A Tropical Biodiversity Hotspot Under the New Threat: Discovery and DNA Barcoding of the Invasive Chinese Pond Mussel <i>Sinanodonta Woodiana</i> in Myanmar

A well-established invasive Sinanodonta woodiana population was discovered in a floodplain lake of the upstream section of the Irrawaddy River basin, Kachin State, Myanmar. The DNA barcoding reveals that the population belongs to the temperate invasive mtDNA lineage and represents the same cytochrome c oxidase subunit I haplotype, which has been recorded in the invasive European populations. It is the most southern location of a population appertaining to this highly invasive haplotype known to date. The actual distribution of this alien species in Myanmar is still unknown, although it appears to be rather not widespread. Its possible dispersal through the country may affect native benthos communities, which include many unique endemic taxa. However, further expansion of the temperate lineage across South East Asia is supposed to be limited due to a specific environment of tropical floodplain freshwater systems that appears too warm for this cryptic taxon.

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