Journal article
Discovery of a host fish species for glochidia of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 (Bivalvia: Unionoidea: Hyriidae)
Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, Vol.94(1), pp.19-23
2011
Abstract
Freshwater fishes are the usual hosts of glochidia (the parasitic larval stage) of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionoidea). Westralunio carteri Iredale 1934 (Carter’s mussel), the only unionoid species found in the Southwest Coast Drainage Division of Australia, is endemic to the region and is currently listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, yet nothing is known of its host species. Small, white, bladder-like cysts were observed macroscopically on Tandanus bostocki Whitley, 1944 (freshwater cobbler) captured from the Blackwood River, Western Australia. Light microscopy of sectioned cysts revealed that they contained glochidia and these were of similar size and shape to glochidia obtained from gravid females of W. carteri. Glochidia were found on 40.7% of 461 T. bostocki examined, with a mean intensity of 10.6 cysts per infested fish. Prevalence of infestation was greater on juvenile than on adult fish. The findings represent an important step in developing conservation measures for W. carteri in this region.
Details
- Title
- Discovery of a host fish species for glochidia of Westralunio carteri Iredale, 1934 (Bivalvia: Unionoidea: Hyriidae)
- Authors/Creators
- M.W. Klunzinger (Author/Creator)S.J. Beatty (Author/Creator)D.L. Morgan (Author/Creator)R.A. Lymbery (Author/Creator)G.J. Thomson (Author/Creator)A.J. Lymbery (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, Vol.94(1), pp.19-23
- Publisher
- Royal Society of Western Australia
- Identifiers
- 991005541963807891
- Copyright
- Royal Society of Western Australia 2011
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research; School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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