Paul Valentich-Scott

• Curator Emeritus at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

The methane seeps on the Pacific margin of Costa Rica support extensive animal diversity and offer insights into deep-sea biogeography. During five expeditions between 2009 and 2019, we conducted intensive faunal sampling via 63 submersible dives to 11 localities at depths of 300–3600 m. Based on these expeditions and published literature, we compi...

The methane seeps on the Pacific margin of Costa Rica support extensive animal diversity and offer insights into deep-sea biogeography and phylogeography. During five expeditions between 2009 and 2019, we conducted intensive faunal sampling via 63 submersible dives to 11 localities at depths of 300-3600 m. Based on these expeditions and published l...

The Galeommatoidea are a diverse but little-studied group of small bivalves, well known for the symbiotic relationships many species have with a range of invertebrate taxa. Four species collected from the Western Cape region of South Africa were examined and illustrated, providing new details on their habitat preferences, and depicting the mantle s...

A small bivalve mollusk previously only known from the Pleistocene of Los Angeles County has recently been found living intertidally near Santa Barbara, California. The bivalve has been determined to be Cymatioa cooki (Willett, 1937), a member of the Galeommatoidea J.E. Gray, 1840. We document the habitat for the newly discovered C. cooki, and comp...

We hereby rename Polymesoda acuta as Polymesoda neubaueri Coan & Valentich- Scott, 2022 (Fig. 1). We restrict the type locality to Costa Rica, Guanacaste Province, Lower Río Tempisque; 10.2583°N, 85.2644°W; intertidal zone, because Prime’s locality could have been on either the Atlantic or Pacific coast of Central America and there is no additional...

The culmination of an eight year study, this monograph treats all bivalve mollusks living from northern Perú to southern Chile. A total of 256 species are described and illustrated with detailed color photographs and drawings. All habitats in the region are included from the intertidal splash zone to the bathyal depths of the ocean basins. The boo...

Kamenevus, a new extant genus, is described in the mostly extinct Parallelodontidae. This is only the second modern genus to be described in this family.

Gullerina new genus within the Lasaeidae is described and compared to other lasaeid genera.

Description of Propeleda hickmanae (Bivalvia, Nuculanidae) with comparisons with other Propeleda in the region.

Description of Semele iscovichorum with comparisons of other Semele species in the Peru-Chile Province.

Oysters have throughout history been one of the most important marine invertebrate animals used, whether as human food or as a cultural base. Today, they represent one of the most exploited natural resources, are produced by aquaculture activities, and are one of the most studied groups of shellfish. This is most evident in temperate zones, whereas...

The Watts Towers (WT), an iconic Los Angeles artwork created by Sabato Rodia in 1921–1954, is covered with mosaics whose elements include thousands of mollusk shells. Little is known about the diversity or sources of these shells. Here, we document the diversity of mollusk shells present in the WT and use data on their characteristics to make infer...

Two sympatric species of deep-water Bivalvia are reported from the Gulf of California, below the Oxygen Minimum Zone. The most abundant species was Calyptogena lepta (385 living specimens, 102 dead shells). The second species, "Pliocardia" stearnsii, was much less abundant (5 living specimens, 6 dead shells). Environmental data indicates that both...

Eighteen species of deep-sea bivalves were collected below the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) core off western Mexico. This material was obtained during the research cruises XVI, XVIB (off the northwestern Peninsula of Baja California), and VIII (Gulf of California) of the TALUD project aboard the R/V El Puma. The samples were taken with an epibenthic s...

Our comparative study of the distribution of the pallial organ has revealed a diverse picture of the absence or presence of the organ within the Mytiloidea.

In order to enhance the understanding of Pacific Colombia’s deep-water marine fauna, a benthic research cruise (2012 TUM Offshore 6 and 7) was conducted off the coast of the Department of Nariño, in southern Colombia. Biological, oceanographic and sediment samples from the continental shelf and slope were collected at depths between 350 and 941 m....

