Bulinus nasutus
Species of gastropod
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bulinus nasutus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.
| Bulinus nasutus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Gastropoda |
| Superorder: | Hygrophila |
| Family: | Bulinidae |
| Genus: | Bulinus |
| Species: | B. nasutus |
| Binomial name | |
| Bulinus nasutus (von Martens, 1879)[2] | |
| Synonyms[3][4] | |
| |
Subspecies
- Bulinus nasutus nasutus
- Bulinus nasutus productus Mandahl-Barth, 1960[3]
Distribution
Description
The width of the shell is 12 mm.[4] The height of the shell is 25 mm.[4]
The diploid chromosome number is 2n = 36.[4]
Ecology
Bulinus nasutus lives in temporary pools, ditches and burrow-pits.[4]
High concentration of chloride (468-2220 ppm Cl) have been found in pools inhabited by Bulinus nasutus in Tanzania.[4]
Bulinus nasutus can aestivate in the dry mud for about 5–8 months.[4] Respiration of Bulinus nasutus during aestivation is probably aerobic.[4] They aestivate on margins of pools, and thus stop aestivation only in optimal conditions, when the pool has much water.[4]
Webbe (1962, 1965)[5][6] described population dynamics of Bulinus nasutus in Tanzania.[4]
Mature snails lay eggs during the whole life span, primarily immediately after the main rainfall.[4] Snails 8 weeks old, whose shell is about 8 mm in height, are mature and can lay eggs.[4] However they require more than 12 months of life and 1-2 aestivation periods in order to reach their full size.[4]
This species is an intermediate host for:
- Schistosoma bovis[4]
- Schistosoma haematobium - it is the main intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium in northwestern Tanzania[4]
- Echinostome spp.[4]