Molecular detection of parasites (Trematoda, Digenea: Bucephalidae and Monorchiidae) in the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

Members of the globally distributed bivalve family Ostreidae (oysters) have a significant role in marine ecosystems and include species of high economic importance. In this work, we report the occurrence of digenean parasites of the families Bucephalidae (Prosorhynchoides sp.) and Monorchiidae (Postmonorchis sp.) in Mediterranean native populations of Ostrea edulis (but not in the introduced Magallana gigas). Molecular detection was based on DNA sequencing of the ribosomal intergenic spacer 2 (ITS2) marker. The importance of detecting the presence of overlooked digenean parasites in Mediterranean oysters is discussed. © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Bioerosive structures of sclerozoan foraminifera from the lower pliocene of southern Spain: a contribution to the palaeoecology of marine hard substrate communities

A palaeoecological study of sclerozoan foraminifera of the families Saccamminidae (aff. Sagenina), Lituolidae (Placopsilina), Cibicididae (Cibicides, Dyocibicides, Cibicidella) and Planorbulinidae (Planorbulina and Planorbulinella) that colonized epifaunal bivalves (ostreids and pectinids) during the early Pliocene in southern Spain has led to the recognition of two new boring ichnogenera: Camarichnus ichnogen. nov., with two ichnospecies, C. subrectangularis ichnosp. nov. and C. arcuatus ichnosp. nov., and Canalichnus ichnogen. nov., with one ichnospecies, C. tenuis ichnosp. nov. The first two ichnospecies were produced by adnate lituolids and cibicidids, the last by saccamminids. Their recognition is very important when quantifying populations of these organisms. Colonisation took place after death of the host bivalves, when they acted as very stable substrates whose topography probably controlled the initial settlement pattern of the foraminifera. The colonisation sequence started with the foraminifera (lituolids-saccamminids-cibicidids-planorbulinids) and was followed by vermetid gastropods, serpulids, spirorbids, cheilostome bryozoans and/or ostreids. Preferred orientations and over-growth relationships between cheilostome bryozoans and serpulids have been detected in this material.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Offshore Neopycnodonte oyster reefs in the Mediterranean Sea

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Angeletti, L., & Taviani, M. Offshore Neopycnodonte oyster reefs in the Mediterranean Sea. Diversity, 12(3), (2020): 92, doi:10.3390/d12030092.Oysters are important ecosystem engineers best known to produce large bioconstructions at shallow depth, whilst offshore deep-subtidal oyster reefs are less widely known. Oyster reefs engineered by Neopycnodonte cochlear (family Gryphaeidae) occur at various sites in the Mediterranean Sea, between 40 and 130 m water depths. Remotely Operated Vehicle surveys provide new insights on this rather neglected reef types with respect to their shape, dimensions and associated biodiversity. We suggest that these little contemplated reefs should be taken in due consideration for protection.This work was partly supported by the EU FP-VI and VII HERMES and HERMIONE, by the ‘Convenzione MATTM-CNR per i Programmi di Monitoraggio per la Direttiva sulla Strategia Marina (MSFD, Art. 11, Dir. 2008/56/CE), and is part of the DG Environment programme IDEM (grant agreement no. 11.0661/2017/750680/SUB/EN V.C2)

Oysters and oyster-like bivalves from the Middle Triassic Muschelkalk of the Germanic Basin

Middle Triassic marine deposits of the Germanic Basin (Muschelkalk) record a significant proliferation of cementing bivalves from different families. Based on previously undescribed, excellently preserved material from the Willebadessen Member (late Anisian, Illyrian) of the Upper Muschelkalk Trochitenkalk Formation of Willebadessen (Germany), we propose the new genus Noetlingiconcha, type species N. speculostreum sp. nov., for strongly plicate prospondylids lacking auricles. The new genus differs from Terquemia and Enantiostreon in being plicate rather than costate, and from Newaagia in the absence of auricles. We demonstrate that N. speculostreum was invariably attached by its right valve, in contrast to an externally similar species from the Lower Muschelkalk Freudenstadt Formation (lower Anisian, Bithynian) that was exclusively cemented by its left valve and thus represents the geologically oldest known oyster species. Previous reports of amphi-pleurothetic cemented bivalve species from the Muschelkalk probably result from lumping together these two externally similar species. The constancy of sinistral attachment in the geologically oldest Ostreidae suggests that left-pleurothetic valve orientation was already established in the ancestry of this family. Palaeontological data are therefore in accordance with genetic and larval shell morphology analyses that identified Pterioidea as the sister taxon of Ostreoidea, because Pterioidea contains several Permian-Triassic genera with an anatomically lower left valv

