A Morphometric Study of Cultured Fresh Water Pearl Mussel Lamellidens marginalis

Abstract

Environmental parameters, such as water temperature, have been shown to be major factors influencing pearl mussel shell growth and biomineralization process. A pearl has structural and chemical properties similar to the pearl nacre of the shell interior. Its shape is determined by the irritant foreign body and its quality by the secretion nature of pearl sac thus the outer epithelium of the mantel tissue is the keynote in the “orchestra” of bio-mineralization of pearl (Simkiss and Wada 1980). The freshwater pearl mussel, Lamellidens marginalis commonly found at Betwa river was cultured in the culture pond at Bipin Bihari Degree College, Jhansi in nets bags with bamboo/wire frames for 10 months. Measurements were taken of the length, height and total body weight for morph metric study in different seasons. The present study investigates the length and height in each period of culture showed good growth in the summer season and less in the winter season. It was found that the effect of water temperature, in culture pond impact on pearl quality a linear relationship and the shell length increased, as the temperature increases along with the same linear relationship.