Marine gastropods of Accra Beach, Barbados, North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

The widespread occurrence of marine gastropods in coastal regions is a straightforward evidence of successful adaptation to different environments. In the Caribbean Sea, as one of Conservation International’s biodiversity hotspots, little is known about the gastropod fauna, especially in the Eastern Caribbean. The present study contributed to bridge this gap by studying the biodiversity of gastropods from Accra Beach, Barbados. Throughout random collections in September 2015, we collected 321 gastropods, comprising eight species, distributed in three families (Neritidae: Nerita tessellata, N. fulgurans, N. versicolor and N. peloronta; Littorinidae: Echinolittorina ziczac, E. angustior and E. tuberculata; and Muricidae: Plicopurpura patula). Nerites were more abundant and diverse, highlighting N. tessellata, representing 66% of the sampled gastropods. This paper also reports the first record of N. fulgurans and E. angustior for the island of Barbados.