Materials on the fauna of bivalve mollusks (Mollusca, Bivalvia) of the Taz river basin (Western Siberia)

Abstract

Based on a study of samples made by the author, 70 species of freshwater bivalves belonging to 6 genera and 2 families are recorded for the Taz River basin (north of Western Siberia). An annotated list of bivalves of the Taz basin is provided, with data on species’ range, their findings in Western Siberia and within the studied area. Some information about bionomics and abundance of bivalves are given. 45 species are for the first time registered in this basin. Most studied molluscan communities are characterized by low species richness; the distribution of species by their occurrence was extremely uneven. 22 species are characterized as rare. The highest species richness of bivalves was found in river channels, rivers and brooks; the lowest - in temporary habitats. The core of the fauna is constituted by species with broadest range (cosmopolitan, trans Holarctic, trans Palearctic) as well as by taxa with European Siberian type of distribution. From the taxonomic point of view, the bivalve fauna of the Taz basin is relatively separated from the faunas of other river basins of Western Siberia and is more similar to the fauna of the Lower Yenisean zoogeographic province (sensu Starobogatov [1986]).