New freshwater mussel taxa discoveries clarify biogeographic division of Southeast Asia

Abstract

While a growing body of modern phylogenetic research reveals that the Western Indochina represents a separate biogeographic subregion having a largely endemic freshwater fauna, the boundaries of this subregion are still unclear. We use freshwater mussels (Unionidae) as a model to reconstruct spatial patterns of freshwater biogeographic divides throughout Asia. Here, we present an updated freshwater biogeographic division of mainland Southeast Asia and describe 12 species and 4 genera of freshwater mussels new to science. We show that the Isthmus of Kra represents a significant southern biogeographic barrier between freshwater mussel faunas of the Western Indochina and Sundaland subregions, while the Indian and Western Indochina subregions are separated by the Naga Hills, Chin Hills, and Rakhine Yoma mountain ranges. Our findings highlight that the freshwater bivalve fauna of Southeast Asia primarily originated within three evolutionary hotspots (Western Indochina, Sundaland, and East Asian) supplemented by ancient immigrants from the Indian Subcontinent.