Adductor muscle - internal tissue structure that acts to hold valves closed.
Adhesive membrane - bivalve secretion that acts to hold glochidia together in the
water tubes.
Anterior (see also: Posterior) - "front" edge of a bivalve; edge of shell closest to
umbo; usually shortened and associated with the foot. thumbnail
Attachment thread (see also: Byssal thread) - either a fibrous thread used
to attach the bivalve to a substrate or, part of a glochidium attached to the
rudimentary foot.
Beak (see also: Umbo) - dorsal protuberance on bivalve shell that generally rises
above the hinge; the oldest part of the shell. thumbnail
Beak Sculpture - (see also: Concentric scuplture) - shape and arrangement
of contours inherent to umbo; formed by early growth geometry.
Bivalve - a laterally compressed mollusk with 2 valves (2 "half-shells").
Brood pouches (see also: Gill pouches) - vertically partitioned interlamellar
space used by some bivalves as a marsupium; rather than broadcasting gametes
directly into the environment, eggs and developing glochidia stay within the protective
confines of the bivalve shell.
Byssal thread - a tough fibrous structure secreted by certain bivalves; used to attach
the bivalve to substrate.
Cilia - a hair-like array in bivalves; moved in a coordinated fashion to transfer and sort
food and water through feeding palps and gills.
Cladistics - a style of mathematical analysis that uses shared parametric similarities
to define taxa; uses inferred evolutionary relationships when characteristics are not
found in ancestral groups.
Color pattern - characteristic of some bivalve shells, often useful for identification;
color pattern may vary within the same taxon due to age and local environmental
conditions. thumbnail
Color ray - an external shell characteristic; dark green bands radiating from the umbo,
and alternating with the lighter-colored portions of the periostracum. thumbnail
Compressed - side to side flattening; the opposite of Inflated.
Concentric sculpture - a trait of beak sculpture, in which the annual growth rings
appear as concentric shapes . Often worn to indistinctness in older specimens.
Cyst (see also: Encystment and Glochidium) - a protective tissue formation
found in host species; formed by glochidia during transformation to adult characteristics.
Digestive tract - a system in lamellibranch bivalves that breaks down food particles
into usable chemical components for growth and maintenance; comprised of crystalline
style, gastric shield, esophagus, digestive diverticula, sorting region, intestine, stomach,
typhlostyle, rectum, and anus.
Dorsal - "top" or "back" edge of a shell; the edge containing the umbo. thumbnail
Double-looped sculpture - a trait of beak sculpture wherein the growth rings
appear as two loops.
Ducts (tube-like) - bivalve anatomical structure that connects ovaries to suprabranchial
chamber; used to transport ova to chamber for fertilized egg development into glochidia.
Ectoparasites - parasitic lifestyle of freshwater mussel glochidia, either by hook
attachment to fins or body, or for hookless types, to fish gills; draws food resources
from host body directly through glochidial mantle surface.
Embryo - early life stage of growth and differentiation characterized by formation of
fundamental tissues and organs; in bivalves, contained within egg membrane.
Encystment - process used by glochidium to stimulate tissue growth in host species;
provides protection from host's attempts at rejection.
Eulamellibranch gills - specialized gill formation found in freshwater mussels and
other bivalves with fused filaments forming a solid sheet-like structure, the folding
of which forms water tubes.
Exhalant siphon (see: Siphon)
Extralimital - refers to taxa occuring outside their natural range.
Family - a taxon of the rank below superfamily and above subfamily, tribe, and genus;
Unionidae and Margaritiferidae are North American freshwater mussel families.
subfamily - a taxon of the rank below family and above tribe and genus.
superfamily - a taxon of the rank above family, comprised of a group of closely
related families; super-family Unionoidea is comprised of Unionidae and
Margaritiferidae in North America.
