Huizhou xietianxiangi H. Chen, Z.-G. Chen, H.-Q. Xiang, Y.-M. He & X.-P. Wu, 2025

Chen, Hui, Wang, Wen-Hao, Chen, Zhong-Guang, Xiang, Hong-Quan, He, Yue-Ming, Ouyang, Shan, Chu, Ke-Lin & Wu, Xiao-Ping, 2025, A new genus and species of freshwater mussel (Bivalvia, Unionidae) from Anhui, China, Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (4), pp. 2243-2250 : 2243-2250

Huizhou xietianxiangi H. Chen, Z.-G. Chen, H.-Q. Xiang, Y.-M. He & X.-P. Wu sp. nov.

Material examined.

Holotype: NCUAH 250801 , shell length 33.7 mm, shell width 14.7 mm, shell height 25.7 mm (Fig. 4 A ), Xinanjiang River, Bingtan Village , Xikou Town, Xiuning County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province, China, 29.5678 ° N, 117.9225 ° E, in August 2025 .

Paratypes: 2 specimens, NCUAH 250802 , 03; shell length 35.2, 33.5 mm; shell width 27.5, 25.1 mm; shell height 15.1, 13.8 mm; locality and habitat same as holotype .

Diagnosis.

Same as the genus.

Description.

Shell small-sized, oval, thick, solid; with a zigzag sculpture covering the entire surface but strengthening from umbo to edge, often adorned with elegant dark green rays. Umbo inflated, often eroded. Ligament short and strong. Mantle muscle scars obvious. Anterior adductor muscle scars oval, deep; posterior adductor muscle scars oval, shallow and smooth (Fig. 4 A – L ). Left valve with two pseudocardinal teeth, equal height; anterior pseudocardinal tooth of the right valve well developed, posterior pseudocardinal tooth reduced. Lateral teeth of both valves thick (Fig. 4 M, N ). Nacre white bluish-white. Incurrent aperture and excurrent apertures obvious papillae arranged in one row, excurrent aperture papillae are more than twice the size of the incurrent aperture, both aperture with brown pigmentation (Fig. 4 O ).

Etymology.

The name of this species is in honor of Mr. Xie Tianxiang, a conchologist who collected the specimens.

Vernacular name.

谢氏徽州蚌 (Xie shi hui zhou bang). English common name: Xie’s Huizhou Mussel.

Habitat and distribution.

This species is currently only known to be distributed in the Xin’an River in Xiuning County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province (Figs 1 , 5 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Collection sites of Huizhou xietianxiangi gen. et sp. nov. The gold star indicates the type locality.

Figure 4. Huizhou xietianxiangi gen. et sp. nov. A – E. Holotype, NCUAH 250801; F – H. Paratype, NCUAH 250802; I – L. Paratype, NCUAH 250803; M, N. Hinge structure of left and right valves; O. Anatomical features, p ia, papillae in incurrent aperture; p exa, papillae in excurrent aperture. Scale bars: 10 mm (A – L), 1 mm (M, N), 1 mm (O).

Figure 5. Habitats and live animals of Huizhou xietianxiangi gen. et sp. nov.