BIOLOGIYA MORYA, 2021, Vol. 47, No. 2, pp. 86-94 |
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Peculiarities of Reproduction, Growth and Shell Shape in the Gastropod Boreotrophon candelabrum (Reeve, 1848) (Muricidae) from Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690041, Russia E-mail: The reproduction, growth, and variability of the shape of the shell in the gastropod Boreotrophon candelabrum from Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan) were investigated. In aquarium conditions, the mollusks started to lay transparent hemispherical egg capsules in late April at a water temperature of 5.6°C. The females with a shell height of 38-51 mm laid 13-46 egg capsules. The diameter of the base of the egg capsules ranged from 6.0 to 10.1 mm. Each capsule contained from 411 to 1710 eggs with a diameter of 0.204 ± 0.024 mm. In nature, egg capsules appeared in the first half of May and were commonly found in May-the first half of June; a few may be encountered until September. The release of the larvae from the egg capsules into the sea occurred from the second half of May. Mollusks grew most intensively in the first two years of life and reached a shell height of about 35 mm. Then, the annual shell growth decreased, and at the age of 6 years, mollusks almost attained the maximum size observed in nature. It was calculated for the von Bertalanffy equation, which looks like: Lt = 61.2 [1 - e-0.5572 (t - 0.4672)]. The shape of the shell of B. candelabrum significantly varied depending on habitat conditions. The habitus given in the species description (Golikov, Kusakin, 1978) was only observed for 17% of the population in the bay. Key words: Boreotrophon candelabrum, reproduction time, fecundity, shell shape, growth, variability, environmental effect, Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan. |
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