NOTES ON THE FAMILY AMPULLARIIDAE (GASTROPODA: PROSOBRANCHIA) IN THE PHILIPPINES: I. DIGESTIVE, CIRCULATORY, AND EXCRETORY SYSTEMS

Abstract

A  total  of  232  ampullariid  snails  collected  from  23  sites  covering  7  islands  in  the  Philippines were compared  conchologically  and  200  alcohol-preserved  specimens  were  dissected  for  anatomical characteristics. Conchological comparison of the shells of the collected snails with that of identified lots from the Senckenberg Natur-museum, Frankfurt, Germany, the British Museum for Natural History, London, England, the Koninklijk Belgisch  Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussels, Belgium, and  the Rijksmuseum voor Natuurwetenschappen, Leiden, Netherlands, revealed the presence of 5 species in the collected samples. These are: P. conica, P. ampullacea, P. mainitensis, P. quadrasi, and P. vittala. The latter 3 species were previously reported as being indigenous to the Philippines. Aside  from  characteristics  of  the  shell,  the morphology  of  the  stomach may  be  useful  for  species discrimination. P. quadrasi and P. vittata, however, do not seem to differ anatomically from P. conica.