National Park Service LogoU.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park ServiceNational Park Service
National Park Service: U.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park Service Arrowhead
 
 
Support the National Park Service
Mississippi National River and Recreation AreaA blue heron wades along one of the shallow lakes of the Mississippi River corridor.
view map
text size:largestlargernormal
printer friendly
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
Monkeyface
(Quadrula metanevra) Rafinesque, 1820
A Monkeyface mussel
K.S. Cummings, Illinois Natural History Survey
Other Common Names:
Knobbed rock shell.
Habitat:
Medium to large rivers in gravel or mixed sand and gravel.
Length:
Up to 4 inches (10.2 cm).
Outer Shell Color:
Green or light to dark Brown. Usually with zig-zag green lines or V-shaped markings (especially young mussels)
Inner Shell Color:
Pearly white, with iridescent coloring on one end.
Shell Thickness:
Thick.
Shell Outline:
An outline of the entire shell varies in shape: from almost round to nearly, but not perfectly square (imagine a square blown up, like a balloon). There may be an indentation in the shell outline just to one side of a raised ridge on the outer shell surface.
Shell Surface:
Outer surface is rough: many small pimple-like bumps scattered over most of the shell's surface. The bumps may be larger around a single raised ridgeline that runs from the beak (the point near where the two shell halves connect) to the shell edge farthest away from the beak. There may be a tiny flattened extension of the shell where the two shell halves join.
Scientific Description:
Shell brown, usually with zig-zag green lines (especially young mussels); multiple, large tubercles on posterior ridge. Soft parts colorful. Incurrent papillae aborescent.
Similar Looking Mussels:
None
Host Fish:
Sauger, sunfishes.
Distribution:
Relatively uncommon but may be locally abundant.
Minnesota State Listing:
Threatened.
Federal Listing:
None.
A flooded street in 1952  

Did You Know?
In 1952, the Mississippi River flooded hundreds of acres of farmland and multiple cities. Over 2,000 families were homeless because of the high water.
more...

Disclaimer Accessibility Privacy Policy FOIA Notices USA.gov

Last Updated: September 20, 2006 at 13:03 EST