Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

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Paul Valentich-Scott
Curator of Malacology

Mailing address:
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol Rd.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105 USA
Phone: 805-682-4711 x146
FAX: 805-563-0574
email: pvscott(AT)sbnature2.org

Paul Valentich-Scott has worked in the department since 1982, starting as an assistant curator. He has been instrumental in digitizing museum collections and implementing collection management software (www.sbcollections.org).

Paul is a specialist in marine bivalve mollusks (clams, oysters, scallops, mussels). He has described numerous new species. Paul is a co-author on the definitive book on the bivalves west coast of the US, Bivalve Seashells of Western North America (2000) [click to purchase]. His current research project is a continuation of this book series, examining the bivalves from Baja California to northern Peru (Bivalve Seashells of Tropical West America), due to be published in 2009-2010.

In addition to collection work and research, Paul has assisted in a variety of education and exhibit projects. He was instrumental in the design of the Quasars to Seastars program for teen science education. Paul was the lead scientific and program designer for the renovation of the Ty Warner Sea Center.

Selected publications:

2007. Phylum Mollusca: Bivalvia. In: James Carlton (ed.), Light's manual: intertidal invertebrates of the central California coast, 4th edition. University of California Press, Berkeley. (with Eugene V. Coan)

2006. Marine bivalves. Pp. 339-347. In: Sturm, C.F., T.A. Pearce, and A. Valdes. 2006. The Mollusks: A Guide to Their Study, Collection, and Preservation. Universal Publishers, Inc., Boca Raton, FL. xii + 445 pp. 101 ill. (with Eugene V. Coan)

2004. Rock and coral boring Bivalvia (Mollusca) of the Middle Florida Keys, U.S.A. Malacologia 46(2): 339-354. (with Grete Elisabeth Dinesen). [pdf]

2003. The Hong Kong Bivalvia: A taxonomic, distributional, bibliographic checklist of Hong Kong's marine bivalve mollusks and research published on them from 1971-2000. Pp. 259-310. In: Brian Morton (ed.), Perspectives on Marine Environmental Change in Hong Kong and Southern China. University of Hong Kong Press. [pdf]

2000. Bivalve Seashells of Western North America: Marine Bivalve Mollusks from Arctic Alaska to Baja California. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Mongraphs 2, Studies in Biodiversity 2. Santa Barbara, California. 772 pp. (with Eugene Coan and Frank R. Bernard)

1998. Class Bivalvia. Pp. 97-173, In: Paul Valentich Scott & James A. Blake, Taxonomic atlas of the benthic fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8. The Mollusca Part 1. The Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. vii + 250 pp. [pdf]

For more information, see:
Paul's curriculum vitae