“Morphological Adaptations of Telescopium telescopium in the Mangrove Ecosystem of Punnakayal, Thoothukudi District”

Abstract

This study presents a detailed morphological description of Telescopium telescopium(Linnaeus, 1758), a commercially valuable potamididae gastropod, based on specimens collected from the Punnakayal mangrove region . The research examines the shell characteristics, head-foot morphology, mantle organs, visceral mass, digestive system, reproductive system, and central nervous system of T. telescopium through dissections and histological analysis.. This comprehensive morphological study contributes to a better understanding of potamididae taxonomy and provides insights into the adaptations of Telescopium telescopium for its predatory lifestyle in tropical marine ecosystems.