Field Guide

The shrimp crayfish is medium-small, light reddish brown to gray, and thickly dusted with darker specks. Its noselike rostrum is unusually long, with the tip longer than the base, and the pincers are narrow and weak. It is found in the Bootheel.

The fatmucket was a favorite species harvested for the button industry in the early 1900s.

When a floater dies, this large mussel with a thick shell will actually rise to the water surface and float as it decays.

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

A large dorsal wing and purple lining make identification of this widespread mussel easy.

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.

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

The shell of this mollusk is large and impressive in overall size. Although fairly flat, it can be more than 8 inches long. A large wing on the heelsplitter can be painful if you step on it.