melanian

Related to melanian: melanin

melanian

(mɛˈleɪnɪən)

(Animals) a freshwater mollusc of the former family Melaniidae. The Melaniidae family is now separated into the Thiaridae, Pleuroceridae, and Melanopsidae families.

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For example, pioneering anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski reported on the gift-giving practices of Melanian Pacific islanders in his 1922 book "Argonauts of the Western Pacific." The islanders didn't use money, but they had a sophisticated system of mutual obligations that depended on the nature of one's relationships.

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His 14th species is named 'Espece-Melanienne' ('Melanian species') and localized in Van Diemen's Land, all of present-day Melanesia, and parts of maritime southeast Asia (1825:323-5).