Abstract
The determination and the identification of species constitute some of the first basic steps for biodiversity monitoring and conservation (Dayrat, 2005). Species identification is usually carried out by taxonomists, but in many cases it is restricted by the lack of available morphological characters. This is the case for two Flexopecten taxa: Flexopecten glaber L. and F. proteus Dillwyn ex Solander ms. The smooth scallop F. glaber is an edible bivalve, with a maximum length of 8.66 cm (Pisor & Poppe, 2008). It is an epibenthic species of soft and/or hard substrate and its habitat is characterized as muddy and sandy, with organic detritus. The species has a fast growth rate. Its reproduction takes place mainly during late summer, while the gonad activity can be observed all the year. It inhabits between 5 and 900 m depth or more (even 1600 m), in Mediterranean and Black Seas (Poppe & Goto, 1993) and its distribution appears in Figure 1.
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