First description of growth, development and rearing of the sandy clam Chione cortezi (Bivalvia, Veneridae) (Carpenter, 1864) TATIANA N. OLIVARES-BAÑUELOS*, DANIELA RODRÍGUEZ-GONZÁLEZ, JAVIER GARCÍA-PAMARES & MARCO A. GONZÁLEZ-GÓMEZ Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Carretera Ensenada- Tijuana No. 3917, Fraccionamiento Playitas. C.P. 2286, Ensenada, Baja California, México * Corresponding author:
[email protected] Abstract. Bivalve molluscs support important fisheries worldwide. In Baja California (BC), Mexico, a state with an extended coastline both in the Pacific and in the Gulf of California, fishing and aquaculture are important activities. Official records indicate that in 2015 the wild fishery contributed 1430 t of bivalves. Among endemic clams species exploited for human consumption in the Gulf of California, it´s found the sandy clam Chione cortezi (Carpenter, 1864). The growing demand has led to overfishing of the species, which makes it vulnerable and has put it at risk of disappearing from its natural habitat. The objectives of this study were to describe the external morphology, growth rate, and aspect ratio of larvae through juveniles of C. cortezi, under semi-commercial scale laboratory conditions. Culture yielded 5.70 million (M) of D-stage veliger larvae with a mean length (L) (± standard error) of 93.1 ± 0.5 µm and height (H) of 70.8 ± 0.6, 24 h post-fertilization (PF). Pediveligers (H = 235.4 ± 1.5 µm, L = 223.8 ±1.4) were observed after 9 days. Metamorphosis was epinephrine-induced on day 11, and postlarvae reached 2 mm by day 71 (H = 2391.0 ± 88.3 µm, L = 2164.0 ± 78.6).