A genetic and morphologic comparison of Macoma balthica from the eastern and western North Atlantic

Macoma balthica is a Tellinid bivalve that is common to both marine and estuarine soft-bottom habitats of the northern hemisphere. to determine if populations on the eastern and western North Atlantic are conspecific, the labial palp morphology, shell shape and genetic composition of these populations were examined. Previously described differences in the labial palp morphology do not occur among the population investigated. Differences in the shell shape and genetic composition, determined by enzyme electrophoresis, were observed between populations from the eastern and western North Atlantic. Allopatric populations of Macoma balthica from the eastern and western North Atlantic can be considered as separate and sibling species