Biography and bibliography of Jules Hertz (1929-2018)

It is rare that an organism capable of independent or commensalistic existence can also become endoparasitic on a host. In this study, we documented a potential step toward parasitism in the commensal clam Kurtiella pedroana (Bivalvia: Galeommatoidea). Galeommatoideans are known commensals of various invertebrates, including crustaceans. Emerita an...

Marine endolithic and wood-boring bivalve mollusks living in rocks, corals, wood, and shells were surveyed between 2004 and 2008 on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela at Isla Margarita. These surveys were supplemented with boring mollusk data from the malacological collections in Venezuelan museums. A total of 571 individuals, corresponding to 3 orde...

With over 2.5 million mollusk specimens in their collection, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History has significant holdings in marine mollusks from the eastern Pacific, and terrestrial gastropods from western North America. Collections of marine bivalves, cephalopods, and chitons are of international standing.

Although epibiosis is common in polyplacophorans, we describe an unusual presence of epibionts and endobionts in a single adult specimen of Chiton articulatus collected in Guerrero, Mexico, from an eroded habitat of crevices with high wave activity. The epibiont and endobiont specimens covered nearly 90% of the central and lateral areas of the chit...

Sea mussels form dense aggregations on temperate rocky shores; however, in the absence of such firm substrates, biogenic surface such as the calcified integument of crustaceans may become settlement sites for their larvae. In this paper we present the first report on the association between the California mussel Mytilus californianus Conrad, 1837 a...

The objective of this study was to examine the ecology of coral boring bivalve from four islands southeast of Ko Chang, Trat Province, Thailand. A total of 11 bivalve families containing 18 species were recorded in the survey, including six reported for this first time in the region. Members of the Mytilidae comprised the highest bivalve diversity...

Members of the bivalve molluscan family Spondylidae were very important elements in the world view of pre- Hispanic cultures of America, and today remain as symbols of culture heritage in contemporary society. In recent decades, given the importance they have for crafts and jewelry, as well as for fisheries and gastronomy, their exploitation has ca...

Nutricola lordi (Baird, 1863) is a small, moderately common, venerid bivalve extending from the Bering Sea, Alaska, to Punta Pequena, Baja California Sur, Mexico (Coan & Valentich-Scott, 2012). Due to its diminuitve size, the species is often overlooked as a juvenile, or misidentified. We herein the known depth distribution of N. lordi by an order...

The class Bivalvia in the deep sea has been intensively studied worldwide (e.g., Zamorano et al., 2006; Krylova, 2010; Gracia and Valentich-Scott, 2012; Oliver, 2015; Güller and Zelaya, 2015; Schwabe et al., 2015). Still, many issues have remained unsolved when attempts are made to identify material at species level. This is often due to the lack o...

The Perú-Chile Province, an area that extends from Punta Aguja, Piura, Perú (5.8°S), and continues south to the southern tip of Isla Chiloé, Los Lagos, Chile (43.4°S), has never had a comprehensive survey of marine bivalve diversity. While preparing a new monograph to be titled Bivalve Seashells of Western South America we have encountered a large...

Background: During the TALUD XV research cruise off the southern part of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico, samples of macro-invertebrates obtained in the deep-sea (296-2136 m) revealed a rich fauna of bivalves (17 species belonging to 10 families). The number of species per station varied from one to five. The richest families were Nuculidae,...

The goal of the Mollusca 2014 symposium Bivalvia of the Americas was to bring together disparate bivalve researchers and students and facilitate collaborative projects in the future. In addition, we hoped to access the current state of bivalve research in our hemisphere and highlight strengths or weaknesses in our collective knowledge of this fasci...

El estudio describe la taxonomía y la distribución de especies de la clase Bivalvia recolectados frente a la península de Baja California, entre 2012 y 2014, durante tres cruceros exploratorios correspondientes al proyecto TALUD.

Bivalve Seashells of Western South America is the third in a series of monographs on the eastern Pacific Ocean marine bivalve fauna. The scope of this monograph is the fauna from the Perú-Chile Province, an area that extends from Punta Aguja, Piura, Perú (5.8°S), and continues south to the southern tip of Isla Chiloé, Los Lagos, Chile (43.4°S), con...

