Local dispersal of land snail Zootecus insularis (Ehrenberg, 1831) (Gastropoda: Subulinidae) shells in mangroves of Karachi

Abstract

The present study of the gastropod <em>Zootecus insularis </em>found in mangroves of Karachi, Pakistan is the first report of this species from coastal habitat. Although, the species is a land snail, widely distributed in arid and semiarid lands of many countries including Pakistan, and other nearby countries like Afghanistan and India, its presence in marine wetland habitat is reported from Pakistan in the present study. While studying the benthic fauna of the mangrove swamps of <em>Avicennia marina</em>, fifteen empty shells of the species were found in intertidal muddy region of Korangi Creek and Sand Spit backwaters, Karachi. It is distributed mostly along intertidal zones, more commonly in high and low tidal zones during an average tidal height of 0.5 m. The presence of empty shells of <em>Zootecus insularis </em>in the mangroves sediments is probably, a consequence of a passive transport by external sources.