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.

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

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

This widespread species is one of the few Missouri mussels successful in shallow ponds and lakes.

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.

The snuffbox has been classified as endangered in Missouri and is a candidate for federal endangered status. Perhaps it should also be a candidate for a new common name, since the popularity of snuff-taking is long past.

Nacre color varies from purple to pink to white. In smaller rivers, the shell is much thinner.