Gibbosula laosensis (Lea, 1863:190)

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonyms: Unio laosensis I. Lea, 1863; Margaritanopsis laosensis (I. Lea, 1863); Margaritifera (Margaritanopsis) laosensis (I. Lea, 1863); Margaritifera laosensis (I. Lea, 1863); Pinctada laosensis (I. Lea, 1863); Unio sula C. T. Simpson, 1900; Margaritanopsis woodthorpi Godwin-Austen, 1919; Margaritana woodthorpi (Godwin-Austen, 1919)

See Graf & Cummings (2025) for a more complete taxonomic history.

Conservation Status

Rediscovered (Kottler, 2009 fide Vikhrev et al., 2017; Bolotov et al., 2014 fide Vikhrev et al., 2017)

Distribution & Habitat

Laos & Vietnam

Anatomy & Morphology

Biology & Ecology

Hypodigm

Media

References

Original scientific description:

Lea, I. (1863). Description of a new species of Unio and a Monocondylœa. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 15: 190 [after 28 July 1863; before 27 October 1863].

Other references:

Araujo, R., Toledo, C., Van Damme, D., Ghamizi, M. and Machordom, A. (2009). Margaritifera marocana (Pallary, 1918): a valid species inhabiting Moroccan rivers. Journal of Molluscan Studies 75(2): 95-101. https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyn043

Bogan A. E. and Roe K. J. (2008). Freshwater bivalve (Unioniformes) diversity, systematics, and evolution: status and future directions. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 27(2): 349-369.

Bolotov, I. N., Konopleva, E. S., Vikhrev, I. V., Lopes-Lima, M., Bogan, A. E. et al. (2019). Eight new freshwater mussels (Unionidae) from tropical Asia. Scientific Reports 9: 12053 (15 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48528-z

Bolotov, I. N., Pfeiffer, J. M., Konopleva, E. S., Vikhrev, I. V. and Kondakov, A. V. et al. (2018). A new genus and tribe of freshwater mussel (Unionidae) from Southeast Asia. Scientific Reports 8. 10030 (12 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28385-y

Bolotov, I., Vikhrev, I., Bespalaya, Y., Artamonova, V., Gofarov, M., Kolosova, Y. S., … Titova, K. (2014). Ecology and conservation of the endangered Indochinese freshwater pearl mussel, Margaritifera laosensis (Lea, 1863) in the Nam Pe and Nam Long rivers, Northern Laos. Tropical Conservation Science 7: 706-719. https://doi.org/10.1177/194008291400700409

Bolotov, I. V., Vikhrev, I. V., Bespalaya, Y. V., Gofarov, M. Y., Kondakov, A. V. et al. (2016). Multi-locus fossil-calibrated phylogeny, biogeography and a subgeneric revision of the Margaritiferidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionoida). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 103: 104-121.

Bolotov, I. N., Vikhrev, I. V., Lopes-Lima, M., Gofarov, M. Y., Konopleva, E. S. et al. (2019). Unio sella and U. sula: A review of enigmatic taxonomic names linked to Gibbosula laosensis (Lea, 1863) (Bivalvia: Margaritiferidae: Gibbosulinae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 67: 440-447. http://dx.doi.org/10.26107/RBZ-2019-0035

Brandt R. A. M. (1974). The Non Marine Aquatic Mollusca of Thailand. Archiv für Mollusckenkunde 105: 1-424 [261?].

Dai, Y.-T., Chen, Z.-G., Cheng, Y. Z., Huang, X.-C., Ouyang, S. et al. (2024a). Molecular phylogeny reveals a new genus and species of freshwater mussel (Bivalvia, Unionidae, Gonideinae) from Jiangxi, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 100(4): 1419-1429. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.100.135217

Dai, Y.-T., Chen, Z.-G., Hu, C.-L., Ning, P.-F., Ouyang, S. et al. (2024b). Taxonomic reassessment of Scabies (Bivalvia: Unionidae) species in China based on multilocus and mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses. Invertebrate Systematics 38(6): 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1071/IS24020

Dai, Y.-T., Chen, Z.-G., Hu, C.-L., Ouyang, S., Huang, X.-C. and Wu, X.-P. (2024c). Description of a new freshwater mussel species of Pletholophus, Simpson, 1900 (Bivalvia, Unionidae) from Guangdong, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution 100(4): 1191-1200. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.100.131019

Dai, Y.-T., Chen, Z.-G., Li, F., Huang, X.-C., Ouyang, S. and Wu, X.-P. (2025). A new genus and species of freshwater mussel from the Pearl River Basin in Guangxi, China (Bivalvia, Unionidae, Gonideinae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 101(2): 805-812. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.151802

Fischer, P. (1891). Catalogue et distribution géographique des mollusques terrestres, fluviatiles & marins d’une partie de l'Indo-chine (Siam, Laos, Cambodge, Cochinchine, Annam, Tonkin). Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Autun 4: 87-99.

Godwin-Austen, H. H. (1919). Description of a new species of Margaritanopsis (Unionidae) from the southern Shan States, with notes on Solenaia soleniformis. Records of the Indian Museum 16 (2): 203-206, pl. 15. Calcutta [25 February].

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Graf, Daniel L. and Cummings, Kevin S. (2025). The Freshwater Mussels (Unionoida) of the World (and other less consequential bivalves). MUSSEL Project Web Site, https://www.mussel-project.net/. Accessed 23 June 2025.

Haas, F. (1912). Die Unioniden. [in] H.C. Küster, Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet von Martini und Chemnitz 9 (pt. 2, h. 46): 113-136, pls. 30-35.

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Vikhrev, I. V., Makhrov, A. A., Artamonova, V. S., Ermolenko, A. V., Gofarov, M. Y. et al. (2019). Fish hosts, glochidial features and life cycle of the endemic freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera dahurica from the Amur Basin. Scientific Reports 9. 8300 (13 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44752-9

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