IDENTIFIKASI TEMUAN FOSIL FAUNA DARI DESA TANJUNGAN, KECAMATAN KEMLAGI, KABUPATEN MOJOKERTO

Mojokerto is one of the important areas for paleoanthropological-archaeological studies in Indonesia. In the Mojokerto area, specifically in Perning Village, Homo erectus fossils were found, as well as vertebrate fauna fossils. In another area, namely in Sumberdadi Hamlet, Sumbersari Village, Dawar Blandong District, vertebrate fauna fossils were also found. In addition to these two areas, vertebrate fossils are also known to be found in Tanjungan Village, Kemlagi District, Mojokerto Regency. The purpose of this study is to identify the findings of fauna fossils from Tanjungan Village, Kemlagi District, Mojokerto, and then describe the habitat of the types of fauna fossils remains. The identification of the findings is based on the morphological characteristics seen in the fossil fragments. Five fauna species were obtained from the identification results, namely Bovidae, Stegodon sp., Carcharhinidae, Ostreidae, and Potamididae. These results provide an overview of the ancient environment of Tanjungan Village, in the forms of an original marine environment, a brackish-water environment, and ultimately a continental environment.   Mojokerto adalah salah satu wilayah penting untuk studi paleoantropologi-arkeologi di Indonesia. Di wilayah Mojokerto, tepatnya di Desa Perning, ditemukan fosil Homo erectus, selain juga fosil fauna vertebrata. Di area lain, yaitu di Dusun Sumberdadi, Desa Sumbersari, Kecamatan Dawar Blandong juga ditemukan fosil fauna vertebrata. Selain dua area tersebut, fosil vertebrata juga diketahui ditemukan di Desa Tanjungan, Kecamatan Kemlagi, Kabupaten Mojokerto. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengidentifikasi temuan fosil fauna dari Desa Tanjungan, Kecamatan Kemlagi, Mojokerto, dan kemudian mendeskripsikan habitat dari jenis temuan fosil fauna tersebut. Identifikasi temuan didasarkan pada ciri morfologis yang tampak pada fragmen fosilnya. Hasil identifikasi memperoleh lima jenis fauna, yaitu Bovidae, Stegodon sp., Carcharhinidae, Ostreidae, dan Potamididae. Hasil tersebut tersebut memberikan gambaran lingkungan purba Desa Tanjungan berupa lingkungan laut, lingkungan air payau, dan lingkungan darat.Mojokerto is one of the important areas for paleoanthropological-archaeological studies in Indonesia. In the Mojokerto area, specifically in Perning Village, Homo erectus fossils were found, as well as vertebrate fauna fossils. In another area, namely in Sumberdadi Hamlet, Sumbersari Village, Dawar Blandong District, vertebrate fauna fossils were also found. In addition to these two areas, vertebrate fossils are also known to be found in Tanjungan Village, Kemlagi District, Mojokerto Regency. The purpose of this study is to identify the findings of fauna fossils from Tanjungan Village, Kemlagi District, Mojokerto, and then describe the habitat of the types of fauna fossils remains. The identification of the findings is based on the morphological characteristics seen in the fossil fragments. Five fauna species were obtained from the identification results, namely Bovidae, Stegodon sp., Carcharhinidae, Ostreidae, and Potamididae. These results provide an overview of the ancient environment of Tanjungan Village, in the forms of an original marine environment, a brackish-water environment, and ultimately a continental environment.   Mojokerto adalah salah satu wilayah penting untuk studi paleoantropologi-arkeologi di Indonesia. Di wilayah Mojokerto, tepatnya di Desa Perning, ditemukan fosil Homo erectus, selain juga fosil fauna vertebrata. Di area lain, yaitu di Dusun Sumberdadi, Desa Sumbersari, Kecamatan Dawar Blandong juga ditemukan fosil fauna vertebrata. Selain dua area tersebut, fosil vertebrata juga diketahui ditemukan di Desa Tanjungan, Kecamatan Kemlagi, Kabupaten Mojokerto. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengidentifikasi temuan fosil fauna dari Desa Tanjungan, Kecamatan Kemlagi, Mojokerto, dan kemudian mendeskripsikan habitat dari jenis temuan fosil fauna tersebut. Identifikasi temuan didasarkan pada ciri morfologis yang tampak pada fragmen fosilnya. Hasil identifikasi memperoleh lima jenis fauna, yaitu Bovidae, Stegodon sp., Carcharhinidae, Ostreidae, dan Potamididae. Hasil tersebut tersebut memberikan gambaran lingkungan purba Desa Tanjungan berupa lingkungan laut, lingkungan air payau, dan lingkungan darat

Morphological and Mitochondrial DNA Analyses of Oysters in the Northern Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh

