Malacology

The New York State Museum’s malacological collection comprises over 11,400 recorded lots of over 50,000 specimens, with the largest representation among Bivalvia (marine and freshwater clams and mussels) and Gastropoda (marine, terrestrial, and freshwater snails and slugs). The transfer of freshwater mussel vouchers from NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NSYDEC) collections from streams in Western New York added over 2,000 cataloged lots of freshwater mussels from over 640 sites, greatly expanding the depth and breadth of current populations of Unionid mussels in New York and serve as excellent tools for species identifications by visiting scientists. The Blinn Collection of marine shells, the Cornell University collection of central New York aquatic molluscs, and the NYSDEC’s collection of freshwater mussels from northern New York also add to the NYSM's malacological holding’s depth and importance. Ongoing NYSM surveys of waterbodies in New York State continue to contribute freshwater snail and mussel specimens to the collections.