• Source: Planorbarius metidjensis

Planorbarius metidjensis is a freshwater lung snail.
Experiments confirmed it to be a host of the Schistosoma parasites, while the Bulinus truncatus freshwater snail has been known much longer as a carrier of schistosomiasis.




Description


The snail measures 8 mm x 16 to 18 mm. The shell is light yellowish, while the periostracum is brown, reddish or greenish. The body is nearly black with a grey foot and tentacles.




Schistosomiasis transmission


While P. metidjensis has been successfully infected with Schistosoma haematobium in the laboratory, in Morocco, no free-living infected snails have been found during a survey. Likewise, in the laboratory, snail specimens from Portugal and Salamanca were found to be very susceptible to infections by Schistosoma bovis strains gathered from the Salamanca region, but the 1977 study urged a prevalence survey of free-living snails.
In some areas, there are S. haematobium/S. bovis hybrids. P. metidjensis is immune to experimental infection with hybrid parasites collected in Corsica that contain 23% genetical material from S. bovis.




Distribution and habitat



The snail occurs in southwestern Morocco as well as in Algarve (Portugal) and Salamanca (Spain).
In a 2007 study carried out in Morocco, the snail was found in larger altitudes, and not in man-made water bodies like canals and artificial lakes. It tolerated a wide range of electrical conductivities (120 to 3650 microsieverts/cm) and up to 1.1 grams of chlorides per liter. It was often found together with Ancylus fluviatilis river snails.




References



Brown D.S. (1994). Freshwater snails of Africa and their medical importance, 2nd edition. London: Taylor and Francis, 607 p.
page(s): 217, fig. 101c




External links



Forbes, E. (1838). On the land and freshwater mollusca of Algiers and Bougia. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 2 (10): 250-255, pl. 11-12
Graells, M.P. (1846). Catalogo de los moluscos terrestres y de agua dulce observados en España, y descripción y notas de algunas especies nuevas o poco conocidas del mismo país. Viuda é Hijos de Don Antonia Calleja, Madrid, and Calleja, Ojea y Compañia, Lima. vii + 23 pp., 1 pl.
Image of Planorbarius metidjensis

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Planorbarius metidjensis
• Planorbarius
• Schistosoma haematobium
• Schistosoma bovis
• List of non-marine molluscs of Portugal
• List of non-marine molluscs of Morocco
• List of non-marine molluscs of Spain