Descriptive morphometric analysis of three common bivalve species from Chandipur, Odisha, Eastern India

Abstract

The present study addresses a comprehensive morphometric analysis of three prevalent bivalve species from the Chandipur coast (latitude 21°3' – 21°47' N and longitude 86°02' – 87°20' E), Odisha, India. About 1875 specimens are used in this comprehensive analysis, belonging to the representative species Mactra luzonica Reeve, 1854, Timoclea scabra (Hanley, 1845), and Donax scortum (Linnaeus, 1758) from three different families viz. Mactridae, Veneridae, and Donacidae. The morphometric analysis found strong linear correlations between shell length (L), height (H), and width (W) with statistical significance at p < 0.01, however, the correlation between body size and thickness is weak. Further analysis of morphometric indices, including elongation (H/L), narrowness (W/L), and flatness (W/H) for each species, revealed moderate variations for D. scortum and T. scabra, while the variations were more profound in M. luzonica. An analysis of body shape (L/H) reveals D. scortum being more elliptical (L/H: 1.5 to 2.0) and T. scabra being more oval (L/H < 1.5), while M. luzonica has almost equal distributions in both shapes. This morphological variation is attributed to various ecological stresses as well as habitat conditions. The data provided here can further aid in research related to ecology and conservation of these valuable marine resources.