Family CYRENIDAE J. Gray, 1840

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• Corbiculidae.

 

Introduction

Members of this heterodont bivalve family, previously known as Corbiculidae, are characterised by small to large-sized, thick, often coloured, shells, usually with concentric ridges. Cyrenids are freshwater or estuarine bivalves and were confined to Asia, Australia and Oceania, but the Asian species Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) has been introduced into Europe and America (Araujo, Moreno & Ramos 1993; Britton & Morton 1993; Brancotte & Vincent 2002; Martin & Estebenet 2002) and is a significant pest (e.g. Strayer 1999).

The Australian freshwater members of this family consist of two different groups. One, comprising a species of Batissa with large-sized heavy shells. This species inhabits fresh and estuarine parts of coastal streams in northern Australia and is conspecific with taxa in South-east Asia. The other group, Corbicula, are small- to medium-sized species found in rivers and streams throughout much of mainland Australia. Their shells are fairly thick, oval in shape with small umbos and sculptured with prominent concentric ridges, and can be coloured with shades of yellow, red and purple, both inside and out. They are often found in large numbers, living in sand, in shallow, flowing rivers. They can become a pest in water reticulation systems, both of town water supplies and irrigation pipes, where they thrive and block pipes and metering equipment. The reproductive biology of C. australis has been investigated (Byrne et al. 2000).

The shells in different populations vary greatly and many names have been proposed for these variants, which are sometimes clonal lineages or polyploids (Renard et al. 2000; Siripattrawan et al. 2000; Qiu et al. 2001; Pfenninger et al. 2002). No revisionary work has been carried out on the group and there are no firm characters to distinguish the species. Because of this, a number of available names have been listed as Incertae sedis pending an urgently needed revision of the group.

 

General References

Araujo, R., Moreno, D. & Ramos, M.A. 1993. The Asiatic clam Corbicula fluminea (Müller, 1774) (Bivalvia: Corbiculidae) in Europe. American Malacological Bulletin 10(1): 39-49

Benthem Jutting, W.S.S. van 1953. Systematic studies on the non-marine Mollusca of the Indo-Australia Archipelago. IV. Critical revision of the freshwater bivalves of Java. Treubia 22: 19-73

Bieler, R., Carter, J.G. & Coan, E.V. 2010. Classiication of Bivalve Families. pp. 113-133 in Bouchet, P. & Rocroi, J.-P. Nomenclator of Bivalve Families; with a classiication of bivalve families by R. Bieler, J.G. Carter & E.V. Coan. Malacologia 52(2): 1-184 [129]

Brancotte, V. & Vincent, T. 2002. The invasion of French hydrographic system by the molluscs Corbicula spp. Details of settlement and main role of ship canals. Bulletin Francais de la Peche et de la Pisciculture 365-366: 325-337

Britton, J.C. & Morton, B. 1993. Corbicula in North America: evidence reviewed and evaluated. Proccedings, First International Corbicula Symposium. 249-287 pp.

Brunckhorst, D.J. 1998. Family Corbiculidae. pp. 353-355 in Beesley, P.L., Ross, G.J.B. & Wells, A. (eds). Mollusca: The Southern Synthesis. Fauna of Australia. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 5(Part A) pp. xvi, 1-563.

Byrne, M., Phelps, H., Church, T., Adair, V., Selvakumaraswamy, P. & Potts, J. 2000. Reproduction and development of the freshwater clam Corbicula australis in southeast Australia. Hydrobiologia 418(1-3): 185-197

Iredale, T. 1943. A basic list of the freshwater Mollusca of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 10(2): 188-230

Keen, A.M. & Casey, R. 1969. Family Corbiculidae Gray, 1947. pp. N665-N669 in Moore, R.C. (ed.). Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part N. Mollusca 6. Bivalvia. Boulder, Colorado & Lawrence, Kansas : Geological Society of America & University of Kansas Press Vols 1 & 2 xxxviii + ii, 952 pp. [Vol.1, pp. i-xxxviii + N1-N489; Vol. 2, pp. i-ii + N491-N952]

Martin, P.R. & Estebenet, A.L. 2002. Spread of the Asiatic clam Corbicula fluminea in southern Pampas and northern Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 17(2): 331-333

Mikkelsen, P.M. & Bieler, R. 2008. Seashells of southern Florida. Living marine mollusks of the Florida keys and adjacent regions. Princeton & Oxford : Princeton University Press 503 pp. [284-287]

Morton, B. 1984. A review of Polymesoda (Geloina) Gray 1842 (Bivalvia: Corbiculacea) from Indo-Pacific mangroves. Asian Marine Biology 1: 77-86

Pfenninger, M., Reinhardt, F. & Streit, B. 2002. Evidence for cryptic hybridization between different evolutionary lineages of the invasive clam genus Corbicula (Veneroida, Bivalvia). Journal of Evolutionary Biology 15(5): 818-829

Prime, T. 1870. Notes on species of the family Corbiculidae, with figures. Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History New York 9: 298-301

Prime, T. 1896. Corbiculidae. pp. 127-187 in, Catalogue and Synonymy of the Genera, species and Varieties of Recent Mollusca, described prior to January 1st, 1867, with dates of publication, references to plates, and localities. Philadelphia : Conchological Section, Academy of Natural Sciences.

Qui Adong, Shi Anjing & Komaru Akira 2001. Yellow and brown shell color morphs of Corbicula fluminea (Bivalvia: Corbiculidae) from Sichuan Province, China, are triploids and tetraploids. Journal of Shellfish Research 20(1): 323-328

Renard, E., Bachmann, V., Cariou, M.L. & Moreteau, J.C. 2000. Morphological and molecular differentiation of invasive freshwater species of the genus Corbicula (Bivalvia: Corbiculidae) suggest the presence of three taxa in French rivers. Molecular Ecology 9(12): 2009-2016

Siripattrawan Sirirat, Park Joong-Ki & O Foighil Diarmaid 2000. Two lineages of the introduced Asian freshwater clam Corbicula occur in North America. Journal of Molluscan Studies 66(3): 423-429

Smith, E.A. 1882. On the freshwater shells of Australia. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 16: 255-316

Strayer, D.L. 1999. Effects of alien species on freshwater mollusks in North America. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18(1): 74-98

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
22-Aug-2023	BIVALVIA	22-Aug-2023	MOVED	Mr Des Beechey Ingo Burghardt Ms Anouk Mututantri (AM)
22-Aug-2023	BIVALVIA	22-Aug-2023	MOVED	Mr Des Beechey Ingo Burghardt Ms Anouk Mututantri (AM)
23-Oct-2014	BIVALVIA	23-Oct-2014	MODIFIED	ABRS
11-Aug-2014		11-Aug-2014	MOVED
11-Aug-2014		18-Dec-2013	MOVED
11-Aug-2014	SPHAERIOIDEA	12-Nov-2013	MODIFIED	Dr Winston Ponder (AM) Mr Des Beechey (AM) Dr Peter Middelfart (AM)
		12-Feb-2010	(import)