The tropical waters of Queensland, and in particular the Great Barrier Reef, contain possibly the greatest diversity of brilliantly-coloured, elaborately-formed shells in the world. Here, where sunlight and warmth are in abundance, thousands of different species from 63 families (including non-prosobranchs) are illustrated in colour. As an identification aid the main characters of each family have been included, as well as useful notes on habitat and diet. Also provided for each species is the distribution range, the size of the specimens illustrated and any recent or commonly used synonyms.

Edition: 1987