Arthur Erskine Ellis

Arthur Erskine Ellis, often known as A.E. Ellis, was a British scientist, biologist and naturalist. Ellis is best known for his large number of malacological publications, including some which became essential texts on the subject of British non-marine malacology. To a lesser extent, Ellis published papers about other land invertebrates and various aspects of the fauna and flora of Britain. In addition Ellis had five ghost stories published.
Ellis was also a plant collector. From 1919 to 1961 he contributed specimens of spermatophytes to a number of different herbariums in Britain.
Stella Turk, the British naturalist said about Ellis, "It is difficult to categorise people. Should one even try? We are all multiple in a singular way!"; she also commented, "As might have been expected, he wrote his own obituary in which he gives a broad outline of his life and very lengthy bibliography",.

Taxa named in his honour

Two taxa were named in Ellis' honour:

Limicolariopsis ellisi Crowley & Pain, 1964 -- a large African land snail
Pisidium (Afropisidium) ellisi Dance, 1967 -- a small freshwater clam
Publications

Books

A.E. Ellis published several books which were the standard reference texts for identifying the non-marine Mollusca of Great Britain and Ireland during most of the 20th century:

British Snails, a guide to the non-marine Gastropoda of Great Britain and Ireland, Pleistocene to Recent, 1926, reprinted in 1969, Oxford University Press
Key to Land Shells of Great Britain
''British Freshwater Bivalve Mollusca''
Papers

Publications on non-marine mollusca and obituaries of conchologists:

1924 Mollusca of Flamborough. JC 17: 149–153
1924 Notes on some British Helicidae, JC 17: 162–167
1924 Land Mollusca on the Mewstone, JC 17: 187–188
1924 Mollusca in the neighbourhood of Market Harborough, JC 17: 188–192, 212–219; 18:8
1925 Experimental acclimatisation of Sabinea ulvae to freshwater, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 15: 96–7
1925 The invalidity of Sabinea Sowerby. ibid. 16: 48–49
1926 Planorbis acronicus Férussac at Oxford. JC 18: 52–53
1926 British Snails. Clarendon Press.
1926 Helix draparnaudi Sheppard, and Planorbis draparnaldi Jeffreys. JC 18: 54
1926 Notes on some land Molluscs from Land's End. PMS 17: 123–6
1927 Variation in Trichia liberta.JC 18: 118
1927 Additional notes on the Molluscs of the Oxford district. JC 18: 137–8
1927 An abnormality in Lymnaea stagnalis.JC 18: 139
1927 The snail as a zoological type, School Science Review No. 34: 102–110
1928 Vertigo moulinsiana near Norwich. JC 18: 208
1928 Planorbis vorticulus Troschel in West Sussex. PMS 18: 127
1929 A garden fauna. JC 18: 312
1930 Mollusca on Gateholm. JC 19: 61
1931 A reclaimed saltmarsh. PMS 19: 278–9
1931 Molluscs of Wicken Fen . JC 19: 170
1931 Notes on some Norfolk Molluscs. JC 19: 177–8
1931 The natural history and variation of the Pointed Snail, Cochlicella acuta. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. for 1930: 1027–1055, pl. 1
1932 The habitats of Hydrobiidae in the Adur estuary. PMS 20: 11–18
1932 Further localities for Planorbis vorticulus Troschel. JC 19: 258–9
1939 A Surrey Bronze Age interment. JC 21: 90
1939 A discussion on the variation of Lymnaea, etc. PMS 23: 313
1940 The identification of the British species of Pisidium. PMS 24: 44–88, pl. 3–6
1940 Some Devon land snails. JC 21: 190
1941 The Mollusca of a Norfolk broad. JC 21: 224–243
1941 Ecological notes. JC 21: 258–9
1941 Anodonta minima Millet in Norfolk. JC 21: 280
1942 Milax gracilis in woodland. JC 21: 325–6
1945 Limax flavus L. in a 'wild' habitat. JC 22: 135
1946 Milax sowerbyi in woodland. JC 22: 177
1946 On Potomida Swainson. PMS 27: 105–8, pl. 7
1946 Freshwater bivalves. Corbicula, Sphaerium, Dreissena. Linn. Soc. Synopses of the British Fauna, No. 4
1947 Freshwater bivalves : Unionacea. ibid. No. 5
1947 Retinella nitidula ''monstr. sinistrorsum. JC 22: 271
1947 Dimensions of Anodonta minima Millet. JC 22: 271
1948 The survey of Bookham Common. Land Mollusca of Bookham Common. London Naturalist for 1947: 56–59
1949 A Broadland slug Transactions of the Norfolk & Norwich Nature Society. 16: 388
1950 Succinea putris parasitized by Leucochloridium. JC 23: 107
1950 The type species of Testacella. JC 23: 115
1951 R. Winckworth, obituary. JC 23: 157–62
1954 Volvulus Oken. JC 23: 394
1959 E. W. Swanton, obituary. JC 24: 326
1961 Land and freshwater Mollusca in Norwich and its region, p. 73. British Association. Jarrold, Norwich
1961 H. H. Bloomer, obituary. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. 172nd session: part 1.
1962 British freshwater bivalve Molluscs. Linn. Soc. Synopses of British fauna, No. 13
1964 L. W. Grensted, obituary. JC 25: 291–3, pl. 20
1964 Arion lusitanicus Mabille in Cornwall. JC 25: 285–287
1964 Milax budapestensis in woodland. JC 25: 298
1965 Arion lusitanicus Mabille in Devon. JC 25: 345–347
1967 Agriolimax agrestis : some observations. JC 25: 345–7
1978 British freshwater bivalve Molluscs, Linn. Soc. Synopses of British Fauna No. 11

