Abstract:

Shell length, shell width, shell height, ligament length, and edible-part weight of each of the 200 Paphia undulata individuals were measured. The samples were randomly collected from Nansan, Zhanjiang province. A correlation coefficient matrix was constructed on basis of the measured data, in which the edible-part weight was set as dependent variable and other characters as independent variables. Path coefficient and correlation index were calculated, and the major phenotypic charac-ters were determined. It was found that all the correlation coefficients between independent variables and dependent variable were significant (P < 0.01). A predominant direct effect of the shell width on the edible-part weight was observed, followed by the effect of the shell height. The shell length had the smallest direct effect on the edible-part weight. Of all characters ana-lyzed, the ligament length was the least important factor than all other characters that directly affected the edible-part weight. The multiple regression equation between the edible-part weight and other characters was established as YEW＝-6.809 + 3.589XSW + 1.610XSH, where YEW is edible-part weight, and XSW and XSH are the shell width and shell height, respectively. The study provides theoretical information for breeding of the species.

Key words: Paphia undulata, Phenotypic characters, Path Analysis, Regression equation