Hidden Shells of Balochistan: Exploring Land Snail Diversity Across the Province | InformativeBD

Shahab-ud-Din Kakar, Zafarullah, and Azmatullah, from the institute of Pakistan. wrote a Research Article about, Hidden Shells of Balochistan: Exploring Land Snail Diversity Across the Province. entitled, Diversity and distribution of land snails (Gastropoda: Mollusca) in the different sites of Balochistan Province, Pakistan. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal on Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

To study the diversity of land-snail fauna in the province of Balochistan, fourteen different sites were surveyed. Five land snail species were found as the Bradybaena similaris, Macrochlamys sequax, Zootecus insularis, Allopeas gracile and Zebrina detrita. Among these, the Zootecus insularis was showed a wide distribution and found in 8 of the total 14 surveyed sites. Followed by Bradybaena similaris and Macrochlamys sequax in 6 and 4 sites respectively in the province. On the other hand, Allopeas gracile and Zebrina detrita was collected from only site 1 but in different areas of the foresaid site which revealed the fact of their extinction in near future if immediate measures have not taken. The current study brought the present status and diversity of the land snail fauna into the pages of scientific record across the province as there is a dearth of reports about the diversity of land snail fauna in diverse provincial sites. Herein, this research offered first and detailed taxonomic description and distribution data of land snails’ fauna occurring in the province. Additionally, it might provide a way to carry out taxonomic studies about land snail fauna in the other provinces of the country.

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Introduction

Gastropoda is the most important class of the phylum Mollusca with the animals having well-developed head bearing tentacles, eyes and a large muscular foot which is helpful for crawling. Snails, limpets, and slugs are familiar members of this class (Boonngam et al., 2008). Most members of the class Gastropoda bears a protective coiled shell accept the slugs, which have no shell. Land snails entails of the two main groups’ the prosobranchs and pulmonates. Prosobranchs have hardened shells and opercula which cover the apertures or openings of shells. Pulmonates, lack opercula and used lung for gaseous exchange. They live under leaves, woodland litters, logs, stones and trash, gardens, on the soil, in the cracks and even beside the hill-slopes (Srihata et al., 2010). The temperature and moisture play a significant role in their occurrence and distribution. Some land snails serve as intermediate hosts of infectious trematodes and other parasites of animals and human beings. However, most of the land snails have an important role in the ecosystems in which they live: they contribute to litter decomposition and concentration of soil calcium and are an important food source for other animals (Lange, 2003). Their generally short life span (i.e. a few months or years) and their limited powers of dispersal make them excellent bioindicators (Watters et al., 2005). To vast diversity, the land molluscan fauna did not get much consideration until the current (Graveland et al., 1994). Previously little work has been carried out in the areas adjacent to Afghanistan and northern India by some authors (Solem, 1979; Subba, 1979) but very poor work has been done on land snails of Pakistan. The author (Pokryszko et al., 2009) reported the Pupilloidae of Pakistan during the summers of 1990- 1992. Although, there seems to be no information on the land snails of Balochistan province. This paper aims to provide an inventory of the land snail fauna along with a detail taxonomic description and distribution data of these snails in the different sites of the province.

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Article source : Diversity anddistribution of land snails (Gastropoda: Mollusca) in the different sites of Balochistan Province, Pakistan