The Ashtamudi Lake short-neck clam: re-assigned to the genus Marcia H. Adams & A. Adams, 1857 (Bivalvia, Veneridae)

By

Arathi, Anitha
Oliver, Graham
Ravinesh, Raveendhiran
Biju Kumar, Appukuttannair

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2018

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

799

Pages

1-20

Subjects

fisheries management , India , Marcia , MSC certification , Paphia , Protapes , Venerid clam , Veneridae

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.799.25829

 

Abstract

The economically valuable bivalve mollusc, known as the short-neck clam, is the major fishery resource of the brackishwater Ashtamudi Lake in Kerala, India. This fishery carries a Marine Stewardship Council certification for sustainability wherein it and all hitherto published reports identify the short-neck clam or yellow-foot clam asPaphiamalabarica(Dillwyn, 1817). It is noted that this name does not conform with current nomenclature and is now correctly referred toProtapesgallus(Gmelin, 1791). Furthermore, it is shown that the identification is also incorrect. Comparative shell morphology of venerid clams of the subfamily Tapetinae from the south Indian coast demonstrates that the short-neck clam in Ashtamudi Lake isMarciarecens(Holten, 1802). Small numbers ofM.opima(Gmelin, 1791) were found in Ashtamudi Lake but appear not to be part of, or contribute significantly to, the fishery. The venerid clamsProtapesgallusandP.ziczac(Linnaeus, 1758) are not found in Ashtamudi Lake but are inhabitants of the shallow coastal waters of south India. Descriptions of the four confused speciesM.recens,M.opima,P.gallus, andP.ziczacare given. On the basis of this study, the species involved in Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification may be better considered at the generic level ofMarciaor at the species level asMarciarecens, the most dominant species in the Ashtamudi Lake clam fishery zone.