| Mytilus Temporal range: Jurassic–Recent |
|
|---|---|
| Mytilus edulis in the intertidal zone in Cornwall, England | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Pteriomorphia |
| Order: | Mytiloida |
| Family: | Mytilidae |
| Genus: | Mytilus Linnaeus, 1798 |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
Mytilus is a cosmopolitan genus of medium-sized to large edible saltwater mussels, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae.[1]
Species within the genus Mytilus include:
Mytilus mussels are widely exploited as food and used in mariculture. For instance in California, they are known to have been consumed by coastal Native American people for almost 12 000 years. [2]