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 “Khoalos” 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 lobsters, crabs & clams species found in Bangladesh are given here-
Lobster:
|
Sl |
English name |
Scientific name |
Distribution |
| 1 | Scalloped spiny lobster | Panulirus hamarus | Surf zone to depths of 20 m, sandstone reefs; abundant on west, southwest and south coasts. |
| 2 | Ornate spiny lobster | Panulirus ornatus | Shore off Silavathurai, Gulf of Mannar; Luxuriant coral formations on barrier reef stretching from Silavathurai to Vankalai in Gulf of Mannar; much more abundant on the northwest, north and northeast and east coasts than on south sector. |
| 3 | Mud spiny lobster | Panulirus polyphagus | Northeast and west coasts; not found in Sri Lanka on any other type of substratum and least abundant of all species. |
| 4 | Painted spiny lobster | Panulirus versicolor | Luxuriant coral, occasionally found on sandstone reefs, but invariably in association with coral heads; avoids surf zone and seeks sheltered regions of reef at depths from 3 to 20 m. |
| 5 | Flathead lobsters | Thenus orientalis | Marine, in depths between 8 and 70 m; on soft substrate. |
| Common Squilid mantis shrimp | Gelasimuses annulip |
All the marine environment |
Clams:
|
Sl |
English name |
Scientific name |
Habitat |
Distribution |
| 1 | Venus clam | Gafrarium divaricatum | intertidal and shallow water; muddy gravels and sands | Indo-Pacific. |
| 2 | Venus clam | Meretrix meretrix | West and East coasts of India | |
| 3 | Blood clam | Anadara granosa | On muddy bottom of the infra-littoral zone | South-East coasts of India |
| 4 | Ark | Anadara sp. | On muddy bottom of the infra-littoral zone | Confined to the Indo-Pacific, Texas, United States, and Brazil. |
| 5 | Ark | Scapharca sp. | On sandy and muddy bottom of the infra- littoral zone. | Central India Ocean to tropical Western Pacific. |
| 6 | Decussate Ark | Foliata sp. | Attached by byssus among rocks, underside of coral slabs, or nesting in crevices | Widespread in the Indo-West Pacific. |
| 7 | Tellin | Tellina sp. | Active burrowers of soft substrates in which they may constitute dense communities. | Widespread in the Indo-West Pacific. |
| 8 | Cockle | Trachycardium sp. | In sandy bottoms, from low tide evels to shallow sub- littoral depths. | Widespread in tropical west Pacific Island, from the Philippines to Hawaii and eastern Polynesia. |
| 9 | Lucinas | Austriella sp. | In muddy bottom of mangrove areas. Littoral to a depth of 10 m. | Indo-Pacific, from the Bay of Bengal and Sri- Lanka areas to eastern Indonesia and society Islands, Eastern Polynesia. |
| 10 | Arctica sp | Essentially infra- littoral, even though it can be found in the circa littoral zone. Prefers sandy or sandy-muddy bottom. | Typically boreal, can extend as far as caltic and arolina provinces. | |
| 11 | Venus Clam | Paphia sp | In fine sand and mud bottoms. Intertidal and sub littoral to a depth of about 20-30 m. | Indo-West Pacific. |
| 12 | Sunetta | Sunetta sp | In sandy bottoms. Intertidal and sub littoral to a depth of 5-50 m. | Indo-West Pacific, Tropical and subtropical Western Pacific |
| 13 | Trough shell | Mactra sp. | On coarse sand or fine gravel, on the upper level of the infra littoral zone. | Widespread in the Indo-West Pacific |
| 14 | Angel Wing | Petricola sp. | On sandy or coral bottom of the infra-littoral zone. | Confined to the Indo-Pacific region. |
Crabs:
|
Sl |
English name |
Scientific name |
Distribution |
| 1 | Giant Mud crab |
Scylla serrata | Marine and is widely Distributed in the Indo-Pacific region, including the bay of bengal. |
| 2 | Swimming crab | Scylla olivicia | Marine and is widely Distributed in the Indo-Pacific region, including the bay of bengal. |
| 3 | Blue manna crab | Portunas pelagicus | Marine |
| 4 | Three spot swimming crabs | P. sanguinolentus, | Marine |
| 5 | Mangrove Horseshoe crabs | Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda | Mangrove Horseshoe crabs |
| 6 | Crucifix crabs | Charybdis feriata, | Crucifix crabs |
