The northern riffleshell (''Epioblasma torulosa rangiana''), is a
subspecies of
freshwater mussel
Freshwater bivalves are one kind of freshwater mollusc, along with freshwater snails. They are bivalves that live in fresh water as opposed to salt water, which is the main habitat type for bivalves.
The majority of species of bivalve molluscs ...
, an
aquatic 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 ...
mollusk
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is es ...
in the family
Unionidae
The Unionidae are a 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 at its most dive ...
, the river mussels.
This subspecies is endangered.
This species was formerly found widely in the
Ohio River basin, but now the population is fragmented into only three viable groups.
This river mussel needs gravel river beds and swift-flowing, well-oxygenated water. The reduction in range seems to be principally due to damming and the consequential silting up of rivers below the dam and competition from
zebra mussel
The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...
s.
Distribution and conservation status
This species lives in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
in Canada. It was classified as endangered by
COSEWIC. The Canadian
Species at Risk Act
The ''Species at Risk Act'' (SARA) (the ''Act'') is a piece of Canadian federal legislation which became law in Canada on December 12, 2002. It is designed to meet one of Canada's key commitments under the International Convention on Biological D ...
listed it in the
List of Wildlife Species at Risk as being endangered in Canada.
[COSEWIC. 2005]
''Canadian Species at Risk''
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. 64 pp., page 13.
References
Epioblasma
ESA endangered species
Taxa named by Isaac Lea
{{Unionidae-stub