Identification of Marine and Freshwater Molluscs Shells

Contents: Foreword. Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Pelecypoda bivalves. 3. Marine gastropoda. 4. Marine scaphopoda. Freshwater molluscs shells: 5. Freshwater molluscs of India. 6. Land molluscs. 7. Commercial use of molluscs. Appendices. Glossary of technical terms. References.

From the introduction: 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 Cephalopoda.

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 in 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.