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Shell morphometric ratios as a tool for taxonomic determination in gastropods: a case study in Nerita (Gastropoda, Neritidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2021

Leslie Nascimento Altomari Open the ORCID record for Leslie Nascimento Altomari [Opens in a new window] ,
Brunno Henryco Borges Alves Open the ORCID record for Brunno Henryco Borges Alves [Opens in a new window] ,
Weverton John Pinheiro dos Santos ,
Mara Rúbia Ferreira Barros ,
Marko Herrmann ,
Andréa Magalhães Bezerra  and
Rafael Anaisce das Chagas Open the ORCID record for Rafael Anaisce das Chagas [Opens in a new window]
Leslie Nascimento Altomari*
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brasil
Brunno Henryco Borges Alves
Affiliation:
Instituto Federal do Piauí, Uruçuí, PI, Brasil
Weverton John Pinheiro dos Santos
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brasil
Mara Rúbia Ferreira Barros
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brasil
Marko Herrmann
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brasil
Andréa Magalhães Bezerra
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia, Belém, PA, Brasil
Rafael Anaisce das Chagas
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brasil
*
Author for correspondence: Leslie Nascimento Altomari, E-mail: contatolaltomari@gmail.com
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Abstract

In the study, we compare the shell shape morphometrics in four species of neritid gastropods (Nerita fulgurans, Nerita tessellata, Nerita peloronta and Nerita versicolor), collected in Accra Beach (Barbados Island). We tested the hypothesis that the morphometric ratios can be used as a tool in the taxonomic determination among these four species of neritids. For this we determine the morphometric ratios from the external (length, height, width) and internal (shell aperture length, shell aperture width) measures. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine which ratios were significant, and subsequently the proposed hypothesis was tested using the Kruskal–Wallis test. The morphometric ratios AW/H and AL/L were decisive in distinguishing the four species of neritids studied. In this study, the hypothesis of the efficacy of the use of shell morphometric ratios as an instrument in taxonomic studies was corroborated for the four species. Due to its low cost, this methodology can be applied in the recognition of species that have lost their external characteristics such as operculum, spire or colour and also in the identification of fossil specimens.

Keywords

Barbados Islandmolluscshell ratios morphometricstaxonomy
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 101 , Issue 4 , June 2021 , pp. 699 - 705
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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