Alabama moccasinshell

Alabama moccasinshell
Alabama moccasinshell
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionoida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Medionidus
Species: M. acutissimus
Binomial name
Medionidus acutissimus
I. Lea, 1831
Synonyms

Unio acutissimus
Unio rubellinus

The Alabama moccasinshell (Medionidus acutissimus) is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It is native to Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and possibly Florida.[1] It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.[2]

This aquatic bivalve mollusk is about 3 centimeters long with a thin yellow or brownish yellow shell. The nacre is mostly translucent with a salmon pink area.[2]

This mussel is native to the Mobile River drainage, where it was once widespread. Its numbers are now low, with only one population, in the Sipsey Fork, appearing to be stable. The highest numbers are found in streams in Bankhead National Forest, where it is common in some areas. It is probably extirpated from Florida and the rivers along the Gulf Coast.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Medionidus acutissimus. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. ^ a b USFWS. Endangered status for eight freshwater mussels and threatened status for three freshwater mussels in the Mobile River Drainage. Federal Register March 17, 1993.

External links


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