Mytilus edulis platensis ( d'Orbigny , 1842)

Rosenfeld, Sebastian, Aldea, Cristian, Mansilla, Andres, Marambio, Johanna & Ojeda, Jaime, 2015, Richness, systematics, and distribution of molluscs associated with the macroalga Gigartina skottsbergii in the Strait of Magellan, Chile: A biogeographic affinity study, ZooKeys 519, pp. 49-100 : 71-72

Mytilus edulis platensis ( d'Orbigny, 1842) Fig. 7B

Material examined.

1 spm (4 × 3 mm).

Synonymy.

See Reid and Osorio (2000).

Remarks.

Regarding the current status of this species, Aldea and Rosenfeld (2011) commented that in spite of the genetic and morphological study carried out by Toro (1998), who placed this species in Mytilus edulis chilensis , the taxonomic problem is still not resolved. The study carried out by Cárcamo et al. (2005) on specimens from the Chilean Coast was based on allozymes and compared these specimens with European specimens of Mytilus edulis and Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamark, 1819). The authors concluded that the Chilean specimens should rather be considered a subspecies of Mytilus galloprovincialis given that it is genetically closer to this species, but having particular and characteristic allele frequencies. Investigating the taxonomy and genetics of Chilean smooth-shelled Mytilus , Borsa et al. (2012) concluded that Mytilus edulis from the northern hemisphere is different from Mytilus edulis from the southern hemisphere in proportion to the nuclear loci and the mitochondrial locus. For this reason they consider them as geographically isolated entities. Thus, the Chilean Blue mussles are considered to represent subspecies of Mytilus edulis . Following the principle of priority, the authors stress that platensis d’Orbigny, 1842 is the correct subspecific name for the southern hemisphere Mytilus edulis , and relegate the name Mytilus chilensis Hupé, 1854 into the synonymy of platensis . Larrain et al. (2012) applied the Me 15-16 marker to samples from sites between 41°S and 51°S and found that the majority of the mussels corresponded to " Mytilus chilensis ", and saw no evidence for an occurrence of Mytilus edulis . Additionally, putative hybrids of Mytilus chilensis × Mytilus trossulus and Mytilus chilensis × Mytilus galloprovincialis were detected, and the authors stressed that other markers are needed to differentiate between the southern hemisphere Mytilus species. Concluding it can be said the the correct taxonomic allocation for the southern-hemisphere Mytilus species is still pending. For the time being, we here use the name platensis d’Orbigny, 1842 as a subspecies of Mytilus edulis for the specimens from our samples.

Distribution.

WTSP: Iquique ( Soot-Ryen 1959), Valparaíso ( Húpe 1854, Dall 1909), from Punta Pingueral to Mocha Island ( Aldea and Valdovinos 2005), and Valdivia ( Zagal and Hermosilla 2001, Borsa et al. 2012). Magellanic: Puerto Montt ( Borsa et al. 2012), Calbuco ( Borsa et al. 2012), Gulf of Ancud ( Cárdenas et al. 2008), Estero Elefantes ( Reid and Osorio 2000), Estero Castro ( Dell 1971), Puerto Edén ( Dell 1971), and Piazzi Island ( Dell 1971); Strait of Magellan ( Rochebrune and Mabille 1889, Dell 1964): eastern micro-basin of the Strait of Magellan ( Ríos et al. 2003), Buque Quemado ( Aldea and Rosenfeld 2011), Laredo Bay ( Mutschke et al. 1998), Punta Santa Ana ( Ríos et al. 2007), Punta Santa María (this record), Cape Froward ( USNM 2010), Dawson Island ( USNM 2010), and Carlos III Island ( Aldea et al. 2011a); Puerto Williams ( Dell 1971), Róbalo Bay ( Dell 1971, Ojeda et al. 2010), Hermite Islands ( Dell 1971), Bertrand Island ( Dell 1971), Seno Grandi ( Dell 1971), and Orange Bay ( Rochebrune and Mabille 1889); Chubut ( Carcelles 1944), Malvi nas /Falkland Islands ( Dell 1964), San Sebastián Bay ( USNM 2010), and Staten Island ( USNM 2010). WTSA: Uruguay ( Scarabino 2003b), and Buenos Aires Province ( Carcelles 1944).