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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS