English

Abstract

Bulinid snails act as intermediate host of schistosomes and the presence of the snail gives schistosomiasis an expansive characteristics. Schistosomiasis is of medical and veterinary importance in the tropical and subtropical regions. The shell shape and structure of radula teeth of bulinids are often specific to a species or genus, and are widely used for gastropod species identification. Bulinid species collected from schistosome endemic areas of Ogun State, South-western Nigeria were used for this study. Shell morphometrics were recorded using vernier caliper while the buccal mass of each snail was removed and permanent slides of the radulae were made according to standard procedure. There was a significant difference in the shell height, width, aperture height and aperture width between Bulinus globosus and Bulinus jousseaumei (p<0.05). The average shell height measurement for B. globosus was 7.6±1.9 mm, while B. jousseaumei measured 5.1±1.6 mm. Each transverse row of B. globosus radula had a ratio of 26:8:1:8:26 while B. jousseaumei had a ratio of 25:8:1:8:25. The marginal teeth of B. globosus possessed five cusps while B. jousseaumei possessed six cusps. The differences observed in shell, radula ratio and cusps in both species could be used to differentiate both species.    Key words: Radula, shell, Bulinus species, identification, Nigeria.