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31 May 2013 |
Mussel of the Month
The June 2013 Mussel of the Month is Westralunio carteri. Westralunio is a genus of three species found in Western Australia and New Guinea.
AMS 61724. Victoria Reservoir, 12 mi E of Perth, Western Australia, Australia (type).
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Westralunio carteri is endemic to southwestern Australia, and this freshwater mussel is the only species found in that area. Intestestingly, the other two species of Westralunio are far away in New Guinea.
Glochidium of Westralunio carteri. Photo by Michael Klunzinger.
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The occassion for crowning Westralunio carteri as Mussel of the Month for June 2013 was inspired by the recent paper by Klunzinger et al. (2013). W. carteri, like other hyriids, has hooked-type glochidia. These marginal hooks are evident in the photo to the right.
Among freshwater mussels, there are, in fact, two different kinds of hooked-type glochidia: those of the Hyriidae and those of the unionid subfamily Unioninae. This is a case of convergent evolution, presumably for attachment to their hosts' fins rather than their gills. (Watch this space to find out more John Pfeiffer's results with a third example of this phenomenon).
But back to Westralunio...
Michael Klunzinger has moved our understanding of Westralunio carteri forward a great deal with his dissertation on the ecology, life history, and conservation status of this species. Good work, Michael! |
Classification:
Phylum Mollusca
Class Bivalvia
Subclass Palaeoheterodonta
Order Unionoida
Family HYRIIDAE Swainson, 1840
Subfamily VELESUNIONINAE Iredale, 1934
Genus Westralunio Iredale, 1934
Species Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 |
To find out more about Westralunio and its hooked glochidia, check out:
- Klunzinger, M.W. 2012. Ecology, Life History and Conservation Status of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934, an endemic freshwater mussel of South-western Australia. Ph.D. Thesis, School of Veterinary & Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia.
- Klunzinger, M.W., S.J. Beatty, D.L. Morgan, R.A. Lymbery, G.J. Thomson & A.J. Lymbery. 2012. Discovery of a host fish species for glochidia of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 (Bivalvia: Unionoidea: Hyriidae). Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 94(1): 19-23.
- Klunzinger, M.W., G.J. Thomson, S.J. Beatty, D.L. Morgan & A.J. Lymbery. 2013. Morphological and morphometrical description of the glochidia of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Hyriidae). Molluscan Research 33(2): early online access.
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