Potomida littoralis

Potomida littoralis is a species of freshwater bivalve belonging to the family Unionidae. It is sometimes known as black river mussel.

Distribution and habitat

The species is found in southwestern Europe (France, Spain and Portugal) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Potomida further east are now assigned to other species (P. acarnanica and P. semirugata).

Potomida littoralis typically occurs in the middle to lower river sections, but can occasionally be found in the upper parts of the calcium-rich rivers.

Reproduction

In the Iberian Peninsula, gravid females are observed from March through October. Its known hosts are all cyprinids.

Conservation

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, this species is endangered and in decline. Canalization of river channels, water pollution, and dam construction are major threats. Water extraction is harming populations in much of its range except in France. The distribution of P. littoralis in the Iberian peninsula and in France is highly fragmented.

References

• Locard, A., 1889. - Contributions à la faune malacologique française: catalogue des espèces françaises appartenant aux genres Margaritana et Unio connues jusqu'à ce jour. Annales de la Société linnéenne de Lyon 35"1888": 111-169
• Pallary, P. (1918). Diagnoses d'une cinquantaine de mollusques terrestres nouveaux du Nord de l'Afrique. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle d'Afrique du Nord, 9 (7): 137-152. Alger
• Pallary, P. (1928). Notice sur seize mollusques nouveaux du Maroc découverts en 1926-1927. Journal de Conchyliologie, 72 (1): 1-24, pl. 1-4. Paris.
• Graf, D., 2011. - Types of French freshwater mussels (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Unionoidea) in Arnould Locard Collection at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Zoosystema 33(4): 451-514

External links

• Cuvier G.L. (1798). Tableau élementaire de l'Histoire Naturelle des Animaux. Paris, Baudouin. xvi + 710 pp
• Deshayes, G. P. (1845-1848). Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie. Histoire naturelle des Mollusques. Tome premier. Mollusques Acéphalés. Paris, Imprimerie Royale xx + 609 pp
• Swainson, W. (1840). A treatise on malacology or shells and shell-fish. London, Longman. viii + 419 pp.
• Lea, I. (1831). Observations on the naïades, and descriptions of new species of that and other families. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. (NS) 4: 63-121, plates 3-18.
• Pallary, P. (1901). Sur les mollusques fossiles terrestres, fluviatiles et saumâtres de l'Algérie. Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France.
• Pallary, P. (1899). Deuxième contribution à l'étude de la faune malacologique du Nord-Ouest de l'Afrique. Supplement à "La faune malacologique du Maroc" de A. Morelet. Journal de Conchyliologie. 46 (2): 49-170, pls 5-9. Paris
• Mousson, A. (1873). Diagnosen neuer Mollusken aus West-Marokko, von Dr. von Fritsch und Dr. Rein gesammelt. Malakozoologische Blätter. 21: 149-157. Cassel.
• Michaud, A.-L.-G. (1831). Complément de l'Histoire des mollusques terrestres et fluviatiles de la France, de J.P.R. Draparnaud. i-xvi, 1-116, Errata (1 p.), 1-12, pls 14-16
• Küster, H. C. (1839-1862). Die Flussperlmuscheln (Unio et Hyria). In Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen. In: Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz, Bd 9(2): 1-318, pls 1-100, 18*. Published in parts
• Graf, D.; Cummings, K. (2019). Musselp database: The Freshwater Mussels (Unionoida) of the World (and other less consequential bivalves)