Survey of fresh water snails of Kashimbila dam and environs Taraba state
1 Department of Biological science, Federal university wukarii, Taraba state, Nigeria.
2 Department of public health, Taraba State college of health technology takum, Taraba State, Nigeria.
Research Article
International Journal of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Archive, 2025, 10(01), 069-076.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijbpsa.2025.10.1.0057
Publication history:
Received on 07 June 2025; revised on 15 July 2025; accepted on 17 July 2025
Abstract:
This research was undertaken so as to provide vital information on the fresh water snails which will complement the few baseline data for Kashimbila dam area and environs. The study was carried out at Kashimbila Dam in Takum located in southern Taraba state, Nigeria. Snail sampling from the identified sites A-E was done twice a month for a period of 6 months from September, 2022 to February, 2023. Snails collected were kept in plastic containers and brought to the laboratory where they were identified to species level on the basis of their morphological characteristics with reference to the standard keys. After collection, the snails were exposed to artificial table lamp for one to four hours to induce shedding of cercariae. Each snail was carefully observed under dissecting microscope and examined for possible emergence of cercariae at regular intervals. Six species, all belonging to the class Gastropoda (Lymnaea natalensis, Lymnaea truncatula, Melanoides meculata, Bellamya unicolor, Lanistes ovum and Pila ovata), were identified during the study of which only three (Lymnaea natalensis, Lymnaea truncatula and Melanoides meculata) shedded cercariae. The findings avail the nature of the Kashimbila dam and also provide useful information on the checklists and ecology of the snail species which could be potentially used as bio- indicators for assessing and monitoring the dam and have implication on public health.
Keywords:
Kashimbila dam; Fresh water; Snails; Species; Cercariae
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