Eight new freshwater mussels have been discovered by an international team of scientists in Myanmar, a finding that has sparked calls for action to protect this most vulnerable of freshwater animals.
Ecology
Aug 28, 2019
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6
From Texas to New York, freshwater sources are being invaded by a tiny but disastrous creature that no one seems able to stop.
Plants & Animals
Aug 21, 2019
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4
Seafood lovers who prize the mussel for its earthy taste and succulent flesh may be unaware of its growing potential in the fight against water pollution.
Environment
Aug 18, 2019
2
679
A team of researchers recently discovered two new freshwater mussel species in Texas, which will likely impact current conservation efforts by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Plants & Animals
Aug 15, 2019
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140
A new global study of how calcium concentrations are changing in freshwater lakes around the world has revealed that in widespread areas in Europe and eastern North America, calcium levels are declining towards levels that ...
Environment
Aug 06, 2019
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388
Mussels are notorious maritime stowaways known for damaging the hulls of boats, but these same adhesive properties have widespread engineering applications, scientists in China and the United states write in review published ...
Materials Science
Jul 10, 2019
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484
Mussels stick to rocks on the seafloor, to aquatic plants, and—to the consternation of boaters—they can hitch rides fastened to seafaring vessels no matter their composition: metals, rubber, glass, wood and more.
Materials Science
Apr 17, 2019
0
10
A common species of freshwater green algae is capable of removing certain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from wastewater, according to new research from the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Las Vegas.
Environment
Apr 08, 2019
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207
The round goby—a small, extremely prolific, invasive fish from Europe—poses a threat to endangered freshwater mussels in northwestern Pennsylvania's French Creek, one of the last strongholds for two species of mussels, ...
Ecology
Apr 01, 2019
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13
Blue mussels, the predominant species used in aquaculture in Maine, may be more resilient than other cultivated species to the increased seawater acidity and storms predicted to hit the Gulf of Maine as a consequence of climate ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 06, 2019
0
5
Pteriomorpha (marine mussels) Palaeoheterodonta (freshwater mussels) Heterodonta (zebra mussels)
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.
The word "mussel" is most frequently used to mean the edible bivalves of the marine family Mytilidae, most of which live on exposed shores in the intertidal zone, attached by means of their strong byssal threads ("beard") to a firm substrate. A few species (in the genus Bathymodiolus) have colonized hydrothermal vents associated with deep ocean ridges.
In most marine mussels the shell is longer than it is wide, being wedge-shaped or asymmetrical. The external color of the shell is often dark blue, blackish, or brown, while the interior is silvery and somewhat nacreous.
The word "mussel" is also used for many freshwater bivalves, including the freshwater pearl mussels. Freshwater mussel species inhabit lakes, ponds, rivers, creeks, canals, and similar habitats. These bivalves belong to several allied families, the largest family being the Unionidae. They are not closely related to saltwater mussels; they are taxonomically grouped in a different subclass, despite some very superficial similarities in appearance.
Freshwater Zebra mussels and their relatives in the family Dreissenidae are not related to previously mentioned groups, even though they resemble many Mytilus species in shape, and live attached to rocks and other hard surfaces in a similar manner, using a byssus. They are classified with the Heterodonta, the taxonomic group which includes most of the bivalves commonly referred to as "clams".
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
