Northern riffleshell

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Northern riffleshell

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionoida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Epioblasma
Species: E. torulosa
Subspecies: E. t. rangiana
Trinomial name
Epioblasma torulosa rangiana
(I. Lea, 1838)

The northern riffleshell, Epioblasma torulosa rangiana, is an endangered subspecies of clam formerly found widely in the Ohio River basin, but now the population is fragmented with as few as three viable groups. It needs gravel river beds and swift-flowing, well-oxygenated water. The reduction in range seems to be principally due to damming and the consequential silting up of rivers below the dam and competition from zebra mussels.

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