Identification of Marine and Freshwater Molluscs Shells

Shell collectors now and in the past form and important group of naturalist who have made a significant contribution to MALACOLOGY, the study of molluscs. They have been particularly active in the study of taxonomy through their extensive collections and in the mapping of the distributions of different species. All collectors have trend to concentrate on the shell. Molluscs form the second – largest group in the animal kingdom (after the arthropods which include the insects, crustaceans and spiders), with a great diversity of species. These animals are important economically; some, like oysters, mussels and abalones, form the basis of fisheries in many parts of the world. They have biomedical and veterinary importance. They have been used as currency and for adornments, as musical instruments and as ritual objects. Molluscs are conventionally divided into six classes: Monoplacopora, Amphineura, Gastropoda, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia and Cephlopoda. The non-marine molluscs of India are a part of the molluscan fauna of India. There are 5070 species of marine and non-marine molluscs living in the wild India. There are 3371 species of marine molluscs in India. There are 1671 species of non-marine molluscs living in the wild in India. This includes 1488 terrestrial species in 140 genera and 183 freshwater species in 53 genera. Details of some of such classes with identification characteristics of families with figures, Classification of each shell, figure/photo of the said shell, identification of each shell, references, synonyms, etc are included in this book. Main details are as under: Details of Families 44, Marine Bivalves 50, Marine Gastropods 88, Marine scaphopoda 3, Freshwater bivalves 4, Freshwater gastropods 23, Land shells 8. The details of commercial uses of molluscs in the field of food, Medicines, Ayurvedic medicine, trade goods, tools, Architecture, Decorations and religion in given. Over and above Glossary of the terms used for molluscs, Appendix likes List of edible molluscs of the gulf of kutch and the northern-western of Saurashtra Gujarat, India, list of freshwater molluscs locality of molluscs at various centres of Saurashtra (Gujarat) etc are also included. This book is guidelines to the students and researchers working on molluscs and shell collectors.