Marine Shells of Goa

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.

Shells are important to the living organism that produce them as well as to humans in several ways. Importance of molluscan shells to living organisms, coastal processes, in reconstructions of climatic conditions of the atmosphere, providing links to evolution, biostratigraphy, studying human behaviour of hominins and hominids, in human use such as currency, clothing, dyes, drugs and medicines, as well as in rituals and ceremonies, history and mythology, religion, and human culture is described in the chapter. Use of Indian conch shell, which is believed to resonate sound of Om, the origin of cosmic sound vibrations, is described briefly. One of the weirdest uses of sea shells in history has been in assassination attempts that are described here. The chapter also comments on significance of shell symbols. Further, some literary works demonstrate importance of marine shells in expanding our knowledge of palaeontology, evolution and geology. The chapter refers to a few of such literary works on shells, their writers and cite some of their writings to showcase contribution of marine shells in uncovering mysteries of nature, validating different hypotheses, exposing some theories that were then existent and enlightening scientists with the secrets of Mother Earth. The chapter concludes with some examples of idioms and proverbs using shells, either as metaphor, or euphemism or any other figure of speech to communicate meaningfully.