''Mytilus trossulus'', the bay mussel or foolish mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...

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 ge ...

. ''Mytilus trossulus'' is one of the three principal, closely related taxa in the '' Mytilus edulis'' complex of blue mussels, which collectively are widely distributed on the temperate to subarctic coasts the Northern Hemisphere, and often are dominant inhabitants on hard substrates of the intertidal and nearshore habitats.

Distribution

''Mytilus trossulus'' is the main native intertidal mussel 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 continen ...

. In North America it is found from

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 ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

, and in Asia from

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

northwards. At its southern limits, it hybridizes with '' Mytilus galloprovincialis'' (the Mediterranean mussel), which has been introduced to the Pacific by human activity. In the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, ''M. trossulus'' is found on the U.S. coast of

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

and northwards to Canada, as well as in scattered localities on North European coasts. In these regions it often coexists and hybridizes with ''Mytilus edulis''. The entire

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

is inhabited by a peculiar population of ''Mytilus trossulus'', which shows some genetic

introgression Introgression, also known as introgressive hybridization, in genetics is the transfer of genetic material from one species into the gene pool of another by the repeated backcrossing of an interspecific hybrid with one of its parent species. Intro ...

from ''M. edulis'' and whose mitochondrial DNA has been replaced by ''M. edulis'' mtDNA. In the Arctic, ''Mytilus trossulus'' is found in northwest Greenland where they are found scattered in the intertidal zone from 71°N to 77°N

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3003939 trossulus Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Marine molluscs of Asia Marine molluscs of North America Molluscs of Japan Molluscs of the United States Western North American coastal fauna Fauna of California Fauna of the Baltic Sea Bivalves of Asia Fauna of the Northwestern United States Bivalves described in 1850 Taxa named by Augustus Addison Gould