New Zealand living Solemyidae (Bivalvia: Protobranchia)

Abstract

The taxonomy of living species in the chemosymbiotic bivalve family Solemyidae from New Zealand is reviewed on the basis of external anatomy and shell morphology. Five species are recognised of which three, Solemya calypso n. sp., S. marshalli n. sp. and S. puata n. sp., are newly described, the former from a hydrothermal vent system, the latter two from the ambient environment. A lectotype is selected for Solemya parkinsonii. Live-collected specimens of Acharax clarificata from methane seeps are described and illustrated.

Keywords:

• Acharax
• chemosynthesis
• seep
• Solemya
• systematics
• taxonomy
• vent

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Bruce Marshall for help and support when putting this paper together, comments on the text and providing access to collections at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa where too the photography expertise of Jean-Claude Stahl and mapping assistance of Jeremy Barker were very much appreciated. Many thanks also to Kareen Schnabel and Sadie Mills for access to collections at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd, Wellington; David Flynn and Richard Tilley for access to, and assistance in the use of, the SEM facilities at Victoria University of Wellington; and Andreia Salvador at the Natural History Museum, London, for photographs of the type series of S. parkinsonii. Thank you too to the two anonymous reviewers and Winston Ponder for their constructive comments on the text.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.