Echyridella onekaka explained

Echyridella onekaka is a species of freshwater mussel endemic to New Zealand. E. onekaka is an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

Taxonomy

The species was first recognised as a distinct species by Mark Fenwick and Bruce Marshall in 2006. It can be distinguished from Echyridella menziesii by a more strongly separated anterior pedal retractor muscle.

Distribution

Echyridella onekaka is found exclusively in the north-west of the South Island.[1] It is the rarest known freshwater mussel species in New Zealand.[2]

Notes and References

  1. 38-43.
  2. 10.1002/edn3.302. 2637-4943. 4. 5. 1065–1077. Steiner. Konstanze. Dyer. Niamh. Lee. Charles K. Vandergoes. Marcus J. Wood. Susanna A. Development of a triplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of three New Zealand native freshwater mussels (Echyridella) in environmental samples. Environmental DNA. 2022. free.