Meeting Abstract

P3-247  Saturday, Jan. 6 15:30 – 17:30  Integrative Taxonomy of Meretrix Species (Bivalvia: Veneridae) from the Northwestern Pacific WANG, X; KONG, L*; CHEN, J; MATSUKUMA, A; LI, Q; Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Institute of geology and paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi, China; Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China klfaly@ouc.edu.cn

The bivalve genus Meretrix Lamarck, 1799, broadly distributed in the Northwestern Pacific, contains several important marine economic species in East Asia. However, taxonomy of Meretrix species is controversial because of similar shell morphology and changeful color patterns. With the aim of the exploring taxonomy and biogeography of Meretrix species from the Northwestern Pacific, we analyzed 305 samples collected from 29 locations with an integrative analysis combining morphological and molecular data (COI and ITS-1). The results revealed that Genus Meretrix includes six species at least: M. petechialis (Lamarck, 1818), Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758) [= M. lusoria (Röding, 1798) of authors], M. lamarckii (Deshayes, 1853), Meretrix castanea (Lamarck, 1818) [= M. meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758) of authors], M. lyrata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1851) and M. planisulcata (G. B. Sowerby II, 1854). In contrast to previous studies, we proposed that M. petechialis and M. meretrix should be recognized as different species. In addition, deep divergences found in the M. petechialis and M. lamarckii suggest the occurrence of potential cryptic species.