| The occurrence of a penis in female gastropods of the superfamily Muricoidea (infraorder Neogastropoda) has commonly been accepted as an indicator of tributyltin (TBT) pollution. Some species seem less sensitive than others, and one belonging to the family Columbellidae has been reported that it lacks the imposex response. During a survey in South-east Asian waters, females of Cymbiola nobilis and Melo melo (family Volutidae) with a small penis and an external vas deferens were initially considered as showing imposex. Doubt arose when 100% of the females had a penis on sites where other gastropods showed no or a low imposex incidence. During the present study, several hypotheses could be rejected such as (1) that the volutes are extremely sensible for TBT;... |
