Mollusc species from the Pontocaspian region - an expert opinion list - PubMed (original) (raw)

doi: 10.3897/zookeys.827.31365. eCollection 2019.

Thomas A Neubauer 1 2, Vitaliy V Anistratenko 3, Maxim V Vinarski 4 5, Tamara Yanina 6, Jan Johan Ter Poorten 7, Pavel Kijashko 6, Christian Albrecht 2, Olga Yu Anistratenko 3 8, Anouk D'Hont 9, Pavel Frolov 4, Alberto Martínez Ándara 10, Arjan Gittenberger 9, Aleksandre Gogaladze 1, Mikhail Karpinsky 11, Matteo Lattuada 2, Luis Popa 10, Arthur F Sands 2, Sabrina van de V Lde 1, Justine Vandendorpe 2, Thomas Wilke 2

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Mollusc species from the Pontocaspian region - an expert opinion list

Frank P Wesselingh et al. Zookeys. 2019.

Abstract

Defining and recording the loss of species diversity is a daunting task, especially if identities of species under threat are not fully resolved. An example is the Pontocaspian biota. The mostly endemic invertebrate faunas that evolved in the Black Sea - Caspian Sea - Aral Sea region and live under variable salinity conditions are undergoing strong change, yet within several groups species boundaries are not well established. Collection efforts in the past decade have failed to produce living material of various species groups whose taxonomic status is unclear. This lack of data precludes an integrated taxonomic assessment to clarify species identities and estimate species richness of Pontocaspian biota combining morphological, ecological, genetic, and distribution data. In this paper, we present an expert-working list of Pontocaspian and invasive mollusc species associated to Pontocaspian habitats. This list is based on published and unpublished data on morphology, ecology, anatomy, and molecular biology. It allows us to (1) document Pontocaspian mollusc species, (2) make species richness estimates, and (3) identify and discuss taxonomic uncertainties. The endemic Pontocaspian mollusc species richness is estimated between 55 and 99 species, but there are several groups that may harbour cryptic species. Even though the conservation status of most of the species is not assessed or data deficient, our observations point to deterioration for many of the Pontocaspian species.

Keywords: Aral Sea; Black Sea; Caspian Sea; bivalves; conservation; gastropods; nomenclature; taxonomy.

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Figures

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Map of the Pontocaspian region with the indication of major basins, rivers, regions, and cities referred to in the text.

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

Syntype of Cerastodermarhomboides (Lamarck, 1819), stored in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle Paris (MNHN.F.A50142), Pliocene, Tuscany, Italy. Photograph by E Porez.

https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/f/item/a50142?lang=fr\_FR

Figure 3.

Figure 3.

Didacnabaeri versus D.eichwaldi from Holocene (Novocaspian) deposits of Turali Lagoon (Dagestan, Russia). a RGM.961899, Didacnabaeri (Grimm, 1877) b RGM.961900, Didacnaeichwaldi (Krynicki, 1837), same locality. Scale bar: 1 cm.

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Lectotype Dreissenarostriformis versus D.grimmi. aD.rostriformis Deshayes, 1838. Lectotype. Pliocene, Crimea. Reproduced from Archambault-Guezou (1976, pl. 6, fig 2a-2c) b RGM.961901, D.grimmi (Andrusov, 1890). Caspian Sea offshore Aktau, Kazakhstan, sample KAZ17-21, depth 44.3 m. Scale bar: 1 cm.

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