Guido Poppe, born in 1954, is a Belgian malacologist who has specialized in marine snails to an unusual degree. The focus
of his work is the comprehensive documentation of the biodiversity that this
group of animals has evolved in the Philippines. Poppe and his son Philippe
have extensively photographed the Philippine marine snails during numerous dives. Many of Poppe’s books are regarded worldwide as part of the essential literature on malacofauna, and new scientific descriptions of species
are published in his journal, Visaya. He has prepared more than 200 original
descriptions, and more than 30 species
have been named after him by other scientists. His malacological collection, the
basis for publication and scientific work,
contains more than 25,000 specimens,
including about 2,000 species that have
not yet been described. Guido Poppe is
one of the most highly regarded malacologists in the world—unusual for a researcher with no academic background.
Guido Poppe
collections: above,
murex shells (family
Muricidae); at right,
conch shells (family
Strombidae).
