Bulinus nasutus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bulinus nasutus |
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Bulinus nasutus is a species of tropical freshwater snail with a sinistral shell, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Planorbidae, the ramshorn snails and their allies.
Contents
Subspecies
- Bulinus nasutus nasutus
- Bulinus nasutus productus Mandahl-Barth, 1960
Distribution
The distribution of Bulinus nasutus includes three countries in East Africa:
- Kenya
- Tanzania including Zanzibar and Pemba Island
- Uganda
Type locality is Bagamoyo, now in Tanzania.
Description
The width of the shell is 12 mm. The height of the shell is 25 mm.
The diploid chromosome number is 2n = 36.
Ecology
Bulinus nasutus lives in temporary pools, ditches and burrow-pits.
High concentration of chloride (468-2220 ppm Cl) have been found in pools inhabited by Bulinus nasutus in Tanzania.
Bulinus nasutus can aestivate in the dry mud for about 5–8 months. Respiration of Bulinus nasutus during aestivation is probably aerobic. They aestivate on margins of pools, and thus stop aestivation only in optimal conditions, when the pool has much water.
Webbe (1962, 1965) described population dynamics of Bulinus nasutus in Tanzania.
Mature snails lay eggs during the whole life span, primarily immediately after the main rainfall. Snails 8 weeks old, whose shell is about 8 mm in height, are mature and can lay eggs. However they require more than 12 months of life and 1-2 aestivation periods in order to reach their full size.
This species is an intermediate host for:
- Schistosoma bovis
- Schistosoma haematobium - it is the main intermediate host of Schistosoma haematobium in northwestern Tanzania
- Echinostome spp.
