Age and Growth of the Cockles Cerastoderma glaucum and Papyridea papyracea in Lake Timsah, Suez Canal

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Education, Suez Canal University, El-Arish, Egypt

2 Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

The cockles Cerastoderma glaucum and Papyridea papyracea are found among the most abundant
molluscs in Lake Timsah, Suez Canal. Age determination based on shell-ring count was conducted to
establish growth curves for their life-span. For this purpose, monthly collections of the specimens were
carried out in the period between June 1996 and June 1998. Age composition proved the dominance of
two and three years old individuals for both species. In C. glaucum, the shell length varied between 9.9
and 35 mm for males, and between 13.3 and 35 mm for females with a mean asymptotic length of 42.37
and 35.02 mm, respectively. On the other hand, P. papyracea revealed a wide range of shell length that
varied between 7 and 60 mm, and had an asymptotic length of 69.51 mm. Some environmental factors
that expected to affect growth are also discussed.

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