Taxonomy And Biology Of Chicoreus Species : Taxonomy and Biology of Chicoreus species(Class: Bivalvia :Family :Muricidae) from Thondi coast

The order Neogastropoda or Stenoglossan is generally regarded as the most highly advanced prosobranch gastropods.The large number of species and genera constitutes the success of the Neogastropoda.The classification of the Neogastropods has attracted the attention of many Scientists because the order contain some of the most economically and biologically important gastropods. The over exploitation of these species is now-a-days is increasing rapidly along the South east coast of India.Over the past decades ,the operculum and shells of these gastropods have been fetching a good value but only recently attention has been drawn to the value of their meat. The demand for meat is mainly from exporters and it has now become an additional source of income for their fisher folk. However, it is important to study these snails because of their role in the seafood trade.The knowledge of these resources will be useful for the proper management and conservation of these valuable gastropods. These may have in future excellent opportunities in the aquaculture industry, knowledge of species availability,reproductive biology etc is an essential prerequisites for proper utilization