Species Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934
Carter’s Freshwater Mussel, Ambiguus Mussel
Compiler and date details
January 2024 - Michael W. Klunzinger, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Qld, Australia
December 2010 - Peter U. Middelfart, Winston F. Ponder & Des Beechey, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
April 2004 - Brian J. Smith, S. Reid & Winston F. Ponder, Queen Victoria Museum, Launceston, TAS and Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
1992 - Brian J. Smith, Museum Victoria, Melbourne
- Westralunio ambiguus carteri Iredale, T. 1934. The freshwater mussels of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 8(1): 57-78 pls iii-vi [62].
Type data:
Lectotype AM C61724, Victoria Reservoir in the Darling Ranges, 12 miles E of Perth, WA.
Paralectotype(s) AM C61724 (4 specimens & 1 valve).Subsequent designation references:
McMichael, D.F. & Hiscock, I.D. 1958. A monograph of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca : Pelecypoda) of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 372-508 [427]. - Centralhyria angasi subjecta Iredale, T. 1934. The freshwater mussels of Australia. The Australian Zoologist 8(1): 57-78 pls iii-vi [67].
Type data:
Lectotype BMNH 1840.10.21.29, Avon River, WA.Subsequent designation references:
McMichael, D.F. & Hiscock, I.D. 1958. A monograph of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca : Pelecypoda) of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 372-508 [427].
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- McMichael, D.F. & Hiscock, I.D. 1958. A monograph of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca : Pelecypoda) of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 372-508 [426]
Distribution
States
Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Freshwater catchments from Gingin Brook, north of Perth to westerly flowing drainages north and west of the Blackwood River, within 150 km of the coast; Kendrick (1976) noted the disappearance of Westralunio carteri from the Avon River.
Australian Endemic.
IBRA
WA: Jarrah Forest (JF), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA)
Distribution References
- Kendrick, G.W. 1976. The Avon: faunal and other notes on a dying river in south-western Australia. The Western Australian Naturalist 13: 97-114
- Klunzinger, M.W., Beatty, S.J., Morgan, D.L., Pinder, A.M. & Lymbery, A.J. 2015. Range decline and conservation status of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 (Bivalvia: Hyriidae) from south-western Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 63: 127-135
- Klunzinger, M.W., Whisson, C., Zieritz, A., Benson, J.A., Stewart, B.A. & Kirkendale, L. 2022. Integrated taxonomy reveals new threatened freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Hyriidae: Westralunio) from southwestern Australia. Scientific Reports 12(20385): 1-20 [10, fig 6]
Ecological Descriptors
Filter-feeder, lentic freshwater, lentic freshwater, lotic freshwater.
General References
Graf, D.L. & Cummings, K.S. 2019. Hyriidae Swainson, 1840. pp. 214-217 in Lydeard, C. & Cummings, K. S. Freshwater Mollusks of the World: a Distribution Atlas. Baltimore : John Hopkins University Press. pp. 256.
Klunzinger, M.W., Beatty, S.J., Morgan, D.L., Lymbery, A.J. & Haag,W.R. 2014. Age and growth in the Australian freshwater mussel, Westralunio carteri, with an evaluation of the fluorochrome calcein for validating the assumption of annulus formation. Freshwater Science 33: 1127-1135
Klunzinger, M.W., Beatty, S.J., Morgan, D.L., Thomson, G.J. & Lymbery, A.J. 2012. Glochidia ecology in wild fish populations and laboratory determination of competent host fishes for an endemic freshwater mussel of south-western Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 60: 26-36
Klunzinger, M.W., Jones, H.A., Humphrey, C.L., Melchior, M., Raadik, T.A., Treby, S., Chandler, L. & Sheldon, F. 2023. Comparative diversity in glochidia of Australasian freshwater mussels. Frontiers in Environmental Science 11(1305077)
Lymbery, A.J., Ma, L., Lymbery, S.J., Klunzinger, M.W., Beatty, S.J. & Morgan, D.L. 2021. Burrowing behavior protects a threatened freshwater mussel in drying rivers. Hydrobiology 848: 3141-3152
McMichael, D.F. & Hiscock, I.D. 1958. A monograph of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca : Pelecypoda) of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 372-508 [426-429. pl. 8, figs 1-10, pl. 17, figs 4, 5]
Sousa, R., et al 2021. The role of anthropogenic habitats in freshwater mussel conservation. Global Change Biology 27: 2298-2314
Storey, A.W. & Edward, H.D. 1989. The freshwater mussel, Westralunio carteri Iredale, as a biological monitor of organochlorine pesticides. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 40: 587-593
Walker, K.F., Byrne, M., Hickey, C.W. & Roper, D.S. 2001. Freshwater Mussels (Hyriidae) of Australasia. pp. 5-31 in Bauer, G. & Wächtler, K. (eds). Ecology and Evolution of the Freshwater Mussels Unionoida. Berlin, Germany : Springer-Verlag 394 pp. [9]
Walker, K.F., Jones, H.A. & Klunzinger, M.W. 2014. Bivalves in a bottleneck: taxonomy, phylogeography and conservation of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoida) in Australasia. Hydrobiologia 735: 61-79
Common Name References
Allan, J.K. 1950. Australian shells: with related animals living in the sea, in freshwater and on the land. Melbourne : Georgian House xix, 470 pp., 45 pls, 112 text figs. [400] (Ambiguus Mussel)
Ponder, W.F., Hallan, A., Shea, M.E., Clark, S.A., Richards, K., Klunzinger, M.W. & Kessner, V. 2023. Australian Freshwater Molluscs: The snails and bivalves of Australian inland waters. Revision 2. https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/freshwater_molluscs/index.html (Westralunio carteri) (Carter’s Freshwater Mussel)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14-Apr-2025 | HYRIIDAE Swainson, 1840 | 13-Mar-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Michael Klunzinger (Griffith University) |
| 22-Aug-2023 | BIVALVIA | 22-Aug-2023 | MOVED | Mr Des Beechey Ingo Burghardt Ms Anouk Mututantri (AM) |
| 11-Aug-2014 | 11-Aug-2014 | MOVED | ||
| 16-Nov-2010 | 16-Nov-2010 | MOVED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |