Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 July 2020
Morphometric analysis is one of the tools widely used to quantify, analyse and describe the variations in the biological forms of animals. In this study, we examined the linear morphometric variations of the shell of the small intertidal gastropod Echinolittorina lineolata and compared the patterns to identify variations among populations and between sexes. The individuals were collected from latitudes 3°S, 14°S, 21°S and 23°S along the Brazilian coast. Traditional morphometric analysis was performed, and the morphometric variables of the shells, namely, the length and width of the shell and the length and width of the shell opening were obtained. The observed size pattern was influenced by latitude, as well as by local spatial responses to factors such as the substrate changing the morphometric variables of the snail. Of the morphometric variables, the length and the width of the shell were the most representative variables that influenced the gastropods in the different latitudes. These variables were also different in males and females, with females having larger shell lengths and widths across all latitudes.