Taxonomy of tropical West African bivalves: IV. Arcidae
Oliver, G.; von Cosel, R. (1992). Taxonomy of tropical West African bivalves: IV. Arcidae. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat., Sect. A Zool. Biol. Ecol. Anim. 4e série, tôme 14(2): 293-381, plates I-IX
In: Bulletin du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. Section A, Zoologie, biologie et écologie animales. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle: Paris. ISSN 0181-0626
Twenty species of Arcidae are described from tropical West Africa, defined here as between 23° N and 17° S. The Arcinae are represented by four genera and include four new taxa : Area avellana turbatrix n. subsp., Barbatia gabonensis n. sp., B. ionthados n. sp., B. (Nipponarca) allocostata n. sp. The anatomy of the latter is described and confirms the value of the subgenus which is redefined. The Anadarinae, other than Senilia and Bathyarca are all included in the genus Anadara because the use of the ligament orientation and inequivalve condition are abandoned as phyletic characters. Two new species are described : Anadara eborensis n. sp. and A. camerunensis n. sp. A. polii (Mayer) is the species often cited as "A. diluvii (Lamarck)" in publications concerning the Mediterranean. Variation within species is frequent, notably in Anadara polii and A. senegalensis. Ecological factors and geographical clines are invoked to explain some of this variation but local genetic isolation could not be excluded. The relationships of the shallow water West African species are analysed and compared to the faunas of the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Panamic and Indo-Pacific regions. Only one genus is endemic to West Africa, namely Senilia. There are three species common to the Mediterranean but none to the Caribbean although there are sibling species. Overall similarity is greatest with the Indo-Pacific but the Anadarinae in isolation have affinity to the Panamic fauna. A general discussion on the zoogeographical patterns for all the Arcoidea is presented in the concluding part of this study which is to be published in the next issue of the Bulletin du Muséum.
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