Distribution of Intertidal Molluscs along Tarut Island Coast, Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

To document the frequency and diversity of molluscs and the factors controlling their distribution along the coastline of Tarut Island, Arabian Gulf, 4221 gastropod valves and bivalve shells were collected from 10 stations along the coast. 30 gastropod and 32 bivalve species belong to 49 genera and 33 families/superfamilies were identified. Stations 5 and 7 recorded the highest abundance of gastropod and bivalve respectively. Family Veneridae represented 85% of the recorded bivalves, while Ceriithiidae represented 41% of the recorded gastropods. Family Veneridae was the high diverse bivalves, while Trochidae was the high diverse gastropods. Nature of habitats and wind direction were the factors that may control occurrence and accumulation of seashells along the intertidal zone of the studied coasts. The low diversity in most of the studied fauna may attributed to the extreme environmental conditions and the deterioration resulting from land reclamation, urbanization and dredging around Tarut Island; industrial and sewage effluents, wastewater discharges from desalination plants; dust storms; oil leak and solid wastes.