Echyridella menziesii

Echyridella menziesii, the New Zealand freshwater mussel, also known by its Māori names kākahi, kāeo, and torewai, is a species of freshwater mussel endemic to New Zealand. E. menziesii is an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

Echyridella menziesii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Mollusca
Class:
Bivalvia
Order:
Unionida
Family:
Unionidae
Genus:
Echyridella
Species:
E. menziesii
Binomial name
Echyridella menziesii
(Gray, 1843)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Diplodon menziesii (Gray, 1843)
  • Diplodon menziesii acuta Suter, 1907
  • Hyridella menziesii Gray, 1843
  • Unio waikarensis Colenso, 1845
  • Unis depauperata Hutton, 1883

They were an important food source for the Māori,[3] but like many freshwater mussels worldwide, are now endangered by pollution and eutrophication of rivers, and the introduction of new species of fish[4] leading to actions via the Treaty of Waitangi claims process.[5]

Distribution

Formerly common in lakes, rivers and streams in New Zealand.[6]

Life cycle

Its reproductive cycle is typical of other freshwater mussels, requiring a host fish on which its larvae (glochidia) parasitise and metamorphose into juvenile mussels – most commonly the kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis).[7][8]

Threats

The destruction or modification of the habitat of the New Zealand freshwater mussel is likely to be a factor in the decline of its population. This modification or destruction of freshwater habitat is also likely to be a factor in the decline in numbers of the mussel's host fish, the kōaro.[9]

Conservation status and efforts

In May 2014 the Department of Conservation classified the New Zealand freshwater mussel under the New Zealand Threat Classification System as "At risk" and "declining".[10]

References
  1. "Echyridella menziesii (Gray, 1843)". www.NZOR.org.nz. New Zealand Organisms Register. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  2. "Echyridella menziesii (Gray, 1843)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. "Resource Management Issues of Significance to Iwi"
  4. Butterworth, Joseph (2008). "The kakahi (Hyridella menziesi) in a general framework of lake health" (MS thesis)
  5. "Muriwhenua Fisheries Claim / SOE Claim", Waitangi Tribunal
  6. "Freshwater mussel". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  7. McDowall, Bob (2002). "Decline of the kakahi - identifying cause and effect". Water & Atmosphere. 10 (4): 8–9. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  8. "Kākāhi - the mysterious freshwater mussel", Greater Wellington Regional Council.
  9. "Kākahi". NIWA. National Institute of Water and Atmosphere. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. Grainger, Natasha; Collier, Kevin; Hitchmough, Rod; Harding, Jon; Smith, Brian; Sutherland, Darin (May 2014). Conservation status of New Zealand freshwater invertebrates, 2013 (PDF). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 15. ISBN 9780478150155. Retrieved 24 June 2016.

Further reading
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