Comparison of some interesting molluscs, trawled by the Belgian fishery in the Bay of Biscay, with similar representatives from adjacent waters: part V Frank Nolf 1 & Jean-Paul Kreps 2 1 Pr. Stefanieplein, 43/8 – B-8400 Oostende [email protected] 2 Rode Kruisstraat, 5 – B-8300 Knokke-Heist Keywords: Bay of Biscay, W France, Belgian in shallow water, especially below the low tide fishery, Mollusca, Bivalvia. line. In France, the Portuguese oyster - C. angulata (Lamarck, 1819) - was introduced in Abstract: In the fifth part of the report on the 1860 and aimed at compensating for the molluscs collected by the Belgian fishery in the depletion of Ostrea edulis Linnaeus, 1758). Bay of Biscay during the previous decade, a third Production of C. angulata reached a maximum series of bivalves is briefly described, figured and after 1950, followed by a decrease probably due compared with similar specimens from North to an overstocking of production units. Later on, Atlantic waters, the Mediterranean Sea or West all culture zones were infected by a virus, Africa. causing massive mortalities between 1970 and 1973, and leading to a total extinction of the Abbreviations: Portuguese oyster in France. The oyster industry BMNH: The Natural History Museum, London – promptly reacted by importing a new species, the formerly: British Museum (Natural History) Pacific oyster (C. gigas) by several hundred FN: private collection Frank Nolf. tonnes from Canada. This operation resulted in a H.: height. very successful harvest. At the same time, JPK: private collection Jean-Paul Kreps. 10,000 t of C. gigas were imported from Japan JV: private collection Johan Verstraeten. and distributed to all production areas in France, L.: length. including the Mediterranean Sea. LV: left valve. PEMARCO: Pêche Maritime du Congo. Until now the taxonomic question related to the RBINS: Royal Belgian Institute for Natural real status of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea Sciences, Brussels, Belgium. gigas) and the Portuguese oyster (C. angulata) RV: right valve has not been solved. The classification of these strongly related species was influenced by the Description of species: different geographical distributions, C. gigas being found in Asia and C. angulata in Europe. OSTREIDAE However, recent studies using mitochondrial markers have reported the presence of C. Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg, 1793) angulata in Taiwan suggesting an Asian origin of Plate LXXXXIV, Figs 511-512 European C. angulata populations (Boudry et al., 1998). This hypothesis is supported by the = Ostrea gigas Thunberg, 1793 observation of mixed populations of C. angulata and C. gigas (Yu et al., 2003; Lapègue et al., Range: A cosmopolitan shell, living in Japan (Pl. 2004). There are no morphological LXXXXIV, Fig. 512), Korea, Siberia, China, New characteristics to differentiate them from each Zealand, Australia, South Africa, South America, other because the larval and adult shells of both the USA and Canada, the British Isles, the North taxa have similar features. However, differences Sea, the English Channel, the East Atlantic (Pl. on growth performance and disease LXXXXIV, Fig. 511) and the Mediterranean Sea. susceptibility have been reported. C. gigas grows This oyster originates from northeast Asia and faster than C. angulata and has a lower mortality was imported to W France, the British Isles, rate (Bougrier et al., 1986; Soletchnik et al., Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and The 2002), which could be explained by differences Netherlands. It lives on mud and rocky bottoms in oxygen consumption and feeding activities (Goulletquer et al., 1999; Haure et al., 2003). Neptunea, vol. 10, n°3 1 October 2011 1 A high mortality of C. angulata caused by a virus Figs 541-545; Plate C, Figs 546-556; Plate CI, was observed in France between 1967 and Figs 557-568; Plate CII, Figs 569-580 1973. This infection was also present in C. gigas, = Pecten tigerinus O.F. Müller, 1776 but no associated mortality was observed. = Pecten triradiatus O.F. Müller, 1776 Comps & Duthoit (1976) and Comps & Bonami = Pecten laevis Pennant, 1777 (1977) concluded that both species have a = Pecten obsoletus Pennant, 1777 different resistance to virus infection. Studies on = Pecten parvus da Costa, 1778 mitochondrial DNA have demonstrated genetic = Pecten domesticus Chemnitz, 1784 differences between C. angulata and C. gigas = Pecten armoricanus Chenu, 1843 populations. According to this knowledge some = Pecten tigrinus Reeve, 1853 authors consider them as different species (Miossec et al., 2009). Range: From northern Norway and Iceland (Pl. LXXXXVII, Figs 526-534), the Shetland Islands In spite of these conclusions, based on genetic (Pl. LXXXXVI, Figs 519-525), the British Isles (Pl. differences, most authors (CLEMAM, WoRMS) LXXXXVIII, Figs 535-540; Pl. LXXXXIX, Figs and Huber (2010) treat C. angulata and C. gigas 541-545; Pl. C, Figs 546-556; Pl. CI, Figs 557- as a single species. 