Field Guide

Adult red swamp crawfish are dark red (nearly black on the carapace) and have a wedge-shaped black stripe on the abdomen. Juveniles are a uniform gray, sometimes overlain by dark wavy lines. In Missouri it lives in the Bootheel.

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.

A common mussel in some areas, deertoe have decorative green markings.

A widespread mussel that relies on freshwater drum as host fish for the developing young.

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.

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

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

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