Bivalve Seashells of Western South America is the next in a series of monographs on the eastern Pacific Ocean marine bivalve fauna. The study region originates at Punta Aguja, Piura, Perú (5.8°S), and continues south to the southern tip of Isla Chiloé, Los Lagos, Chile (43.4°S), inclusive from the intertidal zone to the deep sea. Through a literatu...

Bivalve mollusk shells were collected in 2350 m depth in the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean off northern Alaska. Initial identification suggested the specimens were a member of the bivalve family Thyasiridae, but no known eastern Pacific or Arctic living or fossil thyasirid resembled these deep-water specimens. Comparisons were made with the type of th...

With over 2 million mollusk specimens and 2,000 primary type lots, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) houses one of the largest collections of mollusks in North America, with collections dating back to the mid-1800’s. The collection is housed in a modern well-lit facility, with expansive space for visiting researchers. The SBMNH P...

The Colombian Pacific Ocean has nearly 1,300 km of shoreline and 339,500 km² between estuarine, coastal and ocean waters, with depths up to 4,000 m. However we have relatively limited knowledge of its biodiversity, especially in deep-sea waters. Recent Colombian national baseline studies on soft bottoms of the shelf and upper slopes initiated by In...

As part of an U.S. EPA/USGS project to predict the relative vulnerability of near-coastal species to climate change along the Pacific Coast, we have synthesized the biogeographic distributions and abundances of bivalves found in depths <200 m. We have included the twelve “Marine Ecoregions of the World” (MEOW) ecoregions that range from the Beaufor...

Chiton articulatus is an endemic chiton in the Mexican Pacific. This work describes, for first time, the epibionts that have been observed on and in the valves of this species. The chitons studied are from the state of Guerrero, Mexico, and were obtained in areas of high wave activity and erosion. We observed over 400 epibionts from a single chiton...

This paper presents an inventory of the species of molluscs collected on the continental shelf and upper slopes (70–500 m depth) on the Pacific side of Colombia. In 2002, 39 trawl samples were taken on soft bottoms by the RV ARC ‘Malpelo’. Thirty-eight species of bivalves were collected, comprising living animals and dead collected shells. Informat...

Soft bottoms bivalves from the north Pacific of Colombia.

A galeommatid bivalve mollusk, representing a new species, is described from off the coasts of California and Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The new bivalve has a commensal relationship with the heart urchin, Brisaster latifrons. It has been observed crawling between the oral spines of this urchin, frequently near the peristome. The bivalve ha...

The marine bivalve mollusks from Arctic Alaska, U.S.A., to northern Peru have been the subject of our two previously published books. We have begun research on a third eastern Pacific Ocean bivalve monograph, to be entitled Bivalve Seashells ofWestern South America. The study region originates at Punta Aguja, Piura, Peru (5.8°S), and continues sout...

The tropical west American molluscan fauna of the Panamic Province received delayed attention from the European scientific community compared to many other parts of the world. While a scattering of specimens from individual collectors were described long ago by such authors as Linnaeus and Lamarck, it was only after the 1801-1803 expedition of Humb...

The culmination of an eight year study, it treats all bivalve mollusks living from northern Baja California, México to northern Perú. A total of 890 species are described and illustrated with detailed color photographs and drawings. All habitats in the region are included from the intertidal splash zone to the abyssal depths of the ocean basins. Th...

Tellidorella (type species: T. cristulata) is a small eastern Pacific bivalve presently classified in the Cardiniidae, a family other-wise known as fossils from the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic. Evidence from shell characters including external sculpture, hinge teeth, and adductor muscle scars suggests a more appro-priate placement in the subfamily...

While reviewing the Glycymerididae of the Panamic Province we encountered an unusual species of Tucetona Iredale, 1931, in the Gulf of California, Mexico. After examining type and related specimens at museums in the USA and UK, we have determined the species is new to science. It is herein named Tucetona isabellae. In our description we use morphol...

In preparing a manual on the marine bivalves of the Panamic Province, we have found three species of the Tellinidae that lack names. The purpose of this paper is to describe a new species of Tellina (Hertellina), a new species of Tellina (Merisca), and a new species of Tellina (Acorylus). The subgenus Acorylus is reported for the first time from th...