Foot - bivalve organ located anteriorly; used for locomotion.
muscular foot - an anteriorly directed, compressed, blade-like molluscan organ;
usually adapted for locomotion.
rudimentary foot - a small organ found in salt water mussels (Mytilidae), with a
gland that secretes horny threads that harden on contact with sea water forming
byssal threads; or, an anatomical component of a glochidium that gives rise
to the muscular foot in successive life stages.
Gill pouches - anatomical structure of bivalves used to protect developing embryos;
located in the gills.
Gills - two pairs are present in bivalves; used primarily for feeding and secondarily
for respiration; food particles are sieved and sorted from inhalant water using cilia
as a transport mechanism.
outer gills - the outermost pair of gills in certain bivalves; the gill structures closest
to the mantle.
Gill filaments - structure of bivalves that forms the basis of gill structure; fused into
sheets in freshwater mussels and lined with cilia.
Glochidia (see also: Larvae) - analogous to free living veliger stage in other bivalves,
an immature freshwater mussel life stage modified for a parasitic existence;
released through siphon or temporary aperture (e.g. Lampsilis) larvae may attach
to host species; facilitates movement away from parent; drops from host after
adult features are formed.
Growth lines - thumbnail
Height - maximum projected straight-line distance on a valve between the dorsal and
ventral edges (including umbo, if raised above shell).
Hinge line - the juncture along which 2 valves connect. thumbnail
Hinge teeth - opposing sockets and grooves that lock into teeth and ridges on bivalve
shells to prevent lateral slippage. thumbnail
Hooks - structures on glochidial shells in Anodonta; after being expelled through the
siphon, glochidia sink to the bottom; the shells clamp shut onto the flesh of a
passing fish host and are attached firmly by hooks.
Host - fish species selected by the glochidium for attachment; provides protection,
food, and serves to disperse the glochidium.
Host tissue (see: Cyst) - tissue in a host species that the glochidium attaches to;
such tissue is stimulated to grow around the glochidium, forming a cyst.
Inhalant (see: Siphon)
Incurrent (see: Siphon)
Inflated - refers to bivalve shell form, a rounding of the valves when viewed anteriorly
or posteriorly; the opposite of compressed..
Interdental tooth - supplementary tooth found between the lateral teeth and
pseudocardinal teeth on a bivalve.
Intestine (see: Digestive tract)
Invasive - refers to a species introduced into an area outside its normal range.
Juvenile - a life stage of an organism that, except for size and reproductive organs,
is identical to adult stage.
Larva - an immature life stage; in bivalves either a veliger (free swimming form),
or a glochidium (parasitic form).
Lateral tooth (see: Teeth) - bivalve shell structure of interlocking ridges and grooves;
located parallel and adjacent to shell hinge.
Length - projected straight-line distance from anterior-most point of a bivalve shell to
the most posterior point.
Lure - a dispersal strategy used by some species of bivalve, wherein the glochidia
are suspended in a mucus matrix and floated in the water to attract a host fish
species; or, a moveable adapted siphon tissue or mantle structure found in some
freshwater mussels that is used to attract host fish species. A lure may aid glochidial
attachment by resembling food that attracts a potential host fish to the vicinity
of the exhalant siphon.
Mantle - large sheet of tissue that lies within bivalve shells; secretes shell layers.
Marsupia (see: Gill pouches)
Marsupial gill pouches (see: Gill pouches)
Metamorphosis - process of marked body change; in freshwater mussels
characterized by the formation of free-living adult body features from the parasitic
glochidial stage.
Molecular data - data derived from DNA analysis, used to describe taxa and
define taxonomic relationships.
Mouth - structure of bivalves that takes in food particles from the gills to begin the
digestive process.
Mucilaginous line - secretion used by bivalves to entangle waterborne food particles;
these are then sorted by cilia in the gills, and then moved along food grooves
into the mouth and esophagus of the digestive tract.
Nacre - innermost layer of bivalve shell; comprised of aragonite and/or
calcite deposited within an organic matrix (conchiolin); usually lustrous,
resembling "mother of pearl", and sometimes with distinctive areas of
bluish or pinkish color. thumbnail
Nodulous - refers to sharp or rounded knobs occurring on a bivalve shell.
