available. The Unionacea comprise four families, the Margaritiferidae (one genus with five species), the Unionidae (six subfamilies with 122 genera with a total of more than 750 species plus a number of doubtful taxa), the Mutelidae (16 genera with a total of 62 species), and the Etheriidae (three genera with a total of four species). No less than 18 genera have been named by Haas himself in the course of many years. Three genera have been named after the prominent specialist: Haasica, Haasiella (preoccupied), and Haasodonta. Surprisingly only one species, Microcondylaea haasii, bears his name; it is to be regretted that this name is a synonym. While most names in the Unionacea are ordinary or even sometimes positively dull, the generic same Scabies strikes one as being somewhat unusual if not odd. Dr. A. Zilch of the Senckenberg-Museum has not only seen the book through the press (no mean task and deserving of praise!) but also contributed various details.