Characterization of mitotic and meiotic, chromosomes of the vermetid gastropod Dendropoma (Novastoa) Petraeum (Monterosato, 1884) (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda)

Abstract The vermetid gastropod Dendropoma (Novastoa) petraeum from the Northwestern coast of Sicily was investigated karyologically. The count of spermatocyte bivalents at diakinesis gave the haploid number of this species as n=17. The count of mitotic chromosomes in males, females and early developing embryos gave the diploid number as 2n=34. Irrespective of sex, the karyotype of D. petraeum consists of 17 homomorphic chromosome pairs, of which 8 are metacentric, 4 subtelocentric and 5 acrocentric. This species is characterized by the presence of two chromosomes per cell involved in nucleolus organization (NOR) and by a low amount of constitutive heterochromatin.