Faunistic Study of Snails of farm and Garden Ecosystem in West Gilan Province

Abstract

Introduction: Snails are a subcategory of Gastropods and are important pests of orchards and fields that cause a lot of damage to farmers annually. The aim of this study was to identify the types of farm and garden snails in the west of Gilan province and to investigate the distribution of their species.
Materials & Methods: Snails were sampled from 32 stations in 8 areas of western Gilan province. Snails were identified based on morphometric characteristics using valid identification keys by stereomicroscope.
Result: Based on the results obtained in this study, from a total of 1161 snails were collected from 13 species from five families, 6 species of terrestrial snails including Caucasotachea atrolabiata, Xeropicta derbentina, Helicella candeharica, Helicella krynickii in Family Helicidae, Goniodiscus rotundatus in Family Discidae, Pomatias rivular in Family Pomatidae, and 7 species aquatic snails including Planorbis planorbis, Planorbis intermixtus, Planorbis carinatus in Family Planorbidae, Pseudonapeus latilabris, Subzebrinus sp., Luchuena sp., Jaminia isseliana in Family Enidae were identified. C. atrolabiata was reported with the highest frequency (60%), This species causes a lot of damage to citrus trees in the north of the country.
Conclusion: In the diverse vegetation of Gilan province, due to suitable climatic conditions, valuable animal reserves are found, among which the number and variety of different species of snails is significant.