| 7 | Smooth Shelled swimming crabs | Charybdis affinis | India to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China, and Taiwan. |
| 8 | Charybdis rostrata | West Bengal, Digha Coast India | |
| 9 | Thaivinger crabs | Episesarma mederi | India – Ratnagiri (Chhapgar, 1957); Bay of Bengal; Andaman Islands (Alcock, 1900b); Burma – Maungmagan near Tavoy (Chopra & Das, 1937); Mergui Archipelago (Alcock, 1900b); Sumatra – Banda Aceh (de Man, 1898); Malaysia – Pinang (Alcock, 1900b); China – Fuzhou |
| 10 | Pink fingered vinegar crabs | Episesarma chengtongense | Western Pacific: southern China and various parts of Southeast Asia |
| 11 | Matuta lunaris | ||
| 12 | Common moon crabs | Matura victor | Marine |
| 13 | Matuta planipes | Indian Ocean (Fabricius, 1798, Galil & Clark, 1995); Persian Gulf (Stephensen, 1945); Strait of Hormuz (Stephensen, 1945); Pakistan – Karachi (Alcock, 1896, Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1991, Galil & Clark, 1995); India – Sunderbunds and Gangetic Delta, Mahanaddi Delta, Madras, and Bombay (Alcock, 1896), Bombay and Bassein (Chhapgar, 1957), Madras and Calcutta (Galil & Clark, 1995); Sri Lanka (Galil & Clark, 1995); Burma – (Alcock, 1896), near Tavoy (Chopra & Das, 1937); Mergui Archipelago (Alcock, 1896); Sumatra – Aceh (de Man, 1896b, 1898) | |
| 14 | Shame-faced crabs | Clappa lophos | |
| 15 | Red Fiddler Crabs | Gelasimus annulipes | Found in mangroves and on sandy or muddy beaches of West Africa, the Western Atlantic, Eastern Pacific and Indo-Pacific. |
| 16 | Oceanic Paddier Crabs | Varuna litterata | All the marine environment of the world |
Others:
|
Sl |
English name |
Scientific name |
Distribution |
| 1 | Tube, Squid | Loligo spp. | East coast and west coast of India |
| 2 | Whole Cleaned, Fillets, Cuttle fish |
Sepia sp. | West and East coast of India |
| 3 | Devil fish, Whole Gutted |
Octopus vulgaris | West and East coasts of India and off Lakshadweep |
REFERENCES
Alcock AW. 1900b. Materials for a carcinological fauna of India. No. 6. The Brachyura Catometopa or Grapsoidea. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, 69(3): 279-456.
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
Chopra BN & KN Das. 1937. Further notes on Crustacea Decapoda in the Indian Museum. IX. On three collections of crabs from Tavoy and Mergui Archipelago. Record of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 39(4): 377-434, figs 1-21, pl. 6
Dai A & S Yang 1991. Crabs of the China Seas, i-iv, 1-608, figs 1-295, pls 1-74. China Ocean Press, Beijing and Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo, English edition. (Translation from Chinese original 1986.)
de Man JG. 1898. Bericht über die von Herrn Schiffscapitän Storm zu Atjeh, an den westlichen Küsten von Malakka, Borneo und Celebes sowie in der Java-See gesammelten Decapoden und Stomatopoden. Theil 6.Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Thiere, 10: 677-708, pls 28-38. [1898/II]
Fabricius JC. 1798. Supplementatum Entomologiae systematicae, 1-572.pp. Hafniae, Proft & Storch
Galil BS & PF Clark. 1995. A revision of the genus Matuta Weber, 1795 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Calappidae). Zoologische Verhandelingen, Leiden, 294: 1-55, figs 1-7, 1-14.pp
Paul SK. 1995. Chingri: Jibbidda O Chash Babosthapona (biology and culture management of shrimp ). Monika Paul,Dhaka-1205. 5-80.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. 87-90.pp.
Stephensen, K., 1945. The Brachyura of the Iranian Gulf with an Appendix: The male pleopod of the Brachyura. In: Danish Scientific Investigations in Iran, Part 4. Copenhagen, E. Munksgaard: 57-237, figs 1-60
The shrimps/crabs of Sundarban. Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project (SBCP) Aquatic resources division of Sudarban.
Tirmizi, N.M. & Q.B. Kazmi, 1991. Marine fauna of Pakistan: 4. Crustacea: Brachyura (Dromiacea, Archaeobrachyura, Oxystomata, Oxyrhyncha). Univ Karachi BCCI (Bank Credit Commer Int) Foundation Chair, Publication No. 1 (1988): 1-244, figs 1-65, pls 1-4
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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