The Fisheries Research Institute has designated a type of shellfish first thought to be the Meretrix lusoria (common Oriental clam) as an endemic species and named it the Meretrix taiwanica.
The institute, which is overseen by the Council of Agriculture, late last month submitted research material to the international journal Molluscan Research.
Institute Deputy Director-General Yeh Hsin-ming (葉信明) on Monday said that many clam farmers in Taiwan mistakenly thought they had been raising common Oriental clams descended from those initially raised in the Tamsui River (淡水河) during the Japanese colonial era.
Photo courtesy of the Fisheries Research Institute
The Tamsui District Fishery Association has long been catching common Oriental clams in the river, he said.
However, after recently finding that the clam population in the river has declined, it approached the institute for possible conservation, he added.
Previous records designated the clams in the area as Meretrix petechialis, Yeh said.
Institute researcher Hsiao Sheng-tai (蕭聖代) and others conducted DNA tests to ensure that the clams that were to be introduced to the river were the same species as the ones living there.
However, the tests found that the genetic sequence of the clams in the area was 9.53 percent different from that of Meretrix lusoria and 7.59 percent from that of Meretrix petechialis, Yeh said.
The physical differences of the local clams are also distinct enough from the other two species to be considered a different species, and the institute named them Meretrix taiwanica.
The institute said it has not found any common Oriental clams while gathering specimens from the river.
It surmised that the shellfish introduced during the Japanese colonial era could not adapt to the environment and died.
The institute said that the habitats of common Oriental clams and Meterix taiwanica are also significantly different.
The latter lives in tidal zones near the mangrove forests along the Tamsui River, while the former usually lives in more saline-rich environments closer to the mouth of the river.
Adult clams are often found in the bay area near the mouth, it added.
The institute has also found that Meretrix taiwanica is generally distributed along the coastal areas of Taiwan and southern China, Meretrix petechialis near the coastal area along China, Meretrix lusoria near Japan and South Korea, and Meretrix meretrix across Southeast Asia.
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