We recently started a systematic approach to determine the reservoir age in southeast Arabia and its dependence on mollusk species and their environment. This part of the study concentrates on local reservoir age and stable isotopes of the lagoonal species Terebralia palustris and Anadara uropigimelana at Khor Kalba, Oman Sea. Environmental and nutritive influences on mollusks are reflected in the radiocarbon and stable isotope signal. We found a local reservoir age of A. uropigimelana of about 940 yr and that of T. palustris as 800 yr. Sclerochronological analyses yielded information about seasonality of growth and death in A. uropigimelana. The modern shell of Periglypta reticulata shares food resources and habitat with Anadara sp., of which we did not find a modern specimen. It provided information on response to changes in temperature in the lagoonal system needed for suitability as reflecting climatic conditions. We were interested in carbon pathways of the mangrove in Kalba and a mangrove planted anew on a former mangrove sediment in Ajman. Being an obvious source of charcoal and food of T. palustris makes this information necessary. Further analyses will be performed to interpret changes in reservoir age in complex lagoonal systems as reaction to environmental variability.

A specimen of Cryptopodia echinosa (Decapoda: Brachyura: Parthenopidae) was collected from the subtidal area of the northern Oman Sea in 2009. A literature review on the distribution of this species revealed that this is the first record of this species from the Oman Sea. The morphological structures of this species are given in this article.

The present paper focuses on the first report of Ischnochiton (I.) yerburyi from Chabahar Bay, the Iranian coast of Oman. The morphological features and distribution information are considered.

This paper reports the first record of Acanthopleura vaillantii from the northern Oman Sea, Iranian coast. The specimens were collected from the intertidal zone of Chabahar Bay in June 2009. The gross morphological characters, including features of the valves and girdle armature, are described.