New Zealand freshwater mussel
| New Zealand freshwater mussel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Paleoheterodonta |
| Order: | Unionoida |
| Family: | Unionidae |
| Genus: | Echyridella |
| Species: | E. menziesi |
| Binomial name | |
| Echyridella menziesi (Gray, 1843)[1] | |
The New Zealand freshwater mussel, scientific name Echyridella menziesi, or kākahi, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
They were an important food source for the Māori,[2] but like many freshwater mussels worldwide, are now endangered by pollution and eutrophication of rivers, and the introduction of new species of fish[3] leading to actions via the Treaty of Waitangi claims process.[4]
Distribution
Formerly common in lakes and streams around New Zealand.[5]
Life cycle
Its reproductive cycle is typical of other freshwater mussels, requiring a host fish on which its larvae (glochidia) parasitize and metamorphose into juvenile mussels - most commonly the Koaro (Galaxias brevipinnis)[6][7]
References
- ↑ "Echyridella (Echyridella) menziesi (Gray, 1843) "
- ↑ "Resource Management Issues of Significance to Iwi"
- ↑ "The kakahi (Hyridella menziesi) in a general framework of lake health", 2008, Joseph Butterworth (MS thesis)
- ↑ "Muriwhenua Fisheries Claim / SOE Claim", Waitangi Tribunal
- ↑ "Freshwater mussel", Te Ara website
- ↑ "Decline of the kakahi - identifying cause and effect", NIWA, Water & Atmosphere › Vol.10 No.4 - December 2002
- ↑ "Kākāhi - the mysterious freshwater mussel", Greater Wellington Regional Council website
Bibliography
- Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
- Manual of the New Zealand mollusca, 1913, Henry Suter
- Spencer, H.G., R.C. Willan, B. Marshall & T.J. Murray. 2011. Checklist of the Recent Mollusca recorded from the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone.