The objective of this page is to illustrate (with photographs)
all of the "genera" of freshwater mussels (Unionoida)
in the world. The genera included are largely those recognized
by Haas (1969) with the exception of the North American fauna,
which follow Turgeon, et al. (1998). Other deviations from Haas
(1969) will be referenced to the new source of information. If
anyone spots any errors or misspellings of type localities, type
designations, rivers or other geographic names, please let me
know and I will make appropriate changes. I plan on adding information
on type species for each genus and a list of currently recognized
species/taxa in the near future. An example of the kind of added
information can be seen in the account for the genus Castalina.
If anyone has any comments on how and what type of data to include
in these species list sections, please let me know. I am still
playing around with the format. Also understand that these pages
(like many on the web) are "works in progress" and the
data contained in them should be checked to the primary literature
to ensure accuracy. Museum Acronyms used in photo captions follow:
Systematic
Research Collections - Mollusca.
Literature Cited
All photos copyright: Kevin S. Cummings - 1999.
(A - D) (E - H) (I - L) (M - P) (Q - T) (U - Z)
Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758)
INHS 21611. Varzuga River, Mermansk, Russia.
Type Species: Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758
Medionidus acutissimus (Lea, 1831)
INHS 20401. Black Warrior River, Jefferson County, Alabama.
Type Species: Unio conradicus Lea, 1834
Megalonaias nervosa (Rafinesque, 1820)
INHS 12568 (juvenile top, adult bottom). East Fork White River, Lawrence County, Indiana.
Type Species: Unio heros Say, 1829
Type Species: Caelatura (Caelatura) mesafricana
Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927
Microcondylaea compressa (Menke, 1828)
FMNH 160774. Lake Ochrid, Macedonia, Yugoslavia.
Type Species:
Microdontia Tapparone Canefri, 1883 - Australia
Type Species: Unio (Microdontia) anodontaeformis
Tapparone Canefri, 1883 [=Microdontia anodontaeformis
(Tapparone Canfri, 1883)] (by monotypy).
Original Citation: Tapparone Canefri, C. 1883. Fauna malacologica
della Nuova Guinea e delle isole adiacenti. Ann. Mus. Stor. Nat.
Genova 19:5-313.
Remarks: See McMichael & Hiscock (1958:408) for nomenclatorial
notes.
Generic Synonyms: None.
Monocondylaea paraguayana d'Orbigny, 1835
USNM 380737. Rio Colonia, Paraguay.
Type Species: Unio (Monocondylaea) paraguayana d'Orbigny, 1835
Mutela hirundo (von Martens, 1881)
INHS 20377. Nsendwe, Congo, Africa.
Type Species: Mytilus dubius Gmelin, 1791
Remarks: The date and type species need to be checked on this genus [KSC 3/99].
Mycetopoda pittieri Marshall, 1927
USNM 365227. Rio Guanare Dr., Portuguesa, Venezuela.
Type Species: Mycetopoda soleniformis d'Orbigny, 1835
Mycetopodella falcata (Higgins, 1868)
FMNH 114133. Alto Rio Guayabero, Colombia.
Type Species: Mycetopus falcatus Higgins, 1868
Nephronaias scamnata (Morelet, 1849)
INHS 21714. Cuba.
Type Species: Unio plicatulus Charpentier in Küster, 1856
Type Species: Unio teretiuscula Philippi, 1847
Type Species: Unio nyassaensis Lea, 1864
Type Species: Obliquaria (Quadrula) reflexa Rafinesque, 1820
Obovaria olivaria (Rafinesque, 1820)
INHS 4307. Wabash River, Gibson County, Indiana.
Type Species: Unio retusa Lamarck, 1819
Type Species: Unio jourdyi Morlet, 1886
Type Species: Unio spheniopsis Morelet, 1849
Type Species: Unio multidentatus Philippi, 1847
Paxyodon syrmatophorus (Meunschen, 1781)
ANSP 125546. Rio Orinoco.
Type Species: Paxyodon ponderosus Schumacher, 1817
Pegius fabula (Lea, 1838)
INHS 20499. Clinch River, Virginia.
Type Species: Margaritana fabula Lea, 1838
Type Species: Unio gravidus Lea, 1856
Type Species: Anodonta exilis Lea, 1838
Plectomerus dombeyanus (Valenciennes, 1827)
INHS 14825. Hatchie River, Tennessee.
Type Species: Unio interruptus Say, 1831
Plethobasus cooperianus (Lea, 1834)
INHS 186. Cumberland River, Cumberland County, Kentucky.
Type Species: Unio aesopus Green, 1827
Pleurobema clava (Lamarck, 1819)
INHS 3545. Tippecanoe River, Fulton County, Indiana.
Type Species: Unio clava Lamarck, 1819
Popenaias popeii (Lea, 1857)
INHS 21699. Valles River, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Type Species: Unio popeii Lea, 1857
Potamida littoralis (Lamarck, 1801)
FMNH 16452. Orontes River, Syria.
Type Species: Unio semi-rugata Lamarck, 1819
Potamilus alatus (Say, 1817)
INHS 8049. Mackinaw River, McLean County, Illinois.
Type Species:
Pressidens exanthematicus (Küster, 1861)
FMNH 77365. Borneo.
Type Species: Pressidens moellendorffi Haas, 1910
Prisodon alatus (Sowerby, 1869)
FMNH 29168. Rio Tapajoz, Para, Brazil.
Type Species: Prisodon obliquus Schumacher, 1817
Type Species: Unio (Mataptera) johnstoni E.A. Smith, 1893
Remarks: Simpson, 1900 proposed the name Pseudavicula which was preoccupied (non Pseudavicula Etheridge, 1892); Haas 1969:192.
Type Species: Unio stolatus von Martens, 1900
Type Species: Unio messageri Bavay & Dautzenberg, 1901
Pseudanodonta elongata (Holandre, 1836)
FMNH 29802. River Thames, England.
Type Species: Anodonta complanata Rossmässler, 1835
Type Species: Unio biesianus Heude, 1877
Type Species: Anodon inoscularis Gould, 1844
Type Species: Unio euphraticus Bourguignat, 1852
Pseudospatha tanganyicensis (E.A. Smith, 1880)
FMNH 21469. Lake Tanganyika, South Africa.
Type Species: Spatha tanganyicensis E.A. Smith, 1880
Psoronaias distincta (Crosse & Fischer, 1893)
FMNH 11644. Rio Papaloapan, Vera Cruz, Mexico.
Type Species: Unio psoricus Morelet, 1849
Type Species: Quadrula rudis Simpson, 1900
Ptychobranchus fasciolaris (Rafinesque, 1820)
INHS 3475. Tippecanoe River, Fulton County, Indiana.
Type Species: Unio phaseolus Hildreth, 1828
Type Species: Unio pfisteri Heude, 1874
Pyganodon grandis (Say, 1829)
INHS 10319. Lone Tree Creek, Champaign County, Illinois.
Type Species: Anodonta globosa Lea, 1841
FRESHWATER MUSSEL (UNIONOIDA) GENERA OF THE WORLD