568; Pl. CII, Figs 569-580) where it is very C. gigas is a cosmopolitan species whose shell common, southwards to the Bay of Biscay (Pl. characteristics are greatly influenced by habitat LXXXXV, Figs 513-518) and the Atlantic coasts and geographical distribution. The many imports, of the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco. Known shipping and various phases of cultivation during from the Alboran Sea. It lives on all types of the previous 150 years make C.angulata and C. bottoms from the low intertidal zone down to gigas morphologically indistinguishable. This about 120 m (Bay of Biscay) and even at -400 m. paper has not the intention to judge if C. It is reported from deeper waters in the south of angulata and C. gigas are really different from its range. Most shells prefer sand bottoms, but it each other and therefore we have not added a can also be found on coarse sandy mud, gravel list of synonyms. As C. angulata disappeared in or stones. French waters in the 1970s, and C. gigas was imported from Canada and Japan we can most This is a very variable shell in pattern and probably conclude that the shell obtained by ribbing. Most specimens, especially those from Belgian fishermen in the Bay of Biscay belongs the Irish Sea and the English Channel, are to C. gigas. Only one specimen was trawled at a smooth and show a beautiful and delicate depth of 100 m. As this species is in fact a design. Other populations are less or more habitant of the littoral and the infralittoral zone ribbed and this ribbing can even change in a this means a rather accidental find. Therefore we single shell (Pl. LXXXXVII, Fig. 532; Pl. have limited our illustrations to the single shell LXXXXVIII, Fig. 538; Pl. C, Fig. 553). The name from W France and one specimen from Japan. P. tigerinum var. triradiatum (O.F. Müller, 1776) This species is extremely variable in shape and refers to shells with three dominating ribs (Pl. colour, and a presentation of all possible forms LXXXXVI, Fig. 525). Globose specimens can should have led to an oversupply of figures. This sometimes be found (Pl. C, Figs 549-551 & 554- would surely have reached beyond the aim of 556). This species differs from other species in this paper. the same genus by the more solid, not translucent shell, the larger size and the Animals from bottoms outside oyster farms may presence of ribs on the ears. develop attractive shells with lots of ridges and folds, depending of the type of substrate on Pseudamussium clavatum (Poli, 1795) which the oysters live. They differ from Ostrea Plate CIII, Figs 581-584; Plate CIV, Figs 585- edulis Linnaeus, 1758 by the heavily coloured 589; Plate CV, Figs 590-597; Plate CVI, Figs adductor muscle scar and, in general, by a much 598-604 more pinkish or purplish colour pattern. Commercial shells are more elongate and = Ostrea clavata Poli, 1795 flattened. They can attain 300-400 mm. = Pecten plicus Linnaeus, 1758 = Ostrea inflexa Poli, 1795 PECTINIDAE = Pecten dumasii Payraudeau, 1826 = Pecten aspersus Lamarck, 1819 Palliolum tigerinum (O.F. Müller, 1776) = Pecten adspersus Philippi, 1836 Plate LXXXXV, Figs 513-518; Plate LXXXXVI, = Pecten aspersus Philippi, 1844 Figs 519-525; Plate LXXXXVII, Figs 526-534; Plate LXXXXVIII, Figs 535-540; Plate LXXXXIX, Range: From Norway, the Shetland Islands, the North Sea, the Bay of Biscay (Pl. CIII, Figs 581- Neptunea, vol.10, n°3 1 October 2011 2 583), south to Portugal and Morocco, Mauritania, anterior and posterior ears nearly equal the Azores and the Canary Islands, into the in size with the posterior ears obliquely Mediterranean Sea (Pl. CIII, Fig. 584; Pl. IV, Figs sloping down the valves without a trace 585-589; Pl. CV, Figs 590-597; Pl. CVI, Figs of a posterior notch. 598-604) as far as the Bosphorus and Israel. It lives between 10 to 1400 m deep on muddy, In a future paper we will extensively treat these silty or coralligenous bottoms and has been two species regarding their distribution range found even at -2000 m. Collected by Belgian and the differences in structure and pattern. fishermen at -130 m in the Bay of Biscay, where it is seldom found. It lives in deeper waters in the LASAEIDAE northern part of its distribution area. Montacuta phascolionis Dautzenberg & H. This is a very variable scallop. Flat as well as Fischer, 1925 “inflexed” or box-shaped specimens occur Plate CVII, Figs 605-612; Plate CIX, Figs 625- together. Albino shells are very rare. 626 Some of the most striking forms: - P. clavatum var. depressa (Locard, 1888): = ? Kellia coarctata S. Wood, 1851 (Pliocene upper part of the valves depressed in such a fossil) way the outside appears concave (Pl. CV, Figs 590-593). At present, it is not clear whether the species- - P. clavatum var. dumasii (Payraudeau, name ‘phascolionis’ belongs to the genus 1826): the complete shell is swollen and the Montacuta Turton, 1822 or Tellimya Brown, radiating ribs are crossed by overlapping 1827.