Potamilus alatus (Say, 1817)
Pink heelsplitter
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Potamilus alatus, INHS 8049. Mackinaw River, McLean County, Illinois.
Length: 3.8 inches (9.7 cm).
Other common names Purple heelsplitter, pancake, hatchet-back.
Key characters An elongate and rectangular shell, well-developed posterior wing, dark green to dark brown, with a purple or pink nacre.
Similar species Bleufer, white heelsplitter, pink papershell.
Description Shell large, elongate, laterally compressed and somewhat
rectangular, thin in young shells to moderately thick in older individuals.
Anterior end rounded, posterior end bluntly squared or truncated.
Umbos
flattened and only slightly elevated above the hinge line. Beak sculpture of
three or four concentric ridges, visible only in small shells. Large wing
present posterior to the umbos. Shell smooth, dark green or brown,
becomingblack in old individuals. Young shells typically marked with dark green
rays that become fainter with age. Length to 8 inches (20.3 cm).
Pseudocardinal teeth small, roughened, thin and divergent; two in the left valve, two in the right. Lateral teeth long, thin, and straight to slightly curved. Beak cavity shallow. Nacre usually purple or pinkish purple, rarely white; highly iridescent.
Habitat Medium to large rivers in mud or mixed mud, sand, and gravel.
Status Widespread and relatively common.
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Created 6/9/95 Last Modified 12/15/97 cam