Corbicula fluminalis (O.F. Müller, 1774 )

Schultheiss, Roland, Ndeo, Oscar Wembo, Malikwisha, Meni, Marek, Carina, Bössneck, Ulrich & Albrecht, Christian, 2011, Freshwater molluscs of the Eastern Congo: notes on taxonomy, biogeography and conservation, African Invertebrates 52 (2), pp. 265-284 : 276

Corbicula fluminalis (O.F. Müller, 1774) C. f. cunningtoni Smith, 1906

Fig. 3D

Tellina fluminalis: O.F. Müller 1774: 205 . (Type locality: “In fluvio Asiae Euphrat.”)

Corbicula cunningtoni: Smith 1906: 186 , pl. 10, fig. 15. (Type locality: Lake Victoria “at Bukoba on the west shore of the Lake.”)

Corbicula radiata edwardi: Pilsbry & Bequaert 1927: 343 , figs 73a, b. (Type locality: “ Lake Edward at Kabare ”)

Taxonomic remarks: Whereas the form from L. Edward was originally treated as subspecies of radiata ( Pilsbry & Bequaert 1927) , Mandahl-Barth (1988) synonymized all African Corbicula under the name fluminalis with the exception of C. astartina . The author suggested that the originally described subspecies from L. Edward ( C. radiata edwardi ) is not very different from the subspecies cunningtoni and hence the former name “perhaps ought not to be maintained” (ibid.: 115). More recent taxonomic accounts agree with this classification ( Daget 1998; Korniushin 2004). As to whether all African Corbicula are indeed fluminalis is unclear as the question still awaits a molecular based systematic revision (see Pfenninger et al. 2002).

Habitat description: We found this species in moderate abundance at depths of 3–5 m at the north-western shore of L. Edward as well as at depths of 2–3 m in the Semliki R. on predominantly sandy substrate.

Collecting sites: 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13.

IUCN Red List Category: Not Evaluated.