Aquatic Invertebrates
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Species Types
Scientific Name
Utterbackia imbecillis
Description
Unlike most other freshwater mussels, this species is hermaphrodic: An individual mussel can be both male and female.
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Scientific Name
Quadrula pustulosa
Description
While the pimpleback is usually bumpy, some individuals are perfectly smooth.
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Scientific Name
Tritogonia verrucosa
Description
Shaped like a checkered gunstock, with its unique, turned-down edge, pistolgrips are easy to identify.
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Scientific Name
Lampsilis cardium
Description
The plain pocketbook is one of the most common and widespread mussels in our state. It is oval, relatively large, and occurs frequently.
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Scientific Name
Ligumia subrostrata
Description
This widespread species is one of the few Missouri mussels successful in shallow ponds and lakes.
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Scientific Name
Pleurobema sintoxia
Description
Round pigtoes are more rounded than Wabash pigtoes. Usually, the nacre (the shell lining) is white, but in rare individuals it is bright pink.
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Scientific Name
Leptodea leptodon
Description
Rarely seen, this endangered freshwater mussel has a thin and delicate shell that is strikingly beautiful inside.
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Scientific Name
Elliptio dilatata
Description
Nacre color varies from purple to pink to white. In smaller rivers, the shell is much thinner.
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Scientific Name
Cumberlandia monodonta
Description
Missouri may have the largest number of spectaclecase mussels left in the world. These elongated shellfish can live for 60 years or more.
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Scientific Name
Obliquaria reflexa
Description
Among all the mussels of Missouri, this is perhaps the easiest to recognize: As the shell grows, large knobs are produced, first on one shell and then on the other, in an alternating pattern.
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.