Rare Moon Shell Sinum laevigatum (Gastropoda: Naticidae): A New Record from Coastal Waters of Peninsular India

Abstract

In India, report of the naticid gastropod Sinum laevigatum has been rare, with little description of the species. However, a benthic investigation (November 2022) undertaken in the Dhamra estuary and the adjacent waters, Odisha, on the east coast of peninsular India, revealed the occurrence of the species for the first time. Here we present the morphometrics, description, and baseline ecological data of the specimens of S. laevigatum hitherto unknown from mainland India. Furthermore, its current prevalence along the mainland’s coastal waters indicates a range extension northwestward from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, where the naticid was previously documented (2003). It is contended that the information provided could address knowledge gaps for the species.