''Mytilus chilensis'', is a species 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 only extant family in the order Mytilida, known as "true mussels". Blue mussels are subject to ...
native to the coasts of Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
from Biobío Region
The Biobío Region ( ) is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and C ...
(37 ºS) to Cape Horn
Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
(55 ºS). Genomic evidence has confirmed that the native Chilean blue mussel is genetically distinct from the Northern Hemisphere ''M. edulis'', ''M. galloprovincialis'' and ''M. trossulus'' and also genetically different from ''Mytilus platensis'','' ''the other species of smooth shelled mussel from South America.
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
File:Mytilus chilensis 01.jpg, Right valve
File:Mytilus chilensis 02.jpg, Left valve
Aquaculture
''M. chilensis'' is under intensive aquaculture
Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...
in Chile. From 2004 to 2008 the annual commercial harvest increased from 80,000 to 200,000 tonnes.[Ríos, J. L. (2010]
Mussels - May 2010, Chile
Globefish.org. Following a decrease in 2009, the production was back at high level in 2010.
Globefish.org Over 45,000 tonnes of mussels were exported from Chile in 2008, 93% of them frozen. Some 74% of exports are to the EU, primarily Spain and France, and 15% to the United States.