Identification of Freshwater Snails of Bamdezh wetland in Northwest of Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province of Iran

Freshwater snails, with a wide variety of species, are the appropriate host for many human and animal pathogenic trematodes and nematodes. The continuous monitoring of community health and identification of snails is of great importance where the area with a history of humans and livestock snail-borne diseases. The purpose of this study is to investigate and identify the freshwater snail fauna of this wetland in 2016-2017. For this aim, the different sizes of freshwater snails were collected from the from the north, south and center parts of the wetland using metal mesh with handle. The collected snails were transferred to the parasitology laboratory, euthanized with 70% alcohol and identified according to the soft inner parts of the shell and the morphological and morphological characteristics of their shells (oncology). In this study, out of 130 freshwater snails collected, a total of 4 genera and 2 species of snails were identified and included Bellamya (Viviparus) bengalensis, Lymnaea (Radix) auricularia, Melanoides tuberculata, and Physa acuta. The Bamdezh identified snails have an important role in the transmission of many parasitic diseases that must be controlled and prevented as public health.