Nomenclature - in zoological nomenclature, a system of scientific names for taxa
devised by Linnaeus and others, and the provisions for their formation,
treatment and use.
Ovaries - egg production organs in bivalves, in which they surround the gut; in
freshwater mussels, unfertilized eggs remain within the female, and male
spermatozoa are introduced through the inhalant siphon for fertilization.
Oviduct - anatomical structure in bivalves that acts as a corridor from ovaries to the
site of fertilization; eggs are generally held within the shell of freshwater mussels until
glochidia are developed.
Packet - an accumulation of glochidia (larvae) within a bivalve, enabling a taxon to
release high numbers of larvae at one time.
Pallial line - an interior shell scar, located where the bivalve shell is attached to
the mantle.
Parasite (see: Ectoparasite)
Periostracum - outermost layer of a bivalve shell; usually of a horny organic material
which protects the inner shell layers from acidic conditions.
Phylogeny - the evolutionary history of a group of organisms.
Posterior (see also: Anterior) - the "rear" of a bivalve; edge of a shell farthest from
the umbo; area proximal to the siphon.
Posterior ridge - an arched or raised area of a valve, located on the posterior between
the umbo and the valve margin. thumbnail
Posterior slope - area on a valve located between valve margin and posterior ridge.
Pseudocardinal teeth - opposing sockets and teeth on bivalve shells that are located
anteriorly of the hinge.
Sheath - a structure used to hold and later release glochidia in discrete bursts from
an adult bivalve.
Shell - protective anatomical structure in bivalves secreted by the mantle and
consisting of two or three layers: periostracum, prismatic layer, and nacre; comprised
of two more or less convex valves.
Shell shape - the general shape, in silhouette, of a valve.
subcircular - silhouette almost circular.
subelliptical - silhouette elongate with rounded anterior and posterior margins.
subovate - silhouette roughly oval with one side more flattened.
subquadrate - silhouette with roughly four sides, and the length and height subequal.
subrhomboidal- (see: Subquadrate)
subtrapezoidal- silhouette with roughly four sides, the length being greater
than the height.
subtriangular - silhouette roughly three sided, or the anterior end of the valve is an
equilateral triangle.
Silhouette - (see: Profile) thumbnail
Siphon - tubular structure in bivalves formed by fusion of mantle tissue surrounding
inhalant and exhalant organs; used to transfer food and water into and expel
wastes from bivalve.
exhalant - siphon structure used to expel water and waste from bivalve visceral mass.
incurrent (see: Siphon, inhalant).
inhalant - siphon structure used to transport water and food particles into bivalve shell.
Spawning - the production of young; initiated by union of spermatozoa and egg.
Spermatazoa - male gametes; generally released through the exhalant siphon for
intake by nearby females.
Substrate - the structure of the bottom on, or in which, bivalve lives.
Suprabranchial chamber (see: Water tubes).
Synonomy - relationship between two or more synonyms; (see: Synonym).
Synonym - each of two or more scientific names of the same taxonomic rank used to
denote the same taxon.
Umbo - dorsal prominence on bivalve shell located adjacent to the hinge; the oldest
part of the shell.
Valve - one half of the complete shell of a bivalve.
Ventrolateral shoulder - an inflation or arching of the valve (shell) surface located
along its ventral margin.
Visceral mass - in bivalves, the digestive, excretory, circulatory, and genital organs
contained within the mantle.
Water tubes - an anatomical space in certain bivalves formed by folding of
eulamellibranch gills; characteristically used by Sphaeridae for nurturing of larvae;
young bivalves are shed directly from gills when development is complete
(i.e., there is no glochidial stage).
Width - the distance measured between the outer edges of the left and right valves.
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New York Metropolitan Region and New Jersey Freshwater Mussel Identification Handbook