Morphometric differentiation of Landouria smimensis along altitudinal gradient

Abstract

Landouria smimensis is an endemic land snail found in the Mount Semeru area. This species can be found in different altitudes of Mount Semeru. The study aimed to analyze the morphometric of L. smimensis shells along the altitudinal gradient of Mount Semeru. Samples were taken from four altitudinal gradients of Mount Semeru from October 2021 to June 2022. In total, 114 individuals of L. smimensis were measured based on shell morphology characters. The characters were the height and diameter of the shell, the height and diameter of the aperture, the diameter of the first three whorl, and the number of whorls. Shell morphometric was measured using ImageJ and analyzed using PAST. Most shell morphology characters showed the differentiation among the altitudinal gradient (p<0.05), except between 1601-2000 m asl and 2001-2400 m asl (p>0.05). The shell morphology characters from the population below 1200 m asl are significantly the biggest than population from others altitudes. Most shell morphology characters negatively correlated with the altitude. It is known that the shell morphometric characters of the shells can be a differentiates among populations of L. smimensis at each altitude.