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Louisiana Pearlshell
Margaritifera hembeli
The Louisiana pearlshell, Margaritifera hembeli, is a rare species of bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae. This freshwater mussel is native to Louisiana in the United States, and was previously present also in Arkansas. It grows to a length of about 10 cm (4 in) and lives on the sand or gravel stream-bed in riffles and fast flowing stretches of small streams. Its life cycle involves a stage where it lives parasitically inside a fish. This mollusk is sensitive to increased sedimentation and cannot tolerate impoundments. Because of its limited range and its population decline, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this mollusk as being critically endangered.
From the article Louisiana pearlshell on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
This mussel reaches about 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long by 5 centimetres (2.0 in) wide and 3 centimetres (1.2 in) high. It is dark brown or black in color with a white nacre.
What it does
This mussel lives in small, shallow creeks with sandy or gravel bottoms. They are found more often in riffles and areas with faster currents than in stagnant pools. The water is clear and the substrate is stable. 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), and brown madtom (Noturus phaeus).
Wikipedia: “Ecology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Margaritifera hembeli in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 105210.