M’sian PhD Student Rediscovers Mussel Species in Pahang Thought to be Extinct for 40 Years

A freshwater mussel species, thought to have been extinct for 40 years have been rediscovered by a Malaysian PhD student recently in Pahang.

The mussel, ensidens ingallsianus, or kijing air tawar in Bahasa Malaysia was found at a river in an undisclosed location in Pahang by the PhD student, @azamuddeennasir, who took to TikTok to share his exciting rediscovery.

In the video, he showed the mussels and shared that the rediscovery of the species was verified by an expert in the field.

@azamuddeennasir further elaborated that according to previous research, the species used to be widespread in our region, specifically from the Thailand border to Kuala Pahang before being declared extinct some 40 years ago. The last finding of the species was in 1977 at Pahang’s Tasik Chini.

Retelling the finding, the PhD student said that he accidentally stumbled upon the ensidens ingallsianus and a few other mussel species while exploring Pahang and added that the local in Pekan calls the mussel species kijing biji nangka.

@azamuddeennasir Kenali spesis kerang/kijing air tawar yg dipercayai telah pupus! Inilah dia Kijing Biji Nangka (Ensidens ingallsianus). Spesis ini mempunyai taburan yg luas di Semenanjung Malaysia suatu ketika dahulu dari sempadan thailand hingga ke Kuala Pahang di Selatan. Tetapi spesis ini telah dipercayai pupus di Malaysia selama 40 tahun mengikut tinjauan yg mendalam. Rekod terakhir ialah pada tahun 1977 di Tasik Chini. #kijing #Hutantalk #sains ♬ original sound – AnakUmiSukaHutan

@azamuddeennasir took a few samples of the species for preservation and sent them to a freshwater mussel expert in Malaysia, Dr Alexander.

According to the PhD student, there are 19 known species of freshwater mussels in Malaysia and one of them is an ‘immigrant species’.

He added that mussels are very sensitive to water changes and that they depend on fish to complete their growth cycle.

Awesome! This is such an exciting rediscovery and we can feel @azamuddeennasir’s enthusiasm beaming through his video.

So, what do you guys think of the finding? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

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