BIOMETRIA E CRESCIMENTO RELATIVO DO BIVALVEAmusium papyraceum (Gabb, 1873) COLETADO NA COSTA NORTE DO BRASIL

Abstract

The present study aims to characterize the biometry and relative growth of Amusium papyraceum (Gabb, 1873) collected as by-catch of shrimp fisheries on the North Coast of Brazil. For that, morphometric relationships were performed between the external measures of the shell (length, width and height) and the wet biomass of 51 individuals collected in October 2015. The results indicate that the morphometric and biomorphometric relationships of the mollusk are classified as “extremely strong and positive”. Relationships involving A. papyraceum shell width were classified by negative allometry, which indicates that this morphometric measure grows at a higher rate than the others. It is noteworthy that the density index of A. papyraceum increases proportionally with the growth of the species. This difference in yield probably comes from the gonadal maturation of the individuals, which causes the gonads to increase in size. The information presented here will subsidize further research involving the population dynamics of the species.