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The freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Margaritiferidae.. Although the name "freshwater pearl mussel" is often used for this species, other freshwater mussel species (e.g. Margaritifera auricularia) can also create pearls and some can also be used as a source of mother of pearl.
Margaritiferidae is a family of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve molluscs in the order Unionida. [1] [2] It is the most threatened of all unionid families.[3]The family is sometimes referred to as the freshwater pearl mussel family, [4] but "freshwater pearl mussel" more often applies to the species Margaritifera margaritifera.
Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) — Freshwater pearl mussel (includes Margaritifera margaritifera durrovensis Phillips, 1928) Margaritifera marrianae R. I. Johnson, 1983; The following fossil species are known from the mid-Cretaceous of Mongolia, being formerly classified in the genus Unio: [2] †Margaritifera elongata (Martinson ...
A formal freshwater mussel fishing industry was established in the mid-1850s to take advantage of this natural resource. [17] The "pearl rush" to find freshwater pearls became so intense in some rivers that millions of freshwater mussels were killed in a few years. In some rivers and streams entire freshwater mussel beds were completely eliminated.
Like other freshwater mussels, this species releases its larvae, termed glochidia, into the water where they enter the bodies of fish as parasites to develop into juvenile mussels. Host fish species for this mussel include striped shiner ( Luxilus chrysocephalus ), redfin shiner ( Lythrurus umbratilis ), golden shiner ( Notemigonus crysoleucas ...
The western pearlshell (Margaritifera falcata) is a species of freshwater bivalve, a pearl mussel, a bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae. This species can be found only in the United States and Canada, where it occurs mostly west of the Rocky Mountains .
Margaritifera auricularia is a species of European freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae, the freshwater pearl mussels.Formerly found throughout western and central Europe, the species is now critically endangered and is one of the rarest invertebrates worldwide, being confined to a few rivers in Spain and France.
Margaritifera marrianae, the Alabama pearlshell, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae, the freshwater pearl mussels. This species is endemic to the United States. Its range is limited to the Alabama River and Conecuh/Escambia River drainages. [4]