Epioblasma triquetra

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Epioblasma triquetra
Epioblasma triquetra.jpg
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Epioblasma
Species:
E. triquetra
Binomial name
Epioblasma triquetra
(Rafinesque, 1820)

Epioblasma triquetra, common name the snuffbox mussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, a mollusk in the family Unionidae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is a listed as an endangered species in both Canada and the United States. [1] [2] [4]

Contents

Distribution and ecology

This species lives in the Great Lakes system and Mississippi River system. Its natural habitat is riffles and shoals of rocky rivers, and the shores of lakes with wave activity. This species is declining throughout its range due to habitat destruction, siltation, pollution, and competition with invasive species. [1] Despite this, it remains the most widespread and abundant member of the genus Epioblasma , of which the other members are now either extinct or severely imperiled. [5]

Reproduction

All Unionidae are known to use the gills, fins, or skin of a host fish for nutrients during the larval glochidia stage. In 2004, it was discovered that female Epioblasma triquetra mussels lure the unsuspecting fish towards them, then quickly clamp onto the head of the host fish and pump the glochidia larvae into their gills. The primary confirmed host fish for Epioblasma triquetra was found to be the common logperch, due to it being able to survive this violent encounter. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unionidae</span> Family of molluscs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common logperch</span> Species of fish

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unionida</span> Order of bivalves

Unionida is a monophyletic order of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs. The order includes most of the larger freshwater mussels, including the freshwater pearl mussels. The most common families are the Unionidae and the Margaritiferidae. All have in common a larval stage that is temporarily parasitic on fish, nacreous shells, high in organic matter, that may crack upon drying out, and siphons too short to permit the animal to live deeply buried in sediment.

<i>Epioblasma</i> Genus of bivalves

Epioblasma is a genus of freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Most of the species in this genus have been lost in modern times, and the entire genus is threatened with the possibility of extinction.

<i>Epioblasma brevidens</i> Species of freshwater mussel

The Cumberlandian Combshell is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae. This species is endemic to the United States, found mainly in the states of Tennessee and Virginia. This mussel resides in medium-sized streams to large rivers. The combshell is an endangered species and protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The combshell is threatened by habitat modifications and pollution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oyster mussel</span> Species of bivalve

The oyster mussel is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia in the United States. It has been extirpated from the states of Georgia and North Carolina. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

The upland combshell was a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. It was endemic to the upper Mobile River Basin in the southeastern United States.

<i>Epioblasma turgidula</i> Species of bivalve

Epioblasma turgidula, the turgid blossom pearly mussel, turgid riffle shell, turgid-blossom naiad or turgid blossom, was a species of freshwater mussel, a mollusk in the family Unionidae. It is now extinct.

<i>Leptodea leptodon</i> Species of bivalve

Leptodea leptodon, the scaleshell mussel or scale shell, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This aquatic bivalve mollusk has disappeared from much of its historical range. It is endemic to the United States, where it is now present in four or fewer states; it is only found with any regularity in Missouri. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Obovaria retusa</i> Species of bivalve

Obovaria retusa is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Its common names include golf stick pearly mussel

<i>Pleurobema oviforme</i> Species of bivalve

Pleurobema oviforme, the Tennessee clubshell, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It also previously occurred in Mississippi.

<i>Popenaias popeii</i> Species of bivalve

Popenaias popeii, common name the Texas hornshell, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

<i>Ptychobranchus fasciolaris</i> Species of mollusc

Ptychobranchus fasciolaris is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Its common name is kidneyshell.

<i>Epioblasma walkeri</i> Species of bivalve

Epioblasma walkeri, common name the tan riffleshell, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

<i>Epioblasma torulosa</i> Species of bivalve

Epioblasma torulosa, commonly called the tubercled blossom, is a species of freshwater mussel, a mollusk in the family Unionidae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is considered endangered in both Canada and the United States.

<i>Strophitus undulatus</i> Species of bivalve

Strophitus undulatus is a species of mussel in the Unionidae, the river mussels. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern United States. Its common names include creeper, squawfoot, sloughfoot, and strange floater.

<i>Epioblasma obliquata</i> Species of bivalve

Epioblasma obliquata, commonly called the catspaw, is a species of freshwater mussel. It is native to eastern North America, where it is classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

References

  1. 1 2 3 NatureServe (3 March 2023). "Epioblasma triquetra". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Snuffbox mussel (Epioblasma triquetra)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. 77 FR 8632
  4. COSEWIC. 2005. Canadian Species at Risk. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 64 pp., page 13.
  5. Johnson, R.I. (1978). "Systematics and zoogeography of Plagiola (= Dysnomia = Epioblasma), an almost extinct genus of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Middle North America". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 148: 239–321.
  6. Barnhart, M.C. (2006). "Epioblasma - "fish snappers"". Unio Gallery. Missouri State University. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. Stokstad, E (16 November 2012). "Nearly Buried, Mussels Get a Helping Hand". Science. 338 (6109): 876–8. Bibcode:2012Sci...338..876S. doi:10.1126/science.338.6109.876. PMID   23161968.