I am dealing with the extant Western Atlantic species Glycymeris spectralis. There seems there might be a disjunct distribution, with an isolated population in the Lesser Antilles which looks quite similar in some ways although rather different in other ways, although I have yet to compare the microsculpture with that of the type description.

I am wondering if the southern cluster might possibly be a different subspecies.

Hi Susan: Not sure if he examined Glycymeris species but it may be worthwhile to look at:

P. E. Tschudin, “Shell morphology, shell texture and species discrimination of Caribbean Tucetona (Bivalvia, Glycymeridae),” Journal of Paleontology, vol. 75, no. 3, pp. 658–679, 2001.

Pascal discovered that there were a number of undescribed extant Caribbean species of Tucetona so I wouldn't be surprised in Glycymeris followed suit!

Cool! Thank you very much Jonathan.

Ask Paul Valentich-Scott at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Hans

You might also contact P.  Graham Oliver at National Museum of Wales, Cardiff,

he has worked on Glycmeris and has worked on materials for the Indian Ocean as well.

good luck. Art

Thanks very much to both Art and Hans!

Susan

Dear Susan, You could contact Jeroen Goud of Naturalis Biodiversity Center, who recently published on this genus. Perhaps there is material from the Caribbean in the collection of Naturalis. You can ask him about that. Best wishes, Bert

Goud, J. & G. Gulden. Description of a new species of Glycymeris (Bivalvia: Arcoidea) from Madeira, Selvagens and Canary Islands. Zool. Med. Leiden 83: 1059-1066.

http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/cgi/t/text/get-pdf?c=zoomed;idno=8304a33

Thank you very much Bert.

I am also curious to see if the species that occurs on St. Kitts might also occur on Statia, even though it does not appear to be on Nevis.

Hello Susan

I work with extant Glycymeris longior at SW Atlantic. You may contact Sol  Bayer who works with extinct Glycimeris species from SW Atlantic. 

Bayer, M. S., & Gordillo, S. (2013). A new Pleistocene species of Glycymeris (Bivalvia, Glycymerididae) from northern Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 50(2), 265-268.

Regards!

Thank you very much Maria.

Susan,   This may not be taxonomy, sensu stricto, but there are numerous records of uses by indigenous cultures of Glycymeris from the Gulf of California, in Sonora, Arizona, etc.  The Seri had a common name for this, along with some 150 other mollusk species.

Hans

Thanks Hans. I find the anthropological and archeological aspects of malacology very fascinating. I am supposed to be doing some more ID-ing in the collection of the Division of Anthropology at AMNH, as soon as I have some extra time for that.