• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.131-136
• /
• 2001

Relative growth and composition of larval development stages in brood pouch of the melania snail, Semisulcospira libertina libertina were investigated based on monthly field samples for a year. Total number of specimens examined was 1,200. Size values (mean$\pm$S. D.) of shell height (SH), shell diameter (SD), total weight (TW), meat weight (MW) and shell weight (SW) were $15.96\pm3.41\;mm$, $7.82\pm1.38\;mm$, $0.55\pm0.31\;g$, $0.24\pm0.15\;g$ and $0.39\pm0.23\;g$, respectively, Water temperature (WT) of the sampling site varied from $1.3^{\circ}C\;to\;22.5^{\circ}C$. Relative growth equations among SH, SD, TW, MW and SW of S. libertina libertina specimens pooled were as follows: SD=0,3583SH+2.1648 $(R^2=0.8391)$, $TW=0.0005SH^{2.4853}\;(R^2=0.8391)$,$MW:\;0.0005SH^{2.849}\;(R^2= 0.8391)$ and $SW=0.0004SH^{2.3798}\;(R^2=0.7057)$. Female S. libertina libertina had larvae in its brood pouch throughout the year, Average number of larvae in the brood pouch varied from $91\pm33(July)$ to $396\pm174\;(November)$, decreasing in spring and increasing in autumn. In the monthly composition of larval stage in the brood pouch, trochophore, pre-veliger, veliger and juvenile showed maximum as $66.7\%$ in May, $70.7\%$ in November, $60.9\%$ in February and $13.9\%$ in January, respectively. Percent composition of the juveniles decreased in spring and autumn. In conclusion, S. libertina libertina is likely to have two main parturition periods, March to May and September and October.