Mytella charruana (d'Orbigny, 1847)
Charrua mussel
Mytella charruana
photo by Freire, Katia de Meirelles Felizo

Family:  Mytilidae (sea mussels), subfamily: Mytilinae
Max. size:  5 cm DL (male/unsexed); 4.87 cm SHL (female)
Environment:  benthic; brackish; marine
Distribution:  Eastern Pacific and Western Atlantic. Introduced in the southeast USA and Philippines.
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Female max length from Ref. 104793. Typically found in lagoons (Ref. 101609) and mudflats (Ref. 104224). Tightly attached to a variety of naturally submerged and intertidal substrates such as oyster shells, water intake pipes, wood pilings, driftwood (Ref. 101609), floating docks, and boat hulls (Ref. 104224). Suspension feeder (Ref. 101609). In general, suspension feeding bivalves mainly depend on phytoplankton and detritus material for nutrition (Ref. 107088).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. 123251)
Threat to humans: 
Country info:   
 

Source and more info: www.sealifebase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.