William Keith Emerson

William Keith Emerson, usually known as Bill Emerson, (born 1925), is an American malacologist, a biologist who studies mollusks. He is currently a Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where he has been a curator since 1955. He was also Chairman of the Department of Living Invertebrates and head of the Malacology section for several decades.^[1]

Taxa

Emerson has named and described numerous taxa of mollusks, including:

• Cymatium perryi Emerson & Old, 1963, a sea snail or marine gastropod

Books

Emerson has written a number of popular shell books including:

• The American Museum of Natural History Guide to Shells: Land, Freshwater, and Marine from Nova Scotia to Florida by William K. Emerson and Morris K. Jacobson, 1976, Alfred A. Knopf
• Shells by William K. Emerson, Andreas Feininger, Hardcover, Thames and Hudson, ISBN 050054008X (0-500-54008-X)
• Shells from Cape Cod to Cape May: With Special Reference to the New York City Area by Morris K. Jacobson, William K. Emerson, Softcover, Dover Pubns, ISBN 0486254194 (0-486-25419-4)
• Wonders of Barnacles by William K. Emerson, Arnold Ross, Hardcover, Dodd, Mead, ISBN 0396069711 (0-396-06971-1)
• Wonders of the World of Shells: Sea, Land, and Fresh-Water by Morris K. Jacobson, William K. Emerson, Hardcover, Dodd, Mead, ISBN 0396063268 (0-396-06326-8)

References

External links

• 2,400 years of Malacology info here (search for Emerson in the appropriate section)
• Bio at the American Museum of Natural History

Further reading

• H. S. Gordon, 1960. Conchological Interviews – Part I. William K. Emerson at the American Museum of Natural History. New York Shell Club Notes 64: 4-6
• W. K. Emerson, 1975. The malacological collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York. New York Shell Club Notes 208: 2
• Anonymous, 1988. Honors to Dr. William K. Emerson. New York Shell Club Notes 306: 2
• Anonymous, 2001. Retirement, Emerson style. New York Shell Club Notes 360: 4