Novaculina gangetica theobaldi Hanley & Theobald, 1874

Win, Than, Bolotov, Ivan N., Vikhrev, Ilya V., Lunn, Zau, Chan, Nyein, Konopleva, Ekaterina S., Gofarov, Mikhail Y., Tomilova, Alena A. & Kondakov, Alexander V., 2021, Phylogeography and distribution of the freshwater razor clams Novaculina myanmarensis and N. gangetica in Myanmar, with notes on two doubtful nominal taxa described as Novaculina members (Bivalvia: Pharidae), Ecologica Montenegrina 40, pp. 59-67 : 64

Novaculina gangetica theobaldi Hanley & Theobald, 1874

= Novaculina gangetica ? var. theobaldi Hanley & Theobald (1874): 48 , pl. 116, fig. 10.

Type: Location unknown.

Type locality: Tenasserim River , Pegu [Tanintharyi River, Myanmar] .

Proposed taxonomic placement: a junior synonym of Cultellus maximus (Gmelin, 1791) ( Bivalvia: Pharidae ).

Comments: It is a somewhat enigmatic taxon. Hanley and Theobald (1874: 48) introduced it as follows: “This was regarded by Benson as a large variety of his Gangetic species: it looks distinct but without more specimens its separation would, perchance, be unadvisable”. The shell of this clam was illustrated in scale ( Hanley and Theobald 1874: pl. 116, fig. 10). This shell is exceptionally large compared with that of Novaculina gangetica presented on the same plate ( Hanley and Theobald 1874: pl. 116, fig. 7). Based on the mean size of the latter species, the illustrated shell of Novaculina gangetica theobaldi is at least 12-15 cm in length. Large size and a slightly concave ventral margin of the shell clearly indicate that it is not a Novaculina species but a representative of larger estuarine razor clams. There is the only one razor clam species in Myanmar having similar shell habitus and such a large size, i.e. Cultellus maximus . Hence, we tentatively assign the nominal taxon Novaculina gangetica theobaldi to this estuarine species.