Larval development of the invasive charru mussel,Mytella strigata (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) |
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| Authors: | Teresa Stephanie Tay Bin Qi Gan Siew Chen Serina Lee Chin Sing Lim Koh Siang Tan Serena Lay-Ming Teo |
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| Institution: | 1. St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singaporetmstayt@nus.edu.sg;3. St. John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTThe South American charru mussel, Mytella strigata, was recently recorded in Singapore waters, possibly introduced into Southeast Asia through shipping. The mussels have rapidly spread across estuarine coastal mudflats. Adult mussels were collected, spawned in aquaria and larvae were successfully cultured to the juvenile stage in the laboratory. The larval morphology and development of M. strigata is described in this paper. D-shaped veligers were produced within 20 h of fertilization and were approximately 75 µm in shell length. These larvae were capable of settlement two weeks post fertilization. Given an adequate amount of food, they were able to grow up to 1 mm in shell length within 30 days. The larval shell of M. strigata possesses anterodorsal G2 hinge teeth as distinct wavy ledges, with a pitted resilial ridge clearly evident in the juvenile shell. |
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| Keywords: | Hinge characteristic larval culture larval morphology mussel larvae |
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