While preparing a manual on the marine bivalves of the Panamic Province, we have found three species of the Periplomatidae that lack names. In this paper, we describe two new species from Mexico, Periploma skoglundae and P. hendrickxi, and one new species from El Salvador, P. kaiserae.

Six genera and 16 species of Panamic Pandoridae are described and illustrated. Three species are described as new, namely Pandora (Pandora) rachaelae, Pandora (Pandorella) sarahae, and Clidiophora dorsorectus, and one new genus, Coania. Diagnoses are provided for the genera, subgenera, and species, as well as illustrations of the type specimens of...

The type specimens of three species from Olsson's (1961) book on the Panamic Bivalvia -Orobitella margarita, O. peruviana, and O. zorrita -were incorrectly figured in the original publication. New images of the types and original labels are provided here and for the first time associated with their correct names. Descriptions and synonymies of thes...

While preparing a review of the bivalve mollusk fauna of the Panamic Province, we encountered a conspicuous, colorful species of the genus Chama Linnaeus, 1758, that could not be identified with any named species. After examining type specimens at The Natural History Museum, London (BMNH), the United States National Museum of Natural History (USNM)...

Twenty-one species of intertidal and subtidal coral-boring bivalves from southeastern Thailand are described and illustrated. The species represent fi ve families: Mytilidae, Petricolidae, Trapezidae, Pholadidae and Gastrochaenidae. Each species account includes a description of the shell and, whenever possible, a description of the living animal....

In the process of writing our forthcoming book on the bivalve mollusks of tropical western America, we have encountered a number of nomenclatural problems. We herewith untangle three of these issues and illustrate the species in question. I. Pleurolucina undata (Carpenter, 1865) (Figure 1) This is a case of an improperly renamed junior homonym. Her...

The following keys attempt to achieve a balance between demonstrating adaptive, phylogenetically related groups and providing somewhat artificial keys for easy identification. The keys will be most useful for fresh, mature, unworn specimens and are designed for intertidal species occurring between the Oregon coast and Point Conception. The keys con...

The marine Bivalvia are the second largest class of marine mollusks. This group includes clams, cockles, scallops, oysters, mussels, piddocks, and shipworms. This is a guide to their study, collection and preservation.

A small, colorful and distinctive tellinid bivalve of the Panamic Province, Tellina (Eurytellina) inaequistriata Donovan, 1802 (pI. 123), rests on a most unstable nomenclatural foundation.

Eight species from three bivalve families were collected and/or observed in the Middle Florida Keys. Diagnoses based on shell characters are given for Botula fusca, Lithophaga antillarum, L. aristata, and L. bisulcata in the Mytilidae, and Gastrochaena hians in the Gastrochaenidae. Shell and anatomical comparisons are made for three members of the...

The Hong Kong Bivalvia have heen studied extensively during the last 30 years. This inventory provides a summary of 167 publications that include Hong Kong hivalves, either as primary objects of the research or as ancillary objects of broader studies. Two hundred and seventy-eight species are incorporated in the list with details of locality and ha...

Now available as a digital reprint on Google Play: https://bit.ly/3wCCxLl, and Apple Ibooks: https://apple.co/3GzSYf7. The culmination of a ten year study, this book treats all bivalve mollusks living from northern Baja California, Mexico to the Arctic Alaska. A total of 472 species are described and illustrated with detailed photographs and drawin...

This checklist provides an inventory of marine bivalve mollusk taxa from the Arctic coast of Alaska to central Baja California, including all habitats from the intertidal to the deep-sea. The depth coverage is greater than recently published lists by Turgeon et al. (1988, and in preparation), which is limited to species occurring in under 200 m.

Chama pulchella is characterized by having a flat, free, right valve with commar-ginal lamellae, a radial row of wide spines at each side of the postero-dorsal sulcation, and two reddish brown radial streaks on the valve. The early dissoconch is 0.7-1.1 mm long and ornamented with both punctations umbonally and radial striae distally. The majority...