DNA barcoding, multilocus phylogeny, and morphometry reveal phenotypic plasticity in the Chinese freshwater mussel Lamprotula caveata (Bivalvia: Unionidae).

ABSTRACT: Accurate species identification is crucial for developing conservation strategies for freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled faunas in the world. Traditionally, mussel species description primarily relied on conchological characters. However, shell morphology has great variability, which leads to the complexity of species delimitation. As endemic species to China, Lamprotula caveata was originally described by Heude (1877). Lamprotula quadrangulosus and Lamprotula contritus were considered for synonymization of L. caveata based on shell variants in the early 20th century, which has been long debated due to lack of rigorous molecular analysis. Moreover, great morphological variation caused doubt whether there are cryptic species. In this study, we used a c

SUBMITTER: Wu R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9277607 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature