Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Total Number of Bivalves
a
Kashmir
34
64
North Eastern Himalayan
Region
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
5
3
14
4
1
4
Andhra Pradesh
1
2
Kerala Back water
Total number of Gastropoda
b
Kashmir
4
1
6
4
1
7
7
North Eastern Hill Region
11
Western Ghat
8
4
South India
135
Gangetic delta
Andaman Islands
West Bengal
Kerala back water
Andhra Pradesh
Known from type locality only
Fig. 11.1
(
a
,
b
) Distribution of endemic freshwater mollusks of India
The genus
Villorita
(Corbiculidae) is confi ned to
the backwaters and estuaries of the west coast.
These species cannot withstand high salinity
levels and are usually found in the upper regions
of the backwaters where the salinity is below
15 %. Here they burrow into the soil to escape
unfavourable condition during summer when
salinity increases above 15 % (Cherian
1968
,
Aravind et al.
2010
).
A total of 77 species of freshwater molluscs is
studied of which 52 gastropods (12 families and
23 genera) and 25 bivalve species (fi ve families
and eight genera) of which 28 species are endemic
from this region (Aravind et al.
2010
).
Conservation
Molluscs play essential roles in almost every
known ecosystem. Many molluscs are links in
food chains, the pathways between green plants
and the animals that are food for humans and
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