Additional records of marine bivalves from Iraq, with a provisional checklist for the marine bivalves of Iraq

Abstract

Specimens of four species of Bivalvia not previously recorded from Iraq were discovered. These are Didimacar tenebrica, Aspidopholas obtecta, Neotrapezium sublaevigatum, and Barbatia trapezina which belong to the Noetiidae, Pholadidae, Trapezidae and Arcidae families, respectively. All specimens were collected alive from the intertidal zone of the northwest Persian-Arabian Gulf, Iraq, in the Fao region. Although these species are widespread in the Persian-Arabian Gulf, our study is the first to report them along the Iraqi coast. A provisional checklist of marine bivalves of Iraq is presented listing 32 species of which 21 have been verified from specimens or photographs. This list is compared with data from adjacent coasts of Kuwait and Iran.