Molecular and morphological systematics of a new, reef forming, cupped oyster from the northern Arabian Gulf: Talonostrea salpinx new species.

Manal Al-Kandari,P Graham Oliver,Daniele Salvi

doi:10.3897/zookeys.1043.66992

Manal Al-Kandari, P Graham Oliver + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1043.66992

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Abstract

The rocky northern shores of Kuwait and those of the western, inner shores of Kuwait Bay are dominated by a small, densely encrusting oyster. The identity of this oyster has never been confirmed and was mistaken previously for a small Saccostrea. The shell morphology suggests that this species belongs to the subfamily Crassostreinae, but within that subfamily, the presence of marginal erect trumpet-shaped projections is so far unique. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data confirmed that this species belongs to the Crassostreinae and has a sister position to the clade including Talonostrea talonata and T. zhanjiangensis. Genetic distance between this species and Talonostrea species is remarkably high, being ~20% for the cytochrome oxidase I gene and ~7% for the 16S rRNA gene. Based on morphological and molecular analyses, this oyster is therefore described here as Talonostrea salpinx Oliver, Salvi & Al-Kandari, sp. nov. Shell morphology is shown to be variable, and the different forms encountered are described. The wider distribution and origins of this species, whether native or introduced, are discussed.

Highlights

The invertebrate fauna of the northern Arabian Gulf and that of Kuwait has a relatively recent investigation period as evidenced by the dearth of specific literature cited by Jones (1986)
Phylogenetic analyses resolve the position of this taxon within the subfamily Crassostreinae as sister to the clade formed by Talonostrea talonata and T. zhanjiangensis (Fig. 3)
It is perhaps surprising that the Kuwait oyster belongs to the genus Talonostrea as that genus has its distribution centred on China rather than to the more widespread Magallana

Summary

Introduction

The invertebrate fauna of the northern Arabian Gulf and that of Kuwait has a relatively recent investigation period as evidenced by the dearth of specific literature cited by Jones (1986). Isolated oyster reefs are cited as an important ecological feature (Omar and Roy 2014) around the island of Boubyan where they are known locally as ‘bogar boubyan’ or ‘Boubyan cows’ due to their resemblance to a herd of cattle. These isolated reefs of oysters (Fig. 1E–F) appear at low water where they pose a risk to shipping. These oysters were tentatively identified as Saccostrea cuccullata (Born, 1778) in Omar and Roy (2014). The earliest checklist for the Mollusca of Kuwait (Glayzer, Glayzer and Smythe 1984) lists the dominant oyster at Khor Al-Subiyah (adjacent to Boubyan Island) as Saccostrea cuccullata

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