Sampling collections and metadata of planorbidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda) in Brazil: a comprehensive analysis of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute’s Mollusk Collection from 1948 to 2023

Abstract

Planorbidae comprises approximately 40 genera of freshwater gastropods, including roughly 250 species. Among the Planorbidae subfamilies, the significance of Planorbinae is due to its genus Biomphalaria, whose species are intermediate hosts of the trematode Schistosoma mansoni Sambon, 1907, which causes schistosomiasis in humans and animals. Here, we present the analysis of the dataset of Planorbidae housed in the Collection of Mollusks of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, with a special focus on Biomphalaria species. This dataset includes 7,267 lots originating from 55 countries, representing 20 genera and 75 species collected from 1948 to 2023. Collections were performed in all regions of Brazil, comprising specimens from 26 states and the Federal District, particularly from the Southeast and Northeast. Within the dataset, Biomphalaria includes 3,926 lots of 31 species from 42 countries. These records will help improve our comprehension of schistosomiasis transmission dynamics and the geographic distributions of these medically important species.

Bridging Biodiversity and Health: The Global Biodiversity Information Facility’s initiative on open data on vectors of human diseases

“…The dataset includes data for 65,628 individual small mammals identified to the species level from over 1,600 trapping sites and it also includes 32 microorganisms, identified to the species or genus levels, that are known or potential pathogens [54]. Biomphalaria data covers 42 countries, and these records can contribute to a better understanding of the distribution of schistosomiasis and its transmission [55].…”