Taxonomic reassessment of the freshwater mussel genus Unio (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in Russia and Ukraine based on morphological and molecular data
Author
Klishko, Olga
Author
Lopes-Lima, Manuel
Author
Froufe, Elsa
Author
Bogan, Arthur
Author
Vasiliev, Lyudmila
Author
Yanovich, Lyudmila
text
Zootaxa
2017
4286
1
93
112
journal article
32760
10.11646/zootaxa.4286.1.4
47a8d367-e49b-48ef-96bd-3e64c208046a
1175-5326
828332
5DB7C509-5FC6-4285-9350-B52014158DD7
Unio crassus
Philipsson in
Retzius, 1788
Synonyms
(in the study area)
Unio musivus
Spengler, 1793
.
Unio nana
Lamarck, 1819
.
Unio fusculus
Ziegler in
Rossmässler, 1835
.
Unio irgizlaica
Lindholm, 1904
.
Description.
Shell is oval, thick (up to
8.9 mm
in the anterior shell area) and moderately inflated. The ratio of shell width to its height is 0.61–0.80, and the ratio of shell height to its length is 0.46–0.62. The umbo is wide projecting considerably above the dorsal margin. Umbo sculpture is wrinkled or consists of double-looped waves and knobs. Periostracum ranges from green to dark brown, sometimes with rays from the umbo to the ventral margin. Nacre is light blue, light violet or pinkish-white. Pseudocardinal teeth are flattened relatively thick (2.5–3.0 mm) and curved. The outer and inner pseudocardinal teeth of the left valve are generally separated with similar lengths and levels of projection, but occasionally the inner is higher than the outer pseudocardinal tooth. A dark strip on the foot may be well pronounced or not. The papillae of the incurrent aperture are short, conic, and located in two rows close to each other.
Comparisons.
This species differs from
U. pictorum
and
U. tumidus
by having an oval shell shape, often wrinkled umbo sculpture and a higher shell height/length ratio (0.46–0.62). The labial palps in
U. crassus
are longer and larger than in
U. pictorum
and
U. tumidus
. The papillae of the incurrent aperture of
U. crassus
are shorter and arranged in two rows, whereas there are three to four rows in
U. pictorum
and
U. tumidus
.
Distribution.
In the
Ukraine
and European
Russia
restricted to the Black, Caspian and Baltic Sea basins, also found in a restricted range in Transbaikalia, Asian
Russia
(
Fig. 1
).