Identification of Auriculastra radiolata (Morelet, 1860) and Ecological Parameters in Rumaila River Estuary, Jableh – Lattakia – Syria
Thanaa Hamko *
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.
Mohamed Yacine Kassab
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.
Ikbal Fadel
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Through this study, the species Auriculastra radiolata was identified for the first time in the Syrian Arab Republic. This species belongs to the phylum Mollusca, class Gastropoda and underclass Pulmonata. Its morphological characteristics and the relationship between longitudinal growth and transverse growth and some environmental characteristics were studied. Water and mollusk samples were collected monthly for one year, starting from 27/9/2021 to 15/8/2022. This species achieved a high stability (83.33%), and relative frequency of 3.02% in the waters of Rumaila River estuary. We also studied the abiotic (physical and chemical) and biotic properties of water in this estuary and identified 18 species of molluscs; 17 species belong to the class Gastropoda (8of the subclass Prosobranchia and 9 of the subclass Pulmonata), and one species belongs to the class Bivalvia.
Keywords: Phagocytosis, Molluscs, coelomic fluid,, rumaila river, amoebocytes, gastropoda, eleocytes, pulmonata, granulocytes