Molluscan Diversity of Bhavanapadu Mangroves, Northeast Coast of Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

The Bhavanapadu mangroves are located (Long: 18° 33' 52'' to 18° 32' 11'' N; Lat: 84° 21' 26'' to 84° 18' 22'' E) on the Bay of Bengal North East Coast of Andhra Pradesh. Survey has been made on molluscan fauna in the mangroves along the Tekkali Creek upto Kothalingudu. 19 species of molluscs of which 15 gastropods and four bivalves were recorded.

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BEPLS Vol 4 [1] December 2014 78 | P a g e ©2014 AELS, INDIA
Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences
Bull. Env. Pharmacol. Life Sci., Vol 4 [1] December 2014: 78-84
©2014 Academy for Environment and Life Sciences, India
Online ISSN 2277-1808
Journal’s URL:http://www.bepls.com
CODEN: BEPLAD
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Molluscan Diversity of Bhavanapadu Mangroves, Northeast Coast
of Andhra Pradesh, India
Joseph Uday Ranjan T.
1
and Dr. Ramesh Babu
K.
2
Department of Marine Living Resources, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-530003, Andhra Pradesh,
India.
E-mail: ranjan.uday@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
The Bhavanapadu mangroves are located (Long: 18° 33' 52'' to 18° 32' 11'' N; Lat: 84° 21' 26'' to 84° 18' 22'' E) on the
Bay of Bengal North East Coast of Andhra Pradesh. Survey has been made on molluscan fauna in the mangroves along
the Tekkali Creek upto Kothalingudu. 19 species of molluscs of which 15 gastropods and four bivalves were recorded.
Keywords: Bhavanapadu, Mangrove, Malacofauna.
Received 28.07.2014 Revised 10.10.2014 Accepted 21.10.2014
INTRODUCTION
Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants inhabiting the tropical and subtropical estuarine regions. They are
ranked among the most productive ecosystem of the earth [1]. Mangrove ecosystem provides an ideal
nursery and breeding grounds to most of the marine and brackish water fish and shellfish. Indian
mangroves represent a rich diversity of soil dwelling organisms which include micro, meio and macro
forms [2]. Mangrove derived detritus is an important food source for benthic food webs [3,4]. Mangrove
molluscs occupy at all the levels of food web as herbivores, predators, detrivores and filter feeders with
horizontal and vertical distribution and play an important role in the productivity of mangroves [5].
Gastropods and bivalves are two important molluscan groups in mangrove areas. The present survey has
been made to procure an inventory of molluscs in unexplored Bhavanapadu mangroves.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area:
Bhavanapadu mangroves (Long: 18° 33' 52'' to 18° 32' 11'' N; Lat: 84° 21' 26'' E to 84° 18' 22'' E) have
been situated on the North East coast of Andhra Pradesh, adjoining the Bay of Bengal (Fig.1). It consists of
backwaters, adjacent salt pans and aquaculture farms covering an approximate extent of mangrove
marshy land of 2000 ha which comes under revenue land. Many marine fisherman habitations have been
located in the vicinity. Mangroves are dwarf, mostly dominated by Avicennia marina on the right and left
banks. Eight species of halophytes and two sea grasses have already been reported [6].
Collection of samples:
Field survey was taken up in the mangrove area from April, 2012 to December, 2013. The mangrove
molluscs were collected by hand picking and by digging the substratum [7]. The arboreal forms
(crawlers) were gathered from the stems, roots and other parts of the vertically growing mangrove plants
[8]. The recorded specimens were sampled from mud banks, mud flats, mangroves, sand-mud swamps,
wooden posts, rocky boulders etc. For correct identification, standard keys were followed [9, 10, 11, 12].
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Gastropods and bivalves are the two major classes of molluscans occupying mangrove areas. A total of 19
species of molluscs representing 10 orders, 9 families and 13 genera were recorded from the mangroves
(Table 1; Fig. 2 to 20). The mangrove molluscs have been divided into three categories (1) arboreal, those

