title: Are Cristaria herculea (Middendorff, 1847) and Cristaria plicata (Leach, 1815) (Bivalvia, Unionidae) separate species?
abstract: The number of species in the freshwater mussel genus Cristaria Schumacher, 1817 recognized from Far East Russia has varied over the last several decades. While some authors consider the occurrence of only one species, Cristaria plicata (Leach, 1815), widespread in East Asia, others, recognize two separate species Cristaria herculea (Middendorff, 1847) and Cristaria tuberculata Schumacher, 1817 from Far East Russia, distinct from C. plicata. ﻿For the present study, freshwater mussels, identified as C. herculea,﻿ were collected in the Upper Amur basin (Transbaikalia, Russia). The shell morphology and the whole soft body anatomy were analysed in detail and compared with previously published information on other Cristaria spp.. Additionally, a cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene fragment was sequenced from foot tissue samples of selected animals, collected from the same region, and compared with published data. Based upon morphological similarities of glochidia and adult morphology and anatomy as well as the mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis, we consider C. herculea as a synonym of C. plicata. ﻿Further analysis of Far East Russia C. herculea and C. tuberculata specimens using both molecular and morphological characters should be carried in the future to enhance our knowledge about the taxonomy within the Cristaria genus. Moreover, a comprehensive revision of the genus Cristaria is needed, restricting the type locality and comparing topotypic specimens for both C. plicata and C. tuberculata, and including all recognized Cristaria species.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Natural Resources, Ecology and Criology, Russian Academy of Sciences Siberian Branch, Chita 672014, Russia.
authors.forename: Olga K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Klishko
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR/CIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal ; Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal ; Mollusc Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature (SSC/IUCN), c/o IUCN, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lopes-Lima
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR/CIMAR), University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Froufe
authors.affiliation: Mollusc Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature (SSC/IUCN), c/o IUCN, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge, United Kingdom ; Research Laboratory, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, MSC 1626, Raleigh, NC 27699-1626, United States of America.
authors.forename: Arthur E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bogan
keywords: Anodontini; Bivalvia; CO1; Russia; Transbaikalia; Unionidae