Abstract:
The Natal Museum's Department of Mollusca had its origins in the shell
collection and library of Henry Burnup, a dedicated amateur who was honorary
curator of molluscs until his death in 1928. Subsequently, the collection has
been expanded many times over through field work, donation, exchange and
purchase. Its historical value was greatly increased by absorption of
... important
shell collections housed the Transvaal Museum (1978) and Albany Museum (1980),
as well as the Rodney Wood collection from the Seychelles received from the
Mutare Museum in Zimbabwe and the Kurt Grosch collection, built up over 25
years of residence in northern Mozambique. The mollusc collection now ranks
among the 15 largest in the world and is certainly the largest both in Africa
and on the Indian Ocean rim. It currently contains 7233 Bivalvia records, and
20112 Gastropoda records (total 27345 records of 282 families). The collection
will be updated in the near future. 
