Comparative anatomy of some land pulmonate snails in a mangrove habitat of upper Gulf of Thailand

Abstract

Pulmonate snails in the mangrove habitats of the upper Gulf of Thailand revealed 3 orders, 5 families, 12 genera and 18 species. Three species, Laemodonta sp., Platevindex sp. and Succinea sp., are new record of the Thai mangrove habitat and 1 species, Salinator sp. , is a new record in the Gulf of Thailand. The five species that presented in Brandfs report in 1974 are not seen in this study, i.e. Auriculastra subula, Cylindrotis quadrasi, Laemodonta monilifera, L. punctatostriata and Melampus pulcheilus. Radula and penis morphology can be use to species identification using shell and external morphology. Central nervous system of Ellobiids may be the most primitive among pulmonates by their distinct separation of the nerve ganglia. In a more advanced pulmonates, they have shown a close and fusion of some nerve ganglia. In this study, Reproductive system and the length of the commissure are insufficient to reveal the evolutionary relationship of Ellobiidae.