Dwarf wedge mussel
| Dwarf wedgemussel | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Subclass: | Paleoheterodonta |
| Order: | Unionoida |
| Family: | Unionidae |
| Genus: | Alasmidonta |
| Species: | A. heterodon |
| Binomial name | |
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Alasmidonta heterodon I. Lea, 1830 |
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The dwarf wedgemussel, scientific name Alasmidonta heterodon, is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
This is a rare species found solely in North America's Atlantic coast streams and rivers of various sizes and moderate current.
The dwarf wedge mussel's current range extends from Maryland to North Carolina. The dwarf wedge mussel is federally listed as endangered and state-listed as endangered in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Vermont.
It previously lived in New Brunswick, but it is locally extirpated in Canada since 1968. The Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the Dwarf Wedge Mussel in the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as being extirpated in Canada.
This mussel may be found in small creeks to deep rivers in stable habitats with substrates ranging from mixed sand, pebble and gravel, to clay and silty sand. In the southern portion of its range, it is often found buried under logs or root mats in shallow water (USFWS 1993), where in the northern portion of its range, it may be found in firm substrates of mixed sand, gravel or cobble, or embedded in clay banks in water depths of a few inches to greater than 20 feet (Fichtel and Smith 1995; Gabriel 1995; Gabriel 1996; Nedeau and Werle 2003; Nedeau 2004a, 2004b, 2006).
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