Length -Weight / Girth Relationship and Condition Factor of the Periwinkle Tympanotonus fuscatus, (Cerithidae: Gastropoda) of the Cross River, Nigeria

Abstract

Morphometric parameters as well as the condition factor of the periwinkle; Tympanotonus fuscatus were investigated in 1,500 specimens obtained at Esuk Nsidung, Calabar from fishermen who fished the Cross River estuary, Nigeria. The length-weight, girth-length and weight-girth relationships were positively correlated. The calculated “b” for length-weight relationship was 2.05 which was significant < 3(t=1.05, df = 2, 55, P<0.02) while those calculated for weight-girth and length–girth relationships were 0.30 and 0.67 respectively. This species is not overexploited in the South East of Nigeria. Condition factor estimated for the specimen was 0.28. The implications of these results in relation to the fisheries of the species in the Cross River estuary are discussed.