Brachidontes pharaonis
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| Brachidontes pharaonis | |
|---|---|
_-_Mytilidae_-_Mollusc_shell.jpeg) | |
| Museum specimens of the shell of Brachidontes pharaonis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Mytilida |
| Family: | Mytilidae |
| Genus: | Brachidontes |
| Species: | B. pharaonis |
| Binomial name | |
| Brachidontes pharaonis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Brachidontes pharaonis is a species of mussel from the family Mytilidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, and has colonised the Mediterranean Sea where it is regarded as an invasive species.
Brachidontes pharaonis is a small bivalve that grows its shell up to 40mm in length. The external surfaces of the shell are dark brownish black while the interior of the shell is purplish-black. The two halves of the shell are equal in size and similar in shape, being elongated and asymmetrical, with a dysodont hinge between the valves. The sculpture of the valves consists of numerous fine radial bifurcating ribs, which become coarser posteriorly and finely scalloped towards the edge. The outline is mytiliform with a terminal umbo, but the shape is very variable and specimens may be highly expanded posteriorly, occasionally curved; sometimes almost cylindrical with the beaks being sub-terminal.[3] The animal is attached to the substrate by thick byssus.
Habitat
Brachidontes pharaonis is found on rocky substrates and man made structures in the intertidal zone. They appear to be able to tolerate wide temperature variations in their invasive Mediterranean range, but low winter temperatures may inhibit their physiology.[4] In the cooler waters of the western Mediterranean, B. pharaonis is restricted to habitats with higher temperatures and salinities, where it establishes dense mussel beds on hard substrates, especially where it is sheltered from waves.[3]
Distribution
Native
Brachidontes pharaonis is native only to the Red Sea and adjacent Indian Ocean (see Taxonomy).[3]
Invasive
Brachidontes pharaonis was first recorded in the Mediterranean Sea in 1876 off Port Said in Egypt, reaching Lebanon, Israel and Palestine by the 1930s; Sicily by 1971; Greece by 1979; Syria and Turkey by 1985, Rhodes by 1989, Cyprus by 1996, and the northern Adriatic coast of Croatia by 1997.[5]
The populations in the Levantine Sea most likely arose from larvae that entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. This is thought to be the earliest example of a Lessepsian migration. The colonisation of the central Mediterranean is probably due to transportation by ships.[4]
Biology
Feeding
Brachidontes pharaonis is a filter feeder, filtering suspended food from the water, mainly phytoplankton or suspended organic detritus.[3]
Reproduction
There are two sexes. The sperm and eggs are released into the water column by the adults. There are two larval stages: a trochophore stage which lasts around 24 hours, and a veliger stage which lasts for some weeks before they achieve competence and settle on the substrate.[3]
Colony form
In warmer, saltier regions it forms dense beds which, exclude other sessile bivalves;[3] but in colder, less saline regions, such as the Aegean Sea, it forms smaller, less densely populated beds.[3]
Predators
A species of whelk, Stramonita haemastoma, was found to preferentially prey on B. pharaonis off the coast of Israel[3] and in the south of Italy.[6][7]