Field Guide

These diminutive mollusks are the smallest of Missouri’s freshwater mussels.

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

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

Unlike most other freshwater mussels, this species is hermaphrodic: An individual mussel can be both male and female.

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.

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.

The plain pocketbook is one of the most common and widespread mussels in our state. It is oval, relatively large, and occurs frequently.

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.