Conchological Society; Papers for Students
No. 3. Key to land shells of Great Britain.
No. 3. Key to the land snails of the British Isles.
No. 12. Key to British slugs
Publications in the Conchologists' Newsletter:

1961 Land and freshwater snails, additions to the British list, 3:12–13
1962 Biographical note, 4:16
1964 Some etymology, 9:50–51
1964 Sinistrosity, 9:53–54
1964 Snails extinct in England, but living abroad, 11:68–69
1964 Posting living molluscs, 11:68–69

1966, Cornish localities for Arion lusitanicus 16:108
1967 Conkers and conchology, 20:138–139
1967 Nesovitrea hammonis and N. petronella, 21:6
1967 Unorthodox orthography, 22:15–16
1967 Poems on Conchology, 22:24–25
1968 Arion lusitanicus in Ireland, 25:40–41
1968 Metamerism, 25:47
1968 Pronunciation, 27:65–66
1969 Snail-eating dragons, 31:13 122
1970 Slugs and the poets, 35:185–186
1971 Names of British marine molluscs, 37:205–206
1971 Slugs and the poets, 39:233–234
1972 Blueprint for peace, 43:289
1972 Such numbers of snails, 43:289
1973 Who is Brittannia? What is She? 4.44:302
1973 Perils of the deep, 44:310
1973 Footnote to, Who is Britannia, 44:313
1973 An Old English Riddle, 45:316–317
1973 Hooper's hypothesis, 45:323
1973 Biographical and historical footnotes, 45:323
1973 Cochlea liberum, the snail in old nursery rhymes, 47:346–348
1974 Paradise lost? 49:373
1974 First record of Arion lusitanicus in Ireland, 49:384
1974 Review, From the diary of a snail, Günter Grass, 50:393–394
1974 First record of Arion lusitanicus'' in Ireland, 50:395
1974 Excelsior: the snail ascending, 51:398–399
1975 Place names with a molluscan flavour, 52:412–414
1975 Why collect shells? 53:434–435
1975 Pestalozzian conchology, a note, 54:449–450
1975 Shells as musical instruments, 55:460–461
1975 The snail in 19th century verse, 55:464–466
1975 Pestalozzian conchology, 55:469
1976 L'escargot, 58:519-520
1976 Molluscan place names: supplement, 58:520–521
1976 Correction to an Old English Riddle, 58:521
1977 Shells murmurs, 71:189-190. 62:33–34
1977 The mollusc in fables, 63:44–46
1978 Shakespeare and sea shells, 67:105–106
1979 Adventure of a snail hunter, 69:153–154
1979 Poem on the limpet, 71:182–183
1979 Snails and slugs in Shakespeare, 71:189–190
1981 Cassel's Natural History, 76:309–310.
1982 Celebrities in shells, 81:9
1982 Concerning Captain Thomas Brown, 82:35–36
1982 Sue Wells, international trade in ornamental shells, 83:56