Galatea paradoxa (Born, 1778)

Kondakov, Alexander V., Konopleva, Ekaterina S., Adesanya, Abiona J., Bespalaya, Yulia V., Braun, Jean J., Gofarov, Mikhail Y., Lyubas, Artem A., Tomilova, Alena A., Vikhrev, Ilya V., Pokrovsky, Oleg S. & Bolotov, Ivan N., 2020, The global freshwater bivalve checklist’s extension: Freshwater occurrences and phylogenetic position of Galatea clams from West Africa (Venerida: Donacidae), Ecologica Montenegrina 35, pp. 144-158 : 152-153

Galatea paradoxa (Born, 1778)

= Venus paradoxa Born (1778) : 53.

= Galathea radiata Lamarck (1804): 433 .

= Egeria paradoxa Daget (1998) : 224.

= Galatea paradoxa Germain (1918): 133 ; Huber (2010): 322 (compendium), 692 (special remarks).

Figs 1 and 4 .

Type: Holotype in the Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria (fide Daget 1998).

Type locality: Unknown.

Material examined: NIGERIA: Niger River at Yenagoa , 4.9173°N, 6.2635°E, Bayelsa State, 01.ii.2017, 9 shells [ RMBH biv1086], Abiona J. Adesanya leg.

Habitats: This species prefers slightly brackish and freshwater habitats in the downstream sections of large rivers ( Lawson 1963; Purchon 1963; Etim & Brey 1994; Etim 1996; Etim et al. 1997; Adeyemo et al. 2013; this study).

Distribution: Volta, Niger, and Cross rivers in West Africa ( Fig. 1 and Table 2).

Comments: The type locality of Venus paradoxa Born, 1778 is unknown, and there is still not much evidence that the species we are discussing on belongs to this nominal taxon. Multiple authors applied the name radiata Lamarck, 1804 to Galatea populations from the Volta, Niger, and Cross rivers (e.g. Bernardi 1860; Lawson 1963; Purchon 1963; Etim & Brey 1994; Etim 1996; Etim et al. 1997) but it was synonymized with paradoxa Born, 1778 (e.g. Germain 1918; Daget 1998). Germain (1918: figs 18-19) illustrated the holotype of Galatea radiata Lamarck.

Figures

Figure 1. Occurrences of Galatea schwabi (red stars) and Galatea paradoxa (light green stars). The locality data is given in Table 2. Freshwater basins are colored as follows: Sanaga (1), Cross (2), Niger (3), and Volta (4). The red dash indicates the Edea Hydroelectric Power Station’s dam on the Sanaga River. (Map: Mikhail Y. Gofarov).

Figure 4. Shells of Galatea paradoxa from freshwater section of Niger River, Nigeria (sample RMBH biv1086, Yenagoa). Scale bar = 10 mm. (Photos: Ilya V. Vikhrev).