340
N. BALAKRISHNAN NAIR AND M. SARASWATRY
Bartsch, Teredo Linnaeus and Lyrodus Gould, and the new subfamily
Bankiinae which includes four genera-Nototeredo Bartsch, Xpathoteredo Moll, Nausitora Wright and Bankia Gray. According to this new
system the total number of valid species in the world has been reduced
to 66. This is bound to be of considerable help to all teredine workers
and will enable even relatively inexperienced persons to determine the
forms before them with a fair amount of accuracy. Also, this revision
has brought together a great deal of the scattered earlier literature in
the form of illustrations and descriptions of the several species along
with ways and means of determining them. Turner has synonymized
several species. There has been undue splitting of species in this group
because of incorrect identification owing to the non-availability of
representative series of well preserved specimens for accurate specific
determination. With this new classification as a basis, we investigated
the pattern of distribution of shipworms along the coasts of India and
also the nature of their occurrence in the Indo-West Pacific. This should
be of interest since information on this is far from complete.
In Table I is presented the pattern of distribution of shipworms
along the Indian coasts. This is by no means an exhaustive list because
studies on the incidence and activity of marine borers have been undertaken only in selected areas along the east and west coasts of India.
While 23 species are active along the east coast, only about 10 have
been recorded from the west coast and all these occur along the east
coast as well. Of these Dicyathifer manni, Teredo furcifera, Bankia
campanellata and Bankia carinata are present in almost all areas from
which records are available. Bactronophorus thoracites, Teredo princesue,
Teredo clappi, Nausitora hedleyi and Bankia rochi occur on the east and
west coats of India but have not been collected from all the regions.
At least 6 species of shipworms occur in West Bengal. From the
mangrove swamp forests of the Sunderbans, Bactronophorus thoracites
has been reported as a serious pest infesting both living and dead trees,
weakening them so that they break off before strong winds (Roonwal,
1954, 1954a). Nausitora dunlopei, Bankia rochi, B. campanellata, B.
carinata and B. nordi are the other 5 species reported as active in West
Bengal (Roch, 1955 Rajagopalaiengar, 1961, 1964). No systematic
work on these borers has been undertaken around Calcutta and information is limited regarding the exact number of species that occur
and their biology. Nausitora dunlopei is a very interesting species reported in timbers exposed to almost fresh water in the river Comer, a
tributary of the Ganges, 150 miles up river (Wright, 1864). The ability
of the species to live in almost fresh water is of special interest.
The marine wood-borers of the Andhra coast have been studied by
N. BALAKRISHNAN NAIR AND M. SARASWATRY
Bartsch, Teredo Linnaeus and Lyrodus Gould, and the new subfamily
Bankiinae which includes four genera-Nototeredo Bartsch, Xpathoteredo Moll, Nausitora Wright and Bankia Gray. According to this new
system the total number of valid species in the world has been reduced
to 66. This is bound to be of considerable help to all teredine workers
and will enable even relatively inexperienced persons to determine the
forms before them with a fair amount of accuracy. Also, this revision
has brought together a great deal of the scattered earlier literature in
the form of illustrations and descriptions of the several species along
with ways and means of determining them. Turner has synonymized
several species. There has been undue splitting of species in this group
because of incorrect identification owing to the non-availability of
representative series of well preserved specimens for accurate specific
determination. With this new classification as a basis, we investigated
the pattern of distribution of shipworms along the coasts of India and
also the nature of their occurrence in the Indo-West Pacific. This should
be of interest since information on this is far from complete.
In Table I is presented the pattern of distribution of shipworms
along the Indian coasts. This is by no means an exhaustive list because
studies on the incidence and activity of marine borers have been undertaken only in selected areas along the east and west coasts of India.
While 23 species are active along the east coast, only about 10 have
been recorded from the west coast and all these occur along the east
coast as well. Of these Dicyathifer manni, Teredo furcifera, Bankia
campanellata and Bankia carinata are present in almost all areas from
which records are available. Bactronophorus thoracites, Teredo princesue,
Teredo clappi, Nausitora hedleyi and Bankia rochi occur on the east and
west coats of India but have not been collected from all the regions.
At least 6 species of shipworms occur in West Bengal. From the
mangrove swamp forests of the Sunderbans, Bactronophorus thoracites
has been reported as a serious pest infesting both living and dead trees,
weakening them so that they break off before strong winds (Roonwal,
1954, 1954a). Nausitora dunlopei, Bankia rochi, B. campanellata, B.
carinata and B. nordi are the other 5 species reported as active in West
Bengal (Roch, 1955 Rajagopalaiengar, 1961, 1964). No systematic
work on these borers has been undertaken around Calcutta and information is limited regarding the exact number of species that occur
and their biology. Nausitora dunlopei is a very interesting species reported in timbers exposed to almost fresh water in the river Comer, a
tributary of the Ganges, 150 miles up river (Wright, 1864). The ability
of the species to live in almost fresh water is of special interest.
The marine wood-borers of the Andhra coast have been studied by