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Planorbarius metidjensis
Species of gastropod From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Planorbarius metidjensis is a species of freshwater lung snail.[3]
Experiments confirmed it to be a host of Schistosoma parasites, although the freshwater snail Bulinus truncatus has been known much longer as a carrier of schistosomiasis.[4]
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Description
The snail measures 8 mm x 16 to 18 mm. The shell is light yellowish, while the periostracum is brown, reddish or greenish. The body is nearly black with a grey foot and tentacles.[5]
Schistosomiasis transmission
While P. metidjensis has been successfully infected with Schistosoma haematobium in the laboratory, in Morocco, no free-living infected snails have been found during a survey.[6] Likewise, in the laboratory, snail specimens from Portugal and Salamanca were found to be very susceptible to infections by Schistosoma bovis strains gathered from the Salamanca region, but the 1977 study urged a prevalence survey of free-living snails.[7]
In some areas, there are S. haematobium/S. bovis hybrids. P. metidjensis is immune to experimental infection with hybrid parasites collected in Corsica that contain 23% genetical material from S. bovis.[8]
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Distribution and habitat
The snail occurs in southwestern Morocco[4] as well as in Algarve (Portugal) and Salamanca (Spain).[7]
In a 2007 study carried out in Morocco, the snail was found in larger altitudes, and not in man-made water bodies like canals and artificial lakes. It tolerated a wide range of electrical conductivities (120 to 3650 microsieverts/cm) and up to 1.1 grams of chlorides per liter. It was often found together with Ancylus fluviatilis river snails.[4]
References
External links
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