Pseudanodonta complanata ( Rossmässler, 1835 )

Marković, Vanja, Gojšina, Vukašin, Novaković, Boris, Božanić, Milenka, Stojanović, Katarina, Karan-Žnidaršič, Tamara & Živić, Ivana, 2021, The freshwater molluscs of Serbia: Annotated checklist with remarks on distribution and protection status, Zootaxa 5003 (1), pp. 1-64 : 40-41

85. Pseudanodonta complanata ( Rossmässler, 1835)

Findings in Serbia.

Anodonta complanata: Droüet (1881, 1884); Dokić (1882).

Pseudanodonta complanata: Tadić (1960) ; JDS-ITR Report (2002); Tomović et al. (2010 b, 2012); Paunović et al. (2008); Martinović-Vitanović et al. (2013); Raković (2015); Tomović (2016).

Common name. Depressed river mussel.

Morphology. Large bivalve. Wedge-shaped shell resembles Anodonta anatina , but it is less tumid (more flattened across the valves). It reaches dimensions of 80 mm (rarely 100) in length, 45 mm height, and 20 mm depth. For more details see Welter-Schultes (2012: 11, figure at the top of the page).

Distribution and ecology. Western-Palearctic species inhabiting muddy substrate in lowland rivers, large drains and canals, not found in standing waters-lakes, ponds and similar ( Aldridge 1999; Killeen et al. 2004). In Serbia, it could be found mostly in large lowland rivers such as the Danube (in the upper and middle stretches in Serbia), Velika Morava, Tisza and Sava Rivers. Unlike other unionids in Serbia, this species almost exclusively occurs in very low populations densities.

Other remarks. Due to decreasing population trends and scarce findings, this species has been assessed as VU on the global level ( Van Damme 2011 c). It has 91 nominal species as synonyms ( Graf & Cummings 2021).

Genus Sinanodonta Modell, 1945