Bivalvia |
Mytilida |
Mytilidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; brackish; depth range 0 - 20 m (Ref. 83435). Tropical; 64°N - 24°N, 174°W - 52°W (Ref. 3446)
Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7726)
Western Central Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic: Canada to northeastern Florida; Gulf of Mexico; introduced to California. 8 cm, total length. It lives attached to hard substrates intertidally or at shallow subtidal depths. Diagnostic features: Shell mussel-shaped, thin but strong. Shell margins crenulated. Sculpture of strong, numerous, bifurcating radial ribs, weaker on anteroventral area. Hinge teeth absent. Colour: externally variable, usually yellowish brown, greenish brown, or dark brown, internally bluish white with posterior end (rounded area) purplish (Ref. 271). Maximum depth range based on its ecology; to be replaced with a better reference. It is a key bivalve species mainly found in salt marshes (Refs. 123486, 126240). It lives attached to hard substrates intertidally or at shallow subtidal depths (Ref. 271). It has mutualistic relationship with cordgrass Spartina alterniflora (Ref. 126240).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Members of the class Bivalvia are mostly gonochoric, some are protandric hermaphrodites. Life cycle: Embryos develop into free-swimming trocophore larvae, succeeded by the bivalve veliger, resembling a miniature clam.
Harvey-Clark, C. 1997. (Ref. 7726)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
| FishSource |
Tools
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.19-0.33).
Vulnerability
Low to moderate vulnerability (32 of 100).
