Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 11.5
Statewise distribution of freshwater Mollusca of India
Sl. No.
States
Families
Genera
Species
%
1
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
10
20
51
25.24
2
West Bengal
14
21
65
32.17
3
Bihar
13
19
55
27.22
4
Orissa
11
16
40
19.80
5
Andhra Pradesh
13
24
43
21.28
6
Kerala
13
23
60
29.70
7
Maharashtra
10
19
60
29.70
8
Jammu and Kashmir
8
16
35
17.32
9
Delhi
9
12
17
8.41
10
Madhya Pradesh
7
7
25
12.37
11
Jharkhand
9
8
23
11.38
12
Sikkim
5
5
9
4.45
13
Arunachal Pradesh
4
5
5 (partly worked out)
2.4
14
Meghalaya
10
14
43
21.28
15
Manipur
11
16
52
26
16
Nagaland
9
16
21
10.5
17
Rajasthan
6
8
13
6.4
18
Tripura
8
14
30
14.85
Endemism from Northeastern
Himalayan Region
Western Ghats hot spot by Shivaramakrishnan
et al. (
1998
); however, it is likely that many spe-
cies were missed. This is substantiated by recent
records of species such as
Arsidopsis footi
and
Neritina reticulata
, two species of
Paracrostoma
and fi ve new species of
Cremnochonchus
from
the Western Ghats. This region is also home to
some of the most important zoogeographical
and Gondwanaland relict species, such as
Pseudomulleria dalyii
(Etheridae), a cemented
freshwater pearl species, and three species of
Cremnochonchus
(Littorinidae) found in the
spray zones of waterfalls at high elevations in the
Western Ghats. With very few ecological studies
having been carried out on these unique and
cryptic freshwater taxa in India, it is critical to
work out their habitat requirements and distribu-
tions for their suitable conservation strategies to
be developed.
In Western Ghats, two species of Neritidae
(
Neritina pulligera
and
Neritina violacea
), three
species from Corbiculidae (
Villorita corbiculoi-
des
,
V. cornucopia
and
V. cyprinoides
) and two
species from Iravadiidae (
Iravadia funereal
and
I. ornata
) are found exclusively in brackish water.
Northeastern Himalayan region shows a high
degree of endemism especially within bivalves
comparative to the other parts of India.
Consistency for the long period of endemism is
probably due to the geographical barrier and
selective habitat by the species. Among the 64
bivalve species from India, 14 species are
endemic from this region i.e. about 21 %, among
gastropods it is quite less i.e. near about 6 %, and
among gastropods eight species are endemic
from this region. Some species mentioned known
from type locality also is not reckoned here as
endemic because further information on the avail-
ability of the particular species is not yet
ascertained.
Endemism from Western Ghats
Nearly 212 species of freshwater molluscs have
been reported from India (Subba Rao
1989
).
Of these, only 60 species were recorded from the
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