A synopsis of the marine prosobranch gastropod and bivalve mollusks in Alaskan waters

Abstract

This study presents information on the taxonomv and distribution of the marine prosobranch gastropod and bivalve mollusks from the waters surrounding Alaska. Three hundred fifty-two species of prosobranch gastropods and 202 species of bivalves are reported from these waters. Over 3,000 lots of specimens, representing 330 species and literature sources form the basis of this study. References, synonymy, geographic and bathymetric ranges are provided for each species. Characteristics used to identify the species of 66 genera are presented in tabular form. The greatest number of species is reported from the southern Bering Sea, the fewest from the Beaufort Sea. Most of the species have wide ranges in the eastern or western Pacific. New collecting records reported here extend the known ranges of 27 species. Eight species were previously unknown from Alaskan waters.