Cumberland monkeyface pearly mussel

Cumberland monkeyface pearly mussel
Conservation status

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionoida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Quadrula
Species: Q. intermedia
Binomial name
Quadrula intermedia
(Conrad, 1836)

The Cumberland monkeyface pearly mussel or Cumberland monkeyface, scientific name Quadrula intermedia, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to Tennessee and Virginia in the United States, where it occurs in the Duck and Powell Rivers.[2] It is a federally listed endangered species.

This species is yellow-green or greenish yellow in color.[3] It can reach at least 35 years old.[2] Like other mussels, it has larvae called glochidia that lodge in the gills of fish to develop into juvenile mussels. Hosts for this species include the streamlined chub (Erymystax dissimilis) and blotched chub (Erymystax insignis).[3]

This mussel has been extirpated from the Elk River. There is still a population in the Powell River, and the population in the Duck River appears to be viable.[2]

References

  1. Bogan, A.E. 2000. Quadrula intermedia. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 7 August 2007.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 USFWS. Quadrula intermedia Five-year Review. July 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Quadrula intermedia. The Nature Conservancy.