Scientists to catalogue mollusc diversity in Tonle Sap

Scientists working with the Wonders of the Mekong project have undertaken an ambitious initiative to catalogue the overlooked mollusc diversity in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake, which was previously based on records from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Their new report provides a much-needed update on mollusc diversity in the region and highlights the need for more research on these important organisms.

The surveys in the Tonle Sap detected at least 15 species of bivalves and 16 species of gastropods, including three species that had never before been recorded in Cambodia. They team also deposited specimens at three different natural history museums to begin the first freshwater mollusc collections in the region.

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