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Romanian Journal of Biology - Zoology
ROMANIAN ACADEMY |
INTEGRATIVE TAXONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THREE GASTROPOD SPECIES FROM THE MANGROVE HABITAT OF THE VELLAR ESTUARY, TAMILNADU, INDIA
RAVI YESODHAA, KAMBLE PRAGATI, DURAISAMY ANNADURAI, MUTHUSAMY THANGARAJ
Abstract:
The Class Gastropoda is highly diverse and ecologically significant, yet many species remain poorly studied in tropical estuarine habitats. This study integrates morphological characters and molecular tools to assess variation among three dominant gastropod genera such as Clithon, Neritina, and Nassarius from the Vellar estuarine mangroves, Tamil Nadu. Morphometric traits, including shell length (SL), shell width (SW), aperture length (AL), aperture width (AW), operculum length (OL), operculum width (OW), and shell weight (S weight), were measured. Statistical analyses (ANOVA, correlation matrices, PCA) revealed significant interspecific variation. Principal components PC1 and PC2 explained 74.55% and 24.60% of the total variance, respectively. PCA score plots distinctly separated C. oualaniense, N. stolatus, and N. violacea, with no overlap among individuals. DNA barcoding using the mitochondrial COI gene confirmed species-level differences, showing closer genetic affinity between C. oualaniense and N. violacea (K2P = 0.160), while N. stolatus formed a distinct clade in NJ tree analysis (K2P = 0.233). Intraspecific K2P distances were consistently lower than interspecific values, supporting the effectiveness of COI for gastropod species delimitation. The findings highlight the importance of broader genetic surveys using multiple markers across estuarine and mangrove ecosystems to strengthen taxonomic resolution and guide conservation efforts.
Citation:
RAVI YESODHAA, KAMBLE PRAGATI, DURAISAMY ANNADURAI, MUTHUSAMY THANGARAJ, 2025. INTEGRATIVE TAXONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF THREE GASTROPOD SPECIES FROM THE MANGROVE HABITAT OF THE VELLAR ESTUARY, TAMILNADU, INDIA, Romanian Journal of Biology - Zoology, 70(1-2): 47–59.
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