Multi-locus Phylogeny Reveals a New Freshwater Mussel in the Genus Bineurus Simpson, 1900 (Unionidae: Pseudodontini) from Thailand

Abstract

A new freshwater mussel species is described here as Bineurus panhai sp. nov. Morphological investigation and multi-locus phylogeny based on concatenated data of COI, 16S, and 28S gene sequences reveal that the new species is similar to the Bineurus exilis (Morelet, 1866), but it can be distinguished from the latter taxon by having a curved dorsal margin and a lower posterior end (vs. straight dorsal margin and higher posterior end). They also differ from each other by 2.32% of uncorrected COI p-distance. Bineurus panhai sp. nov. is distributed in the Bang Pakong Basin of eastern Thailand and in headwater tributaries of the Tonle Sap Basin in Thailand and Cambodia. Because of its restricted range, this new species may represent a rare endemic lineage and, hence, is a valuable target for conservation.