ABSTRACT
Recurrence of characteristics is an important criterion in recognising and characterizing taxocenes because it is more likely that a number of assemblages of similar composition represents a taxocene, rather than does one on its own. This is always assuming that taxocenes cluster in terms of their molluscan compositions which appears to have been the case rather than, for example, seriating or occurring randomly. A useful property of taxocenes which does not involve a knowledge of individual species ecology is diversity'. An issue which this approach raises is whether histograms are a valid way of representing the data, or whether we should be working towards a more synoptic form of diagram in which taxocenes themselves are quantified. The other is a deeper appraisal of the ecology of chalk-grassland and wet-ground habitats and the ecology of their molluscan faunas and taxocenes both modern and subfossil.
