The genus Sphenia Turton, 1822 (Bivalvia: Myidae) from shallow waters of Argentina

Abstract

The genus Sphenia was first reported in southern South America by Pilsbry (1899), who described Sphenia hatcheri from shallow Patagonian waters. Later, Castellanos (1965) published a short note with comments on the type material of this species, studied by the late J.J. Parodiz at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, USA. Finally, in her catalogue of marine mollusks from Buenos Aires province (1970: 279), Castellanos mentioned Mar del Plata (38°S) as the farthest north distribution of this species. Coan (1999) published a detailed review of the Pacific species of Sphenia, including some interesting data about two Atlantic species, S. hatcheri and S. fragilis. Scarabino & Zaffaroni (2004) and Scarabino et al. (2006) briefly reported and discussed the distribution of these species in Uruguayan waters. After an exhaustive study of the intertidal endolithic fauna of bivalves from Buenos Aires province, Argentina, new findings of specimens of Sphenia allow the reillustration and comparison of these species. In addition, new distributional ranges are provided.