Morphometric Traits Differentiation and Phenotypic Diversity of Two Snail Species Ecotypes Archachatina marginata and Achatina fulica in the Western Highlands of Cameroon
This study was conducted from June 2021 to January
2023 to assess the genetic diversity of giant African snails in the western
highlands of Cameroon. A total of 652 snails were randomly collected from the
wild in three localities in the western highlands (Bafang, Bafoussam, and
Santchou). The study revealed significant variations in morphobiometric
characteristics both between species and
localities. The predominant shell coloration was brownish with yellow
zigzag stripes (65%), while the dominant coloration for shell openings was
whitish (48%). Regarding foot coloration, both brown with spotted black and
black with spotted brown colorations were dominant (29%). The highest recorded
live weight of snails (39.33 ± 34) was found in the species Archachatina marginata. In terms of
length measurements (in mm), the length of the right and left sides of the
shell was higher in the A. fulica species (49.8 ± 19.7 mm and 40.07 ± 18
mm, respectively). Bafang exhibited the highest values for shell length (56 ± 11mm) and shell width (46.52
± 11.46 mm). A. fulica recorded the highest shell length (81.5 ± 27 mm),
while A. marginata recorded the highest shell width (49.6 ± 12.1 mm),
with the highest values observed in A. fulica from fulica having a
slightly higher aperture width value (30 ± 10mm) compared to A. marginata, while A.
marginata had the highest value for aperture length measurement (54.5 ± 12
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