Shell microstructures of mussels (Bivalvia: Mytilidae: Bathymodiolinae) from deep-sea chemosynthetic sites: Do they have a phylogenetic significance?

The increasing number of bathymodiolin mussel species being described from deep-sea chemosynthetic environments worldwide has raised many questions about their evolutionary history, and their systematics is still being debated. Mussels are also abundant in fossil chemosynthetic assemblages, but their identification is problematic due to conservative shell morphology within the group and preservation issues. Potential resolution of bathymodiolin...