Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

Expanding horizons: Range extension of three gastropod species to the northeast coast of India

Volume 67 Issue 2

Sanjaya Dalai, Aparna Mishra, Rajaram Behera, Bhagyashree Dash, N. V. Subba Rao and Dipti Raut

doi:10.6024/jmbai.2025.67.2.2622-14

Abstract

This study presents new distribution records of three gastropod mollusc species from the northeast coast of India. The species include the naticid Polinices flemingianus (Récluz,1844), the pyramidellid Pyramidella dolabrata (Linnaeus,1758), and the pseudomelatomid Ptychobela griffithii (Gray,1833), hitherto unrecorded from the waters of Odisha. Additionally, P. griffithii was also recorded for the first time in the coastal waters of Andhra Pradesh. The occurrence of these species in previously unreported habitats indicates a range expansion along the northeastern coast of the Bay of Bengal. Morphological characterisation and notes on their environmental preferences contribute to a refined understanding of molluscan biodiversity in the region. These new records highlight the importance of continued benthic surveys and taxonomic documentation for coastal biodiversity assessment.

Keywords

Coastal biodiversity, marine gastropods, range expansion, Polinices flemingianus, Pyramidella dolabrata, Ptychobela griffithii, Odisha coast

Date : 13-12-2025