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Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
Sheepnose
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(Plethobasus cyphyus) Rafinesque, 1820
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K.S. Cummings, Illinois Natural History Survey |
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Medium to large rivers in gravel or mixed sand and gravel.
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Up to 5 inches (12.7 cm).
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Yellow to light brown in young mussels, dark brown for older mussels.
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White, with a slight pink or salmon-colored tint.
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Slightly longer than wide, and somewhat oval-shaped.
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Many low, wide bumps run in a single file line down the outer shell surface, from the beak (the swelling above the point where the two shell halves join) to the opposite shell edge. The rest of the shell surface is smooth (without bumps), and looks slightly pressed-in from the beak to the shell edge (similar to the pressed-in mark the length of your finger would make on wet clay), parallel to the row of bumps. Young mussels may have two raised ridges (one on either side of the pressed-in mark).
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Heavy, brown shell with several radial knobs (running down the center)on disc. If knobs are not pronounced, shell may resemble Higgins’ Eye. Incurrent papillae aborescent.
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Rare throughout its range.
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Did You Know?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 50 cities rely on the Mississippi River for daily water supply.
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Last Updated: May 05, 2008 at 11:43 EST |