The rabbitsfoot (''Theliderma cylindrica'') is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
freshwater mussel
Freshwater bivalves are molluscs of the order Bivalvia that inhabit freshwater ecosystems. They are one of the two main groups of freshwater molluscs, along with freshwater snails.
The majority of bivalve molluscs are saltwater species that l ...
. It is an
aquatic bivalve
Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...
mollusk
Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...
, in the family
Unionidae
The Unionidae are a Family (biology), family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids.
The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is a ...
, the river mussels.
This species is native to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, where it is widespread in the drainages of the
Ohio River
The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
and the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. It has disappeared from over half its historic range.
[
]
Subspecies
Two subspecies have been described. It is unclear whether they represent distinct evolutionary lineages, or are merely ecophenotypic variation which would not warrant any taxonomic status. A 2007 genetic study has cast doubt upon the validity of the existence of two subspecies.
* ''Theliderma cylindrica cylindrica'' (Say, 1817) —
* ''Theliderma cylindrica strigillata'' (Wright, 1898) — Rough rabbitsfoot, found only in the headwaters of the Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
.
Conservation
''Quadrula cylindrica cylindrica'' has been listed as an Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
(ESA) threatened species of the United States since 2013. ''Quadrula cylindrica strigillata'' has been listed as an ESA endangered species since 1997.
See also
* List of non-marine molluscs of the United States
References
Endemic molluscs of the United States
ESA threatened species
cylindrica
Bivalves described in 1817
{{Unionidae-stub