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who live attached to stem and roots of mangrove vegetation (2) epifauna, those lying on the mud (3)
infauna, those burying in the mud and some live in overlapping habitat [13, 14, 15].
The rich diversity of mangrove periwinkles (Littoraria sp.) and the common nerites have been densely
found on the leaves, trunks and pneumatophores as well as on the stilt roots of mangrove plants. The
crawling Littoraria sp., were recorded on the mangrove vegetation up to 1 meter height. Assiminea nitida,
Cassidula nucleus, Cerethidea obtusa, Haminoea sp., Onchidium sp., have been found on the mud as well as
on the stem and root system of mangroves. Cerethidea cingulata and Telescopium telescopium are two
dominant mud crawlers. Gastropods graze on decomposing fallen leaves and also consume the mud
mainly formed by mangrove litter [16, 17, 18].
Table 1: List of gastropods and bivalves recorded in Bhavanapadu mangroves
No. Order Family Scientific name
Gasropods
1 Littorinimorpha Assiminidae
Assiminea nitida (Pease, 1865)
2
Caenogastropoda
Potamididae
Cerithidea cingulata (Gmelin, 1791)
3
Caenogastropoda
Potamididae
Cerithidea obtusa (Lamarck, 1822)
4
Caenogastropoda
Potamididae
Telescopium telescopium (Linnaeus, 1758)
5 Littorinimorpha Littorinidae
Littoraria melanostoma (Gray, 1839)
6 Littorinimorpha Littorinidae
Littoraria carnifera (Menke, 1830)
7 Littorinimorpha Littorinidae
Littoraria angulifera (Lamarck, 1822)
8 Littorinimorpha Littorinidae
Littoraria pallescens (Philippi, 1846)
9 Littorinimorpha Littorinidae
Littoraria conica (Philippi, 1846)
10 Cycloneritimorpha Neritidae
Clithon oualaniensis (Lesson, 1831)
11 Cycloneritimorpha Neritidae
Neritina violacea (Gmelin, 1791)
12 Cycloneritimorpha Neritidae
Nerita histrio (Linnaeus, 1758)
13 Cephalaspedia Haminoeidae
Haminoea sp. (Carrington, 1830)
14 Bassomatophora Ellobium
Cassidula nucleus (Gmelin, 1791)
15
Systellommatophora
Onchidiidae
Onchidium sp. (Agassiz, 1846)
Bivalves
16
Arcoida
Arcidae
Anadara granosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
17 Eulamellibranchiata Veneridae
Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
18
Mytiloida
Mytilidae
Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758)
19
Ostreoida
Ostreidae
Crassostrea madrasensis (Preston, 1916)
Fig.1: General map of the study area
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Fig.2: Assiminea nitida Fig.3: Cerithidea cingulata
Fig.4: Cerithidea obtuse Fig.5: Telescopium telescopium
Fig.6: Littoraria melanostoma Fig.7: Littoraria carnifera
Fig.8: Littoraria angulifera Fig.9: Littoraria pallescens
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Fig.10: Littoraria conica Fig.11: Clithon oualaniensis
Fig.12: Neritina violacea Fig.13: Nerita histrio
Fig.14: Haminoea sp. Fig.15: Cassidula nucleus
Fig.16: Onchidium sp. Fig.17: Anadara granosa
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Fig.18: Meretrix meretrix Fig.19: Perna viridis
Fig.20: Crassostrea madrasensis
Bivalve molluscs have been found attached to wooden jetties, dykes, wooden posts and even to the shells
when a suitable substratum is not available. The oyster, Crassostrea madrasensis, the mussel Perna virdis,
the clam Meretrix meretrix and the blood cockle Anadora granosa have been recorded as beds along the
banks of the Creek. These edible bivalves are abundant in the local estuaries [19]. Maximum number of
species has been observed from mud flats of the mangroves. Oysters in particular are seen attached to
calcareous substratum and also seen attached to other structures like the gaps of the cracks and rocky
boulders along the banks in addition to various calcareous hard materials lying in the muddy substratum.
M. meretrix and A. granosa have been found buried in the soft mud. Perna virdis was found attached to
fibre like roots and root nodules of mangrove plants with their distribution restricted to mouth region
and harbour area. C. madrasensis has been also found more in the middle of the Creek by forming beds.
Molluscs dwell on the sediment surface or reside in burrows, others live on pneumatophores and lower
tree trunks or prop-roots, burrow in decaying wood, or can even be found in the tree canopies [8, 20]. In
India numerous explorations have been covered so far, out of which 6 species reported from Nuvvalarevu
backwaters [21], 9 from Krishna estuary [22], 10 from Pitchavaram mangroves [23], 11 from Godavari
estuary [24], 13 species from Vellar estuary [25], 20 from Mahanadi estuary [26], not more than 100
species of mangrove associated molluscs were reported [27] and hundred species from Andaman and
Nicobar islands [28].
CONCLUSION
In the present survey 19 species of molluscs were recorded on the mud banks, mud flats, mangrove
forest, sandy muddy area and swamps in Bhavanapadu mangroves. Predominant occurrence of
Cerethidea cingulata and Telescopium tescopium was observed on the mud banks and mud flats. The
distributions of mangrove molluscs are threatened with various anthropogenic pressures, nothing much
is known about the fate of the diversity of molluscs associated with these mangroves. Mangrove molluscs
add up to food for other faunal species in higher trophic levels, including humans. In this aspect the
mangrove molluscs along the densely populated Indian coasts, require much more attention from
conservation biologists.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors are grateful to the UGC for granting Maulana Azad National Fellowship to Mr. Joseph Uday
Ranjan T and Head, Department of Marine Living Resources, Andhra University for the facilities.
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CITATION OF THIS ARTICLE
Joseph Uday Ranjan T.
and Dr. Ramesh Babu
K.Molluscan Diversity of Bhavanapadu Mangroves, Northeast Coast of
Andhra Pradesh, India.Bull. Env. Pharmacol. Life Sci., Vol 4[1] December 2014: 78-84
Ranjan and Babu