First Recording of Melanopsis costata (Olivier, 1804) in Anamur (Dragon) Stream and Göksu River, Mersin, Türkiye and Measurement of Some Biometric Parameters

In this study, some biometric characteristics of the freshwater snail Melanopsis costata (Olivier, 1804) were determined in the Anamur (Dragon) Stream and Göksu River (Mersin, Turkey). Weight (A) (g), shell width (KG) (mm), shell height (KY) (mm), aperture length (AU), and width (AG) (mm) measurements were made on the samples taken from different stations. Morphological relationships were determined by multivariate statistical evaluation. The highest values in terms of shell length and weight were evaluated as 24.46 mm and 1.496 g in Karakaya Village (Göksu River). The data were evaluated with Principal Component Analysis (PCA), a flexible statistical method used to understand the relationships between variables and explain a large part of the data set. Samples taken from different stations showed a strong relationship between aperture width and spir height. The species is not mentioned as a new record in the study area.