Abstract
Goa presents wide-ranging habitats to a diverse array of shells. Tropical climate with warmer temperatures and waters, ample rainfall, good intertidal ranges, suitable salinity influences, abundant sunlight, and mangrove forests with distinct ecosystem flora offer ideal conditions for a variety of molluscan species in Goa. Diverse shell habitats such as sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangrove patches and mud flats exist in Goa. Mangrove forests, sand dunes and Khazan lands are important coastal ecosystems of Goa. Rich mangroves are found along the coastal and estuarine areas. Most of the rivers of Goa are estuarine, having tidal influences up to several kms of the riverine system. Different salinity ranges along the length of the rivers provide different ecological conditions. This results in different flora and fauna that includes a wide array of molluscan species. Gastropoda and bivalvia are the most prominent classes of Mollusca found in Goa. The shells found on Goan beaches are attractive with different colours, shapes, ornamentation and sculpture. This chapter presents a description of entire coastline of Goa and ecological features of different beaches that harbour different molluscan shells.
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Sonak, S.M. (2017). Shell Habitats of Goa. In: Marine Shells of Goa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55099-2_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55099-2_2
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