Etheria elliptica

Etheria is a genus of freshwater oysters in the Etheriidae family of mollusk bivalves, and a part of the Unionida order. The genus includes a single species, Etheria elliptica, that is found throughout Africa and Madagascar.

Etheria elliptica was first described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1807, and lives in river basins along the Nile, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria, and in Chad, Zaire, Niger, Senegal, and Angola. Within these river basins and lakes, Etheria elliptica are attached to rocks, wood, or other hard surfaces. Its populations vary with seasonal changes in water flow and flooding, which affect their growth and recruitment. Etheria elliptica anchors itself using a strong mineralized adhesive instead of byssal threads, an adaptation that helps it remain attached in fast-moving water of the rivers they find themselves in.

Etheria are found as fossils at paleontological sites in Africa, including at Lake Turkana 3-5 million years ago. It first appears in the Miocene in northeast Zaire.

Synonyms

• Aetheria bourguignati <small>Rochebrune, 1886</small> ·
• † Aetheria chambardi <small>Bourguignat, 1880</small> ·
• Aetheria denhami <small>Koenig, 1826</small> ·
• Aetheria elliptica <small>(Lamarck, 1807)</small> ·
• Aetheria elliptica var. globosa <small>E. von Martens, 1897</small> ·
• Aetheria heteromorpha <small>Simroth, 1894</small> ·
• Aetheria letourneuxi <small>Bourguignat, 1880</small> ·
• Aetheria nidushirundinis <small>Simroth, 1890</small> ·
• Aetheria nilotica <small>Bourguignat, 1880</small> ·
• Aetheria petrettinii <small>Bourguignat, 1880</small> ·
• Aetheria senegalica <small>Bourguignat, 1880</small> ·
• Aetheria tanganikana <small>Bourguignat, 1889</small> ·
• Aetheria tubifera <small>G. B. Sowerby I, 1825</small> (junior synonym)
• Aetheria tubulifera [sic] ·
• Etheria cailliaudi <small>A. Férussac, 1824</small> ·
• Etheria carteroni <small>Michelin, 1831</small>
• Etheria lamarckii <small>A. Férussac, 1824</small> (unnecessary substitute name for...)
• Etheria plumbea <small>A. Férussac, 1824</small> (unnecessary substitute name for...)
• Etheria semilunata <small>Lamarck, 1807</small> ·
• Etheria transversa <small>Lamarck, 1807</small> (junior synonym)
• Etheria trigonula <small>Lamarck, 1807</small> (junior synonym)

References

Akélé, G. D., Agadjihouèdé, H., Mensah, G. A., & Lalèyè, P. A. (2015). Population dynamics of freshwater oysteretheria elliptica(bivalvia: Etheriidae) in the Pendjari River (benin-western africa). Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, (416), 06. https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2015002ÂÂ

R. A. Metzler, J. Zaborowsky, L. Nichols, J. Underhill, J. Tregidga, C. Rogers, D. Rende, S. Bouillon, D. P. Gillikin, Exploring the Mineral Composition, Structure, and Function of a Freshwater Bivalve Adhesive. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2024, 11, 2300954. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202300954 ÂÂ