Field Guide

The mapleleaf spawns in the summer, using catfish as a host.

Finding the monkey’s face in this mussel's shell is left up to the imagination.

One of the most widespread and numerous mussels in southern Missouri.

Unlike most other freshwater mussels, this species is hermaphrodic: An individual mussel can be both male and female.

While the pimpleback is usually bumpy, some individuals are perfectly smooth.

This species enjoys the same geographic distribution in our state as the pink heelsplitter, and it generally resembles that species, too. But as the name suggests, the pink papershell usually has a thinner shell and is smaller. Also, it prefers rather shallow water with a good current.

Shaped like a checkered gunstock, with its unique, turned-down edge, pistolgrips are easy to identify.

The plain pocketbook is one of the most common and widespread mussels in our state. It is oval, relatively large, and occurs frequently.

Round pigtoes are more rounded than Wabash pigtoes. Usually, the nacre (the shell lining) is white, but in rare individuals it is bright pink.

Rarely seen, this endangered freshwater mussel has a thin and delicate shell that is strikingly beautiful inside.