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Species
Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857)
IUCN
NCBI
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L. fortunei's success as an invasive species is likely due to its early sexual maturity, high fertility, tolerance to wide variations in environmental conditions, and lack of competition within the niche of epifaunal attached organisms (Darrigran, 2002). It is very similar to the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in these characteristics (Karatayev et al., 2007).
Natural oxygen depletion events in freshwater systems such as the Pantanal in South America reduce the population size of L. fortunei by preventing spawning and killing juvenile and adult mussels, but the species consistently rebounds (Oliveira et al., 2010).
In Brazilian rivers, complex communities of sponges have been all but replaced by beds of Limnoperna fortunei, which severely impacts the ecosystem by (for instance) eliminating the habitat of sponge-dwelling aquatic insects (chironomids) (Fusari et al., 2008).
In areas where L. fortunei has been introduced, the new surface created by the beds of mussels allows the settlement of invertebrate populations that were not previously there, chiefly Gastropods, Oligochaetes, and Hirudineans (Darrigran et al., 1998b).
In South America, L. fortunei is preyed upon by the native fish Leporinus obtusidens Valenciennes, 1846 (Penchaszadeh et al., 2000).
L. fortunei larvae prefer to settle in shaded crevices (Morton, 1977). Young and adult mussels exhibit crawling behavior; crawling distance typically decreases with increasing shell length. These animals display positive geotaxis (downward movement) as a rule, although they sometimes prefer to settle just below the water surface; they also show marked negative phototaxis (movement toward the dark). They show a strong preference for settlement in angled crevices, and those settling in crevices are much more likely to secrete byssal threads than those that do not. Members of this species tend to aggregate into clumps, which also stimulates a higher rate of byssal secretion (Uryu et al., 1996). When L. fortunei is living in fast-flowing waters, it will orient itself with siphons facing toward the current (Morton, 1973).
2-3 years (Morton, 1977).
This species is dioecious as a rule (any individual will produce just one type of gamete); however, very rare instances of hermaphroditism have been observed, in around .55% of the population (Darrigran et al., 1998a). They spawn once or twice per year (Darrigran et al., 1999).
The similarity in anatomical characters such as mid-gut loops on the right side of the stomach, as well as in the occupation of estuarine habitats, between L. fortunei and the Australian mussels Xenstrobus securis and Xenostrubus inconstans, suggests that L. fortunei may have evolved from a common ancestor similar to Xenostrubus (Morton, 1973).
Apart from L. fortunei, seven other Recent species are currently placed in the genus Limnoperna: L. atrata, L. balani, L. inconstans, L. mangle, L. pulex, L. sambasensis, and L. securis.
Pie et. al. (2006) sequenced the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene of L. fortunei. They found that unique primers that bind only to this gene could be used to detect the presence of L. fortunei larvae, which could potentially aid in population control for this species.
Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) is an invasive freshwater mussel species (family Mytilidae) native to China and Southeast Asia, which has since spread to and across South America and is now a significant cause of biofouling. Its shell is a distinctive golden color with an inner mother-of-pearl layer. It is dioecious and its larvae are free-swimming. As an adult, it typically forms clumps with members of its own species, attaching itself to hard surfaces with its hairlike byssus. L. fortunei is comparable to the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in invasive strategy and success; methods of slowing its onslaught on non-native rivers are currently under study.
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 2 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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The species is known from southern China and southeast Asia. Morton and Dinesen (2010) list the distribution of the species in China as: Yangtze basin - the lakes Dongting (Hunan Province), Yuangkian (Jiangsu Province), Chow-Wen-Miao, Chiang-Kia-Tsui, Jiangyin ('Siangyin'; Jiangsu Province) and Yoyang and adjacent rivers, and the Xiang River, near Changsha, Hunan Province). Also present in Thailand (Kwai River, Batambang, the mouth of the Kompong-Som River, the Mekong south of Nakon Ponom, the Maenam Mun River, the Lam Chi River, the Chao Phraya and Pasak rivers, the Tapi River, Tale Luang near Pattalung, Mekong branch at Muang Sene, Khong Island. Recorded from Lao PDR from the Kaek River, Huai San and Huai Koa Man in Loei Province, and from Cambodia (Lake Tonli Sap),Viet Nam (Lake Vin-Long, Mekong, Rham-Pehn, Cochinchine, Tonkin), Lao PDR in the Mekong drainage, Korea and Japan.
Brandt (1974) listed it from Mekong River south of Nakon Panom, Maenam Mun River, Lam Chi River, Chao Phraya and the Pasak River. In many klongs and tributaries to the Chao Phraya River, in the Maeklong River, in the south it reaches the Tapi River and Tale Luang near Pattalung.
This species has been introduced in Argentina in 1991 by commercial shipping, and is now present elsewhere in south America (e.g., the Paraguay River system and the Pantanal wetland in Brazil, and expansion into north American river systems could be expected; Oliveira et al. 2010). The native range of the species is unclear; Magara et al. (2001) consider the species native to China, and introduced to all other countries.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/171818 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 19
Specimens with Barcodes: 19
Species With Barcodes: 1