Search results for "Melanopsis"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
1988
The living freshwater gastropod Melanopsis dufouri (FERUSSAC) has two morphotypes. The study of chemical variation of trace-elements in this gastropod and its correlation with the environmental fluctuation are the aim of this paper. Due to the genus Melanopsis has an abundant fossil record during the Cenozoic, the results of the present work could be of paleoecological interest. Trace-elements are embodied in the shell during growth. The shell of M. dufouri has accretionary growth. There are several examples cited on circadian accretionary growth in invertebrate shells. However, in the present case and as a first conclusion, the accretion rate depends on the size of the shell. In a short-ti…
Metallothionein in the freshwater gastropod Melanopsis dufouri chronically exposed to cadmium: A methodological approach
2010
Previous studies have demonstrated that the use of differential pulse polarography (DPP) for metallothionein (MT) determination in marine gastropod tissues, particularly the digestive gland, requires taking into account the presence of heat-stable high molecular weight compounds that exhibit polarographic signal. In the present paper, similar compounds were identified in tissues from the freshwater snail Melanopsis dufouri which also interfere with MT determination by DPP and, due to their silver binding capacity, also interfere in the silver assay for MT quantification. Ultrafiltration seems to be effective in removing these high molecular weight compounds from heat-denatured homogenate su…
Systematic consumption of non-marine gastropods at open-air Mesolithic sites in the Iberian Mediterranean region
2011
Arenal de la Virgen and Casa Corona, located in the upper Vinalopo Valley (SE of the Iberian Peninsula), are open-air Mesolithic sites dated to the Middle Holocene – 8600-7800 cal BP. Recent excavations have provided evidence of non-marine assemblages dominated by terrestrial (Sphincterochila candidissima and Iberus alonensis) and fresh water gastropods (Melanopsis tricarinata tricarinata) associated with habitation structures. These sites represent the first documented cases of systematic land snail consumption at open-air residential camps in the Iberian Mediterranean Region. This report presents the assemblage composition and modern ethological parameters, and discusses taphonomic proces…
Incorporación de elementos traza en conchas de melanopsis durante el crecimiento : posibilidades de aplicación en paleoecología
1988
El objetivo del presente trabajo está encaminado al estudio de las variaciones de oligoelementos en la concha de un gasterópodo de agua dulce del género Melanopsis (U dufouri (FERUSSAC), con dos morfotipos) y si éstas tienen que ver, o no, con la fluctuación de una serie de parámetros ambientales. La importancia del trabajo radica en la posibilidad de la aplicación paleoecológica de sus resultados, ya que el género MelanopsÍs tiene un abundante registro fósil durante todo el Cenozoico. La incorporación de oligoelementos se efectúa a medida que la concha va creciendo por acreción; lo ideal sería que tal crecimiento fuera circadiano, ya que se podría seguir día a día, sobre la concha, la fluc…