Abstract

• The razor or bamboo clam Cultellus is widely distributed in the intertidal zones and estuarine waters along the coast of western Pacific Ocean and is extensively cultured. In the present study, commercially important bamboo clams, Cultellus sp., were collected from the deep sea of Kyaukphyu, Rakhine coastal area from October 2020 through September 2021 to investigate the histological features of the bivalve species and the sex ratio of the population. The relation between shell length (mm), wet tissue weight (g), dry tissue weight (g) and sex of the clams was examined. Histological analysis of the gonad was conducted to reveal the gonad development of the clam. Except the undifferentiated stage, four different gonad development stages (developing, ripe, spawning and spent) were found in both male and female clams. In addition, the taxonomic position of the bamboo clam was studied by morphological characters and mitochondrial DNA sequences. Regarding sexual differentiation, higher numbers of male bamboo-clams were recorded than female bamboo clams. DNA sequence of a 1395 bp was obtained from the collected species and the species was identified as Cultellus maximus.