Shell and Radula Morphology of land snails in Urmia city, North-west of Iran

Mollusca are the second-largest phylum of invertebrates after Arthropoda and may play a role as an intermediate host for parasites. To determine the morphological features of land snails (including Assyriella ceratomma, Jaminia isseliana, Helix lucorum and Euomphalia pisiformis) from North-west of Iran (Urmia city), the specimens were collected during 2015-2017. After extraction, the radulas were stained using Mallory II and the shell morphology and teeth formula were studied. A significant correlation was found between the mean length of radula and their body size. In addition, snails with bigger shell size, had a larger teeth size and more lateral teeth. The longest and the shortest central tooth belonged to Helix lucorum and Jaminia isseliana, respectively. The length of the central teeth in the Helix lucorum and Assyriella ceratomma differed significantly from other species. Furthermore, the shape of the central tooth in all examined snails was triangular. The lateral teeth in the Helix lucorum and Assyriella ceratomma species had one mushroom-like cusp with two short sharp cusps. The lateral teeth in Jaminia isseliana contained blade like cusps at the middle. Helix lucorum snails had more marginal teeth compared to others.