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The blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), also known as the common mussel, [1] is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the only extant family in the order Mytilida, known as "true mussels". Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a large range, empty shells are commonly found ...
In marine mussels, fertilization occurs outside the body, with a larval stage that drifts for three weeks to six months, before settling on a hard surface as a young mussel. There, it is capable of moving slowly by means of attaching and detaching byssal threads to attain a better life position. Freshwater mussels reproduce sexually.
Mytilus trossulus, the Pacific blue mussel, bay mussel or foolish mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae.. Mytilus trossulus is one of the three principal, closely related taxa in the Mytilus edulis complex of blue mussels, which collectively are widely distributed on the temperate to subarctic coasts the Northern Hemisphere, and often are dominant ...
With the help of the protein contained in the mussel and iron filtered from the sea, this gland produces the byssus threads with which the mussel can hold on. Mussels have a sphincter, which is located in the soft tissue of the mussel, as well as other organs (heart, stomach, intestines, kidneys).
The taxonomic term Bivalvia was first used by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758 to refer to animals having shells composed of two valves. [3] More recently, the class was known as Pelecypoda, meaning "axe-foot" (based on the shape of the foot of the animal when extended).
A common feature of the shells of mussels is an asymmetrical shell which has a thick, adherent periostracum. The animals attach themselves to a solid substrate using a byssus . A 2020 study of the phylogeny of Mytilidae recovered two main clades derived from an epifaunal ancestor, with subsequent lineages shifting to other lifestyles, and ...
The same authors questioned the earlier identifications of the Montevideo mussel in Southern Chile as "M. galloprovincialis" [3] because the genetic markers then used could not help distinguishing M. galloprovincialis from any of the two native blue mussel species from the Southern Hemisphere, [12] now referred to as M. planulatus and M. platensis.
Because larger mussels produce a greater amount of byssal threads, smaller mussels tend to be the targets of prey like the blue crab. While the smaller mussels spend a greater fraction energy to produce byssal threads they still tend to be targeted by predators due to their smaller size and surface area. [5]