Freshwater bivalves

Freshwater bivalves are bivalve mollusks which live in freshwater, as opposed to saltwater. Although the majority of species of bivalve mollusks live in the sea, a number of different families of bivalves live in freshwater (and in some cases in freshwater and brackish water). These families are grouped into two separate lineages which are not closely related.

Habitats for freshwater bivalves vary from very small ditches and ponds, to lakes, canals, and rivers.

One of the largest species of freshwater bivalves is the swan mussel, in the family Unionidae; it can grow to a length of 20 cm, and usually lives in lakes or slow rivers.

Freshwater pearl mussels are well-known as a source of freshwater pearls.

Families of freshwater bivalves

Families within the superfamily Unionoida (aka Unionacea), which is exclusively a freshwater bivalve superfamily
* Etheriidae
* Hyriidae
* Iridinidae
* Margaritiferidae
* Mutelidae
* Mycetopodidae
* Unionidae

Families within the Order Veneroida, an order which contains numerous marine families and only a few freshwater families
* Corbiculidae
* Sphaeriidae
* Dreissenidae

References

External links

* Maps of family distributions for the Unionida at [http://clade.acnatsci.org/mussel/proj/grano_salis/etheriidae.html]
* Info on Unionoida genera (with images) at [http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~ksc/MusselGenera.html]
* Info on Rhode Island freshwater clams and mussels [http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/factsheets/clams_fs.html]