Abstract
The present volume contains the proceedings from the symposium Micromolluscs: Methodological Challenges – Exciting Results held during the 16th UNITAS Malacologica World Congress of Malacology in Antwerp, Belgium, July 15–20, 2007. For the purpose of this volume, micromolluscs were defi ned as molluscs no larger than 5 mm. Such forms play an important role in a variety of research fi elds, such as origin, phylogeny or biodiversity of the phylum. It is widely recognized that the small molluscan fauna is incredibly diverse and replete with signifi cant discoveries to be made, yet few people work on micromolluscs as they are perceived as being diffi cult to deal with. The former aspect has been demonstrated by the landmark study of Bouchet et al. (2002), while Geiger et al. (2007) provided a fi rst manual for many aspects of working with these small organisms. The world of micromolluscs is still wide open, as is shown here. The contributions cover a wide spectrum of scientifi c aspects ranging from methodological assessments, case studies, to review articles. We aim at encouraging working with micromolluscs and showcasing that the types of discoveries that can be made are well worth the slightly greater effort expended.