The geographic boundaries of many important habitat-building shallow estuarine oyster (Family Ostreidae) species are poorly understood, especially in subtropical and tropical waters. These keystone species often have extensive historical and extant ranges, in part because of their ability to adapt to diverse environmental conditions and the transfer and introduction of a few species worldwide for aquaculture production. In addition, oysters exhibit morphological plasticity additionally confounding species identification and taxonomy. Molecular techniques have led to significant improvements in oyster systematics and taxonomy but have not been applied to oysters from many tropical regions, including the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean such as Bangladesh. Because species’ identification based on morphological traits alone, in this case primarily shell characteristics, were inadequate, phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene fragments was also done to confirm the identity of oyster specimens collected from Bangladesh coastal waters. Phylogenetic analyses of collected oyster samples confirmed the two monophyletic subclades of the Ostreidae family Crassostrea and Saccostrea, and five oyster lineages from the region of Bangladesh were identified: Crassostrea gryphoides, Crassostrea belcheri, Saccostrea cuccullata lineage B, S. cuccullata lineage F, and Saccostrea mordax. A new addition to the list of Crassostrea species, C. belcheri was found in Bangladesh, but C. belcheri, C. gryphoides, and S. cuccullata are considered “common” species in the neighboring states of India and Myanmar indicating a widespread distribution of these species along the entire coast of the Bay of Bengal. However, S. mordax, is a new record for the Bay of Bengal region including the coastal waters of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and thus extends the geographical distribution of this species

Los Ostreidae en el contexto de la sedimentación del Mioceno marino de la Depresión Prelitoral Catalana (Noroeste de España)

En relación con la manera de presentarse los Ostreidae en el contexto estratigráfico del Mioceno medio del área de Tarragona y Alt Penedes, se pueden establecer cuatro grandes grupos: 1) Acumulaciones orgánicas relacionadas con condiciones de alta energía. 2) formas asociadas a bioconstrucciones: arrecifes coralinos y algas rojas. 3) formas aisladas en sedimentos de grano medio. 4) bancos desarrollados «in situ)). Las formas que corresponden a los grupos 3 y 4 son las que presentan mayor variación morfológica en relación con el tipo de substrato y de sedimentación. Los Ostreidae del grupo 3 se caracterizan por su pequeño tamaño y la pared de la concha delgada. La forma general es variable en función del substrato sobre el que se han fijado, y que en general suele ser de naturaleza orgánica, frecuentemente un molusco. La cavidad de la concha es profunda en relación a la altura. Corresponden al tipo recostado. En las formas que constituyen bancos, los individuos guardan cierta independencia entre si y presentan una gran talla. La concha es de pared muy gruesa, con predominio de la altura sobre la longitud, y la profundidad de la cavidad es pequeña en relación con la altura de la concha. Corresponden a formas del tipo ((boulder shaped)). En otras localidades los bancos de ostreidos están formados por  individuos muy alargados, que alcanzan los 490 mm de altura. La pared es poco gruesa y la cavidad de la concha es poco profunda. Vivirían en posición vertical en un sedimento limoso. Estas formas corresponden al tipo bastó

New distribution record of Crassostreine oyster Magallana gryphoides (Schlotheim, 1820) in Kerala, India

The Crassostreine oyster Magallana gryphoides (Bivalvia: Ostreidae) has been recorded for the first time on the Kerala coasts from Dharmadom estuary, Kannur, Kerala, India. The report indicates the range extension of M. gryphoides on the South-west coast of India. The external morphological characters were phenotypic and insufficient for species identification as it resembles Magallana bilineata. However, internal shell characters gave important information, especially the adductor muscle scar. The accurate species determination was achieved from the mitochondrial COI and 16S gene sequencing, followed by molecular phylogenetic analysis. The native oyster M. bilineata and M. gryphoides were found to co-exist in the same habitat sharing similar ecological conditions, sharing a sister group relationship

The molluscan remains of Tanamu 1: Subsistence and resource habitats

[Extract] The molluscan assemblage reported here is from Tanamu 1 at Caution Bay, an archaeological site dating from c.5,000 cal BP to c. 100 cal BP. Two 1m × 1m squares (A and B) were excavated in 2.1 ± 0.5cm excavation units (XUs) to 2.82m depth, with all excavated materials retained in 2.1mm mesh sieves undergoing systematic analysis in dedicated archaeological laboratories (see Chapter 2 for excavation details). The 134 XUs at Tanamu 1 are partitioned into seven major stratigraphic horizons or units (SUs), each continuous across the two contiguous main excavated squares (A and B). SU1 (700–c. 100 cal BP), SU3 (2800–c. 2750 cal BP) and SU5 (4350–4050 cal BP) consist of rich cultural deposits (the Upper, Middle and Lower Horizons respectively); which are separated by the culturally sparser SU2, SU4 and basal SU6–SU7. SU1, SU3 and SU5 contain pronounced and distinct shell concentrations: XU3–XU6 (Upper Horizon); XU24–XU35 (Middle Horizon) and XU48–XU69 (Lower Horizon). In each of these, the total shell weight is on average >2000g for each XU from Square A and Square B combined. These dense shell horizons correspond with the three dense occupation horizons identified for the site as a whole, associated with pre-ceramic, Lapita and post-Lapita occupation periods. Excavation at Tanamu 1 produced a total shell sample of 127,355.6g, with Square A containing 62,270.3g and Square B 65,085.3g. While the majority of these shells represent discarded food remains, a number of shell artefacts were also recovered. The shell artefacts are presented separately. However, they are included in the weights and MNI counts reported here. The clearly stratified Tanamu 1 cultural sequence provides an ideal opportunity to investigate change over time in the use of molluscan resources