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Morphological studies on Bulinus sp. (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) from Nchout Monoun, Cameroon


R. Mimpfoundi
A. Ndassa

Abstract

Since 1990, diploid Bulinus sp. populations have been reported from many sites in the volcanic western Bamileke and Bamoun plateau in Cameroon; starch gel electrophoresis of enzymes and chromosome analyses have revealed a single band in hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (HBDH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), and a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 36. Several samples have been tentatively identified as B. natalensis (Küster, 1841) on the basis of observations on the shell and radula. The present study is a preliminary analysis of the characteristics of the shell and the radula of the snails from Nchout Monoun Crater Lake (Monoun Koumogoum) for adequate comparisons with the widely studied B.  natalensis/tropicus complex from East and South Africa. Comparison of the ratio of shell length to aperture length (L/AL), plotted against shell length (L) in a scatter diagram,  showed a 47% overlap between the dimensions of the Nchout Monoun sample and those from KwaZulu-Natal. From previous observations on the diploid chromosome number, single electrophoretic bands on HBDH and IDH enzyme  systems, euphallic genital system, arrowhead-shaped mesocones and the   characteristic features of the shell, we conclude that Bulinus sp. from Nchout  Monoun is closely related to B. natalensis.


Key words: Bulinus, Cameroon, South Africa, shell morphology.


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eISSN: 2224-073X
print ISSN: 1562-7020