Summary

Abstract

The number of malacological studies dealing with biogeographical and coenological problems has been very restricted up to the present time. As early as in the second half of the 19th century, the mollusc fauna of Germany could be considered as well investigated, since from any fairly large region at least one, in most cases several faunistic studies have been published, not counting the large variety of faunistic articles and notes. The period of investigation of the local fauna in the field of the malacology of Germany came to an end in the first decades of this century. The papers published in this field between the two World Wars are comparatively few in number, and there are barely a dozen more comprehensive publications in the field of malacology after World War II. From now on, however, the beginnings of a tendency towards shifting the main centre of interest and investigation from the mere faunistic to comparative biogeographical and biocoe-nological considerations can be observed.