Background: Many studies have evaluated the ecological integrity of large-scale estuaries of continental rivers using biotic indicators such as fish, phytoplankton and benthic communities. However, few studies have focused on the river estuaries of small and medium rivers. Molluscan fauna data in large estuaries or in the estuaries of large rivers have been collected by the The National Census on River Environments (conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) or National Survey on the Natural Environment (conducted by the Ministry of Environment). On the other hand, molluscan fauna of small and medium rivers are managed by local governments and have rarely been investigated.
New information: This paper provides basic information on the molluscan fauna of 70 rivers in Kyushu, Japan, collected with the aim of conserving estuaries of small and medium rivers. In total, 37 families, 82 species and 21,827 individuals were collected. The data are all accessible from the document "A dataset of shellfish fauna sampled in estuaries of medium and small rivers in Kyushu, Japan (http://ipt.pensoft.net/resource.do?r=shellfishes_in_kyushu)". According to the Red Data Book published by the Japanese Ministry of Environment in 2018, 3 species were determined as Critically endangered and Endangered, 6 species were determined as Vulnerable and 13 species were determined as Near Threatened. The proportions of individuals classified as Critically endangered and Endangered from the total number of individuals were extremely low, but the proportions of Near Threatened individuals were high. Our results indicate that the risk of molluscan extinction in small- and medium-sized river estuaries in Kyushu is high and that immediate conservation is necessary.
Keywords: endangered species; environmental conservation; molluscan fauna; river estuary.