[Mollusks community associated to Thalassia testudinum (Bank et Köning 1805), in Mochima Bay, Venezuela].

To study the community of mollusks associated to Thalassia testudinum, monthly samplings were made between January and December 2002 in four localities of the Bay of Mochima. A PVC corer, of 14.8 cm of diameter, was used for sampling; eight monthly replicates were taken in each locality. Each core was sifted in a sieve of 1mm of mesh opening, the mollusks were fixed in 8% formaldehide solution in sea water. 473 mollusks were analyzed and 40 species, belonging to 29 families, were identified. Mangle Quemao displayed the greater abundance, whereas Varadero the minor. Shannon-Weaver diversity average ranged between 2.02+/-0.43 bits.ind(-1) (Mangle Quemao) and 1.42+/-0.95 bits.ind(-1) (Toporo). ANOVA analysis showed significant differences in abundances of mollusks among localities.