Aquatic Invertebrates
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Faxonius marchandi (formerly Orconectes marchandi)
Description
The Mammoth Spring crayfish has a very localized distribution: In our state, it lives only in the Warm Fork of Spring River, in Oregon County. It is reddish brown, and its broad, powerful pincers have numerous blackish specks on their basal parts.
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Scientific Name
Elliptio crassidens
Description
Today found only in the Meramec River, the elephantear has been classified as endangered in Missouri and is a candidate for federal endangered status.
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Scientific Name
Lampsilis abrupta
Description
This endangered native mussel lives in flowing waters of large streams among gravel and cobble.
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Scientific Name
Bivalve molluscs in order Unionoida
Description
Secretive and seldom seen, freshwater mussels are extraordinarily diverse in Missouri. We have nearly 70 species within our borders. Many are declining, and several are endangered.
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Scientific Name
Over 20 Missouri species in former subclass Prosobranchia
Description
Gilled snails are one of two main groups of aquatic snails in Missouri (the other group is the "lunged" snails). Gilled snails, or prosobranchs, breathe with gills and possess a hard trapdoor-like operculum. They are most common in the Ozarks.
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Over 30 Missouri species in former subclass Pulmonata
Description
Pulmonate, or lunged snails breathe via a lunglike pulmonary cavity, and they lack the hard trapdoor-like operculum found in gilled snails. Except for in the Ozarks, pulmonate snails predominate in most of the aquatic regions in our state.
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Scientific Name
Gyraulus, Helisoma, Menetus, Micromenetus, Planorbula spp.
Description
Ramshorn snails are easy to identify at a glance, because the shell is a flat, disklike coil. Like other pulmonate aquatic snails, they lack the hard horny “trapdoor” possessed by other types of aquatic snails.
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Scientific Name
Faxonius williamsi (formerly Orconectes williamsi)
Description
Williams' crayfish is small and rather plain, without bright colors or bold markings. It has a pale, vase-shaped zone along the middle of the dark olive-tan carapace. It is found only in the upper White River drainage of Missouri and Arkansas.
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Scientific Name
Faxonius meeki (formerly Orconectes meeki)
Description
The pincers of Meek's crayfish are sprinkled with many blackish spots. There is a dark spot near the tubercle at the base of the moveable finger. In Missouri, this rare crayfish occurs in only a few tributaries of Table Rock Lake in Stone County.
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Scientific Name
Cyclonaias tuberculata
Description
Before buttons were made of plastic, they were made of shell. Because only white buttons were in demand, the coppery-purple shell of this species made it worthless for the button industry.
See Also
About Aquatic Invertebrates in Missouri
Missouri's streams, lakes, and other aquatic habitats hold thousands of kinds of invertebrates — worms, freshwater mussels, snails, crayfish, insects, and other animals without backbones. These creatures are vital links in the aquatic food chain, and their presence and numbers tell us a lot about water quality.