A HISTOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MANTLE-EDGE AND SHELL IN THE FRESHWATER GASTROPOD, HELISOMA DURYI EUDISCUS (PILSBRY)

Abstract

The mantle-edge originates as a peripheral thickening of the evaginated shell gland. During the prehatching stages, it differentiates to form a dorsal lobe including the mantle-edge gland, a median lobe, and a ventral lobe possessing numerous mucous glands. The connective tissue core contains yellow body cells, amoebocytes, and mucoprotein glands. The protoconch is composed of fibers embedded in an amorphous ground substance. Initially it is secreted by the entire mantle-edge but, as development advances, its secretion is progressively limited to the mantle-edge gland. The adult shell is composed of the periostracum, crystalline layer, and an inner layer. The periostracum is a highly tanned layer of fibers embedded in a ground substance. The crystalline layer consists of calcium crystals, the smaller of which contain a nucleus. The inner layer is composed of organic plates which possess amoebocyte nuclei, yellow bodies, and calcium granules, and which are surrounded by a thick envelope containing sulfated muco-polysaccharides. These calcium crystals and organic plates are embedded in a ground substance. It is believed that the mantle-edge gland produces the periostracum, that the dorsal lobe contributes to the inner 2 shell layers, and that the mucous and mucoprotein glands, yellow body cells, and amoebocytes play a significant role in the deposition and calcification of the shell.