Molluscan resources of India- Winter School on Towards Ecosystem Based Management of Marine Fisheries – Building Mass Balance Trophic and Simulation Models

Abstract

India is endowed with rich and diverse bio-resources and the molluscs are not an exception. Molluscs are a heterogenous group of animals both in shape and diversity and are represented by amphineura, gastropods, bivalves, cephalopods and scaphopods. Most of the molluscs inhabit the marine environment and very few dwells in the terrestrial and freshwater habitats. About 8,000-10,000 species of molluscs were recorded from the world over and a total of 3,271 species are reported from India (Subba Rao, 1991). They are represented in 220 families and 591 genera and the spectrum comprises 190 gastropods, 1,100 bivalves, 210 cephalopods, 41 polyplacophores and 20 scaphopods.