Marine Molluscs 

From a research perspective, some of our most important holdings (other than types) are the extensive samples of off-shore molluscs, the most poorly studied of all sectors. These were collected during the Natal Museum Dredging Programme, which began in 1981, and continued until 1997. On annual 10 day cruises, aboard a range of research vessels, we dredged samples from selected areas of the continental shelf and upper slope off South Africa, totalling nearly 1100 stations, many rich in molluscs. Although we concentrated on the least studied sections of the coastline, off Transkei and Zululand, additional dredging was done off KwaZulu-Natal and the south-western Cape, and on the Agulhas Bank. This programme enriched the Natal Museum mollusc collection with by far the most extensive and accurately documented samples of South African offshore molluscan communities in existence. These samples include many rare and unusual species, often new records for the region or the first ever to be taken alive, and a very large proportion that are new to science.

During our field work, emphasis has naturally been on the South African region, and to a lesser extent Mozambique. However, to expand the comparative value of our resources we have also attempted to build up our world-wide collection, particularly the molluscs of the Indo-Pacific, which are an important element in our warmer waters.  We have thus taken opportunities to collect as far afield as Mauritius and Reunion, the Red Sea, S.E. Asia and Australia.