Conchiometrical Variability of Molluscs of Unionidae in the Teteriv River Basin

Abstract

Conchiometrical variability of molluscs of Unionidae in the water of Zhitomir district was investigated. The dependence of the mussel sizes from the age of the mollusks was analyzed. The largest increase in shells of Unio genus mollusсs going up to 5 years, of C. ponderosum and A. cygnea – up to 6 years, of C. piscinale – up to 7 years. By most of the signs U. tumidus has a shift of the variational curves to the right (in C. piscinale – to the left) in comparison with curves in the other species studied, and the curve boundaries for all species of the subfamily Anodontinae are rather wide. Morphometric indices of the 6 species of Unionidae (U. pictorum, U. tumidus, U. conus, A. cygnea, С. piscinale, C. ponderosum) were analyzed.