Molluscan Shell Diversity of Ennore Creek, Chennai, India

Molluscs are the soft bodied invertebrates, which are protected by calcium carbonate shells. The shells are coated mostly with calcium carbonate and protein matrix in a process called bio-mineralization. Apart from playing a major role in the aquatic ecosystem, they are considered to be best bio-indicators of environmental pollution, as their soft tissues, and their shells are known to accumulate the pollutants. The divers patterns and different shell morphologies of the clams, snails and oysters, seem to be influenced by the solar radiation, predator stress and various environmental factors, which seem to regulate the gene expression patterns of the shell formation. In the present study, different molluscan shells were collected and studied for their diverse patterns. They were collected from Ennore, creek of Tamil Nadu, India as it is known to be a lagoon type of ecosystem and plays an important role in maintenance of the aquatic ecosystem surrounding it. The present study showed a diverse shell patterns mostly with reference to clam shells. A few, oyster shells, cerithiid shells and potaminind shells were also observed. A detailed analysis of the shell patterns under the influence of various external environmental cues may be investigated in future.