Morocco & Western Sahara

North African Malacology

Morocco & Western Sahara

“Follow me then, in my journey, but just the ones that once have felt an inner shudder for the first notes, mostly sour and sweet, of the arabic instruments, eternally scortted by drums. These are of mine, these are my brothers. Ride, as me, on your best horse, of wide chest and long mane, and I will guide you through the wild plains covered in flowers, through the deserts, sprinkled with lilies and other jewels, to the very hart of this ancient country immobilized under the power of the sun, and finally take you to visit the great dead cities, lulled by the eternal whisper of prayers..... ”

Travels: Morocco, Pierre Loti

A place visited and admired, always desired, stop and temporary home for every traveller.

During the history this area has attracted the interests of many people; during the 18th century and some centuries before, romantic and mystic ideas about the muslim society brought artists and aristocracy to taste the colours and landscapes of the north western corner of the African continent; also naturalists with dreams drunken by the magic lure of the stories of waterless deserts with green spots, places where sweet fruits grow, massive snow covered mountains, or misterious ponds with holy fishes, were soon keen to gain more knowledge, and made them to travel all around and begin keeping track of the different special forms of life to be found there.

The 19th brought more lucrative aims for studies, locating valuable mineral reservoirs or oil were the main interests and cartography advanced due to the military interests, but in the same time deeper researches began on other fields as Botany, Zoology, etc..

Finally due to the intense contact, the desert caught the minds of visiting westeners, as it has been doing to all the previous and present settlers, also today any supposed scientific reason is enough for paying a visit to our origins, the empty plains of sand and stones; often these supposed scientific reasons are just a cheap reason for going back once more; most times deprived of the usual comodities of our society, living in basic conditions, suffering the harsh weather... and the people still keeps on going, again and again , many could ask why?, nobody has an answer, but once you have been there you need it, it's the Desert.

When visiting the desert keep record of what you were coming to do, for example snailing; the empty horizon, the heat, the intense colours and the lack of sounds have been proved to be a shocking event for many, of extreme pleasure, or of extreme dislike... This is just an advice, there might be many that would like to be taken by the desert, more that would love to be safely back at their homes, but if you came for your aims of snailing at least keep it in your mind, although it looks like empty the desert is full, it is rich in emotions, as well as in snails ....

Studied by generations of scholars as Pallary, and contemporary authors, the molluscan fauna of this area still remains fairly poor studied, vast areas have not even been visited, and the systematical position of many taxons is still unclear.

 

 

 

 

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