ASSESSMENT OF PHENOTYPIC TRAITS OF Archachatina marginata suturalis SNAILS IN THE DERIVED SAVANNAH ZONE OF OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Snails are crawling exo-skeleton invertebrate animals. African snails can live for ten years but generally live in 3 – 7years in captivity. In this study the phenotypic traits of Archachatina marginata suturalis was assessed. A total of 163 snails were purchased at three main markets each Local Government Area of the derived Savannah Zone of Ogun State. Data collected include: Distance between suture (DBS) 1st and 2nd, DBS 2nd and 3rd, DBS 3rd and 4th, Shell Length (SL), Shell Width (SW), Shell Mouth Thickness (SMT), Aperture Length (AL), Aperture Width (AW), Shell Mouth Thickness (SMT), Live Weight (LW). The mean distance between (DBS) the 1st and 2nd suture is 1.23+0.23cm. The mean DBS 2nd and 3rd is 0.61+0.13cm. The mean SL and SW is 10.34+2.01cm, 5.06+0.19cm respectively. The mean AL and AW is 3.72+0.70cm, 5.72+0.72cm respectively. The mean SH is 4.25+2.01cm. The mean LW is 109.8+81.7g. Snail live weight is positively correlated with all the body parameters. SLW is positively and highly significantly correlated with SH (0.387), AW (0.299), shell width (0.291). SLW is highly positively correlated with SMT (0.667). The prediction power is more with the snail height (52.7), DBS 2nd & 3rd (81.7). These findings should be considered in improvement programme to increase the meat yield of this strain of snail.

 

Key Word: Archachatina marginata suturalis, Snail height, Shell mouth thickness, Suture

DOI: https://ejesm.org/doi/v10i10.11

 

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