Illustrative checklist of opisthobranchs from selected beaches of Mumbai

Abstract

Opisthobranchs are marine slugs belonging to phylum Mollusca. Till date, Mumbai is least studied for opisthobranch biodiversity with very few official reports on opisthobranch fauna. The present study documents a list of opisthobranchs from Mumbai. The opisthobranchs were collected from selected beaches along the Mumbai coast and identified using standard guidelines. Eight species of opisthobranchs belonging to three families were identified. All of these are new records to Mumbai with five species being new records to India. This study is a preliminary data for further investigations, monitoring and conservation of opisthobranch fauna.