Shellfish, a group of invertebrates and aquatic organism, is covered by chitinous or calcareous exoskeleton. Shell means an outer covering or layer which is popularly known as “Kholos” in Bengali. Shellfish belongs to two major Phylum Arthropoda and Mollusca. In Bangladesh there are a wide range of shellfishes have been found which comprises different groups such as, Crustaceans (shrimp, prawn, lobster, crayfish, and crab) Molluscs (clam, mussel, oyster and scallop), and others (squid, octopus and snails, sea urchins, etc). A list of mussels and snails species found in Bangladesh is given here-
Mussels:
| Sl | Scientific name | English name | Habitat | Distribution |
| 1 | Mytilus edulis | Blue mussel | M | Ccoasts of Britain, Morecambe Bay, and estuaries of southwest England, west Scotland and west Wales. |
| 2 | Perna viridis | Green mussel | CR | Intertidal coasts of India |
| 3 | Perna Indica | Brown mussel | CR | Intertidal coasts of India |
| 4 | Septifer sp. | Box Mussel | M | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 5 | Chlanys sp. | Box Mussel | Indo-West Pacific. |
Snails:
| Sl | Scientific name | English name | Habitat | Distribution |
| 1 | Turbo sp. | Turban Shell | M | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 2 | Neritia sp. | Nerite | B | Indo-West Pacific, Eastern part of the Indian Ocean and the tropical West Pacific. |
| 3 | Cerithium sp | Cerith | E | Indo-West Pacific, from the west coast of India and Srilanka to eastern Malayasia. |
| 4 | Terebralia sp. | Mud Creeper | CR | Indo-West Pacific, from East Africa to Melanesia |
| 5 | Acutangula sp. | Turret shell | M | Found in all seas |
| 6 | Maculatus sp. | Maculated Top | M, CR | Indo-West Pacific |
| 7 | Monodonta sp. | Top Shell | M, CR | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 8 | Arabica (top) | Cowry | M | Indo-west Pacific. |
| 9 | Fusinus sp. | Nicobar Spindle fusiform | M | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 10 | Fasciolaria sp. | Tulip Shell | M | Caribbean Province & Bay of Bengal |
| 11 | Latirus sp. | Many Angled Spindle | M | Indo-West Pacific |
| 12 | Thais sp. | Rock Shell | M | Probably widespread in the Indo-west Pacific but frequent confusion with similar Species |
| 13 | Indica sp. | Turrit Shell | M, CR | Indo-West Pacific |
| 14 | Oliva sp. | Olive Shell | M, CR | Tropical west Pacific, Indo- West Pacific. |
| 15 | Murex sp. | Murex Shell | CR | Indo-West Pacific |
| 16 | Textile sp. | Cone Shell | M, CR | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 17 | Mitra sp. | Meter Shell | CR | Central Indo-West Pacific |
| 18 | Pila globosa | Freshwater apple snail | F | North-Central India to Bankok |
| 19 | Lymnaea stagnalis | Stagnant pond snail | F | British Isles: Great Britain and Ireland, Canada (Alberta province), Cambodia, Czech Republic – least concern (LC), Germany – distributed in whole, Germany but in 2 states in red list (Rote Liste BRD), Netherlands, Poland, Russia – Sverdlovsk oblast, Slovakia, Sweden (Skåne), Switzerland, Ukraine |
| 20 | Melanoides tuberculata | Live bearer snail | F | Northern Africa , South Africa and also found in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India (including Andaman Islands), Japan, Laos, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia), Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam,Thailand |
| 21 | Telescopium telescopium | Telescope shells | M | Mainly found in Madagascar but somewhat in this subcontinent also |
| 22 | Viviparus begalensis | Data are not available | ID | – |
| 23 | Viviparus variata | Data are not available | ID | – |
| 24 | Bythinia Stenothyroides | Data are not available | ID | Found in India and adjacent countries |
| 25 | Mysorella costigera | Data are not available | ID | Karnataka (A. Madhyastha pers. obs.) and a few specimens collected in Madras, Tamil Nadu, southern India and Sri Lanka |
| 26 | Assiminia brevicula | Salt marsh snail, Red mangrove snail | B | Asia; India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam, Japan and Thailand.Native in Bangladesh; China; Hong Kong; India (West Bengal); Japan; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Thailand; Viet Nam |
| 27 | Sulcospira variabilis | F | Malaysia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam and also in Bay of Bengal | |
| 28 | Lymnea pinguis | No common name recorded | ||
| 29 | Pyla viren | – | – | – |
| 30 | Anisus convexiusculus | – | – | – |
Oyester:
| Sl | Scientific name | English name | Habitat | Distribution |
| 1 | Ostrea edulis | Native oyster | E, CR | Norwegian Sea south through the North Sea down to the Iberian Peninsula and the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Found in the Mediterranean Sea and extends into the Black Sea. |
| 2 | Crassostrea belcheri | Edible oyster | M | |
| 3 | Srassostrea cucullata | Edible oyster | M | Indo-Pacific including the Red Sea, recorded in the Suez Canal |
| 4 | Crassostrea madrasensis | Edible oyster | CR | South-West and South-East coasts of India |
| 5 | Pinctada sp. | Pearl oyster | CR | South-East coasts of India |
Here, F= Freshwater; B= Brackish water; M=Marine; CR= Coastal region; E=estuary; ID= Insufficient data
REFERENCES
Benson A. J. (2008). “Melanoides tuberculatus“. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL
Chowdhury SI. 2001. The Sundarbans at a Glance. In: Q. I. Chowdhury (ed.), State of the Sundarbans. FEJB, MoEF and UNDP. 135-137pp.
Conservation of Biodiversity, Marine Park Establishment & Eco-tourism Development Project at St. Martin’s Island. 4/5 Iqbal road, Mohammadpur, Dhaka-1207
Juřičková L., Horsák M. & Beran L. (2001) “Check-list of the molluscs (Mollusca) of the Czech Republic”. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 65: 25-40
Madhyastha A. (2010). Melanoides tuberculatus In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4.
Sarr A., Kinzelbach R. & Diouf M. (2011, in press). “Diversite specifique et ecologie des mollusques continenatux de la basse vallee du Ferlo (Senegal). [Specific diversity and ecology of continental molluscs from the Lower Ferlo Valley (Senegal)]”. MalaCo 7: 8 pp
Shah MS. 1998. Sundarbaner Matshya Sampoder Sangrockhon O Babosthapona ( Conservation and Management of the Sundarbans Fisheries Resources). In: Matshya Saptaha-1998, Department of Fisheries. Dhaka. 87-90pp.
Verma PS. 2000. A manual of practical zoology invertebrates. Pub. By S. Chand and company (PVT) Ltd. Ram Nagar, New Delhi; 314-426.
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