The Mediterranean mussel (''Mytilus galloprovincialis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bivalve, a marine mollusc in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Mytilidae Mytilidae are a family of small to large marine and brackish-water bivalve molluscs in the order Mytilida. One of the genera, '' Limnoperna'', even inhabits freshwater environments. The order has only this one family which contains some 52 gener ...

. It is an invasive species in many parts of the world, and also an object of aquaculture.

Systematics

''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' is one of the three principal, closely related species in the ''

Mytilus edulis The blue mussel (''Mytilus edulis''), also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a l ...

'' complex of

blue mussel The blue mussel (''Mytilus edulis''), also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a l ...

s, which collectively are widely distributed on the temperate to subarctic coasts of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and often are dominant inhabitants on hard substrates of the intertidal and nearshore habitats. ''M. galloprovincialis'' will often hybridize with its sister taxa, the closely related ''

'' and ''

Mytilus trossulus ''Mytilus trossulus'', the bay mussel or foolish mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae. ''Mytilus trossulus'' is one of the three principal, closely related taxa in the ''Mytilus edulis'' complex of blue ...

'', when they are found in the same locality. ''M. galloprovincialis'' is considered the most warm-water-tolerant species of the three, and has the most southerly distribution in Europe and North America.

Right and left valve of the same specimen: File:Mytilus galloprovincialis 0001.jpg, Right valve File:Mytilus galloprovincialis 0002.jpg, Left valve

Distribution

In Europe, ''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' is found in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

, and on the Atlantic coasts, in Portugal, north to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and Norway. Recently this species has also been found in the European Arctic including northern Norway and Svalbard. In the northern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

the species is found along the coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where it was introduced from Europe by human activity in the early 20th century, and also in the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

region of

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, where it has been subject to aquaculture. It is also present as an invasive species on the Asian coast throughout Japan, including

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yona ...

, as well as in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and around

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

in Russia. ''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' is also present as a native lineage in parts of the Southern Hemisphere. In addition there are populations introduced from the north recently with human activity. These lineages are distinguished by genetic characters. No original ''Mytilus'' populations lived in

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, but the Mediterranean mussel was introduced from Europe in 1984 and is now the dominant low intertidal mussel on the West Coast. The distribution spans an area from the

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

n border to Port Alfred, intertidally to just below the low tide border. ''M. galloprovincialis'' is also found in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Australia and South America.

Description

This animal grows up to 140 mm in length. It is a smooth-shelled mussel with a slightly broader base than that of the black mussel ('' Choromytilus meridionalis''), with which it is often confused in South Africa. Its shell is blue-violet''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' (mollusc)
Global Invasive Species Database. issg.org or black, but may shade to light brown.

Ecology

The Mediterranean mussel is a filter feeder. It is rare subtidally, which is an alternate means of distinguishing it from the black mussel in South Africa. Mussels are generally considered as a

bioindicator A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

s of the whole ecosystem in which they live. The immune system of bivalve molluscs is often chosen as a target parameter to evaluate the welfare of the species and of their surrounding environment. In the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, '' Chamelea gallina'' and ''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' share similar variations of the cytotoxic activity during the year. The exertions by the

hemolymph Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which ...

of the species are considered a useful biomarker of the immune activity and therefore of the health of mussels. (at p. 50 and in the abstract). The immune systems of the clam '' Chamelea gallina'' and the mussel '' Mytilus galloprovincialis'' are influenced by changing environmental parameters such as water acidification, temperature increases and variations in seawater salinity. Those properties describe a typical scenario of the global climate change and bivalve molluscs are considered predictors of its future impact on the health status of both wild and farmed organisms.

References

External links

.issg.org/database/species/references.asp?si=102&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN ''Mytilus galloprovincialis''
Selection of references. www.issg.org
''Mytilus galloprovincialis'' (Lamarck, 1819)
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture, Cultured Aquatic Species Information Programme
Picture of a British specimen
habitas.org {{Taxonbar, from=Q943341 Mytilus (bivalve) Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Marine molluscs of Africa Marine molluscs of Europe Molluscs of the Mediterranean Sea Molluscs of the Black Sea Commercial molluscs Fauna of Turkey Bivalves described in 1819 Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck