Mediterranean mussel

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Mediterranean mussel
Two valves of Mytilus galloprovincialis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Genus: Mytilus
Species:
M. galloprovincialis
Binomial name
Mytilus galloprovincialis
Lamarck
, 1819
Capture (blue) and aquaculture (green) production of Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2022, as reported by the FAO[1]

The Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) is a

mollusc in the family Mytilidae. It is an invasive species in many parts of the world, and also an object of aquaculture.[2]

Systematics

Mytilus galloprovincialis is one of the three principal, closely related species in the

Mytilus edulis and Mytilus trossulus
, when they are found in the same locality. M. galloprovincialis is considered the most warm-water-tolerant species of the three, and has the most southerly distribution in Europe and North America.

Distribution

In Europe, Mytilus galloprovincialis is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and on the Atlantic coasts, in Portugal, north to France and the British Isles and Norway. Recently this species has also been found in the European Arctic including northern Norway and Svalbard.[3]

In the northern

Washington state, where it has been subject to aquaculture.[4] It is also present as an invasive species on the Asian coast throughout Japan, including Ryukyu Islands, as well as in North Korea[5] and around Vladivostok
in Russia.

Mytilus galloprovincialis is also present as a native lineage in parts of the Southern Hemisphere. In addition there are populations introduced from the north recently with human activity. These lineages are distinguished by genetic characters. No original Mytilus populations lived in southern Africa, but the Mediterranean mussel was introduced from Europe in 1984 and is now the dominant low intertidal mussel on the West Coast. The distribution spans an area from the Namibian border to Port Alfred, intertidally to just below the low tide border.[6] M. galloprovincialis is also found in New Zealand, Australia and South America.

Description

This animal grows up to 140 mm in length. It is a smooth-shelled mussel with a slightly broader base than that of the black mussel (Choromytilus meridionalis), with which it is often confused in South Africa. Its shell is blue-violet[2] or black, but may shade to light brown.[7]

Ecology

The Mediterranean mussel is a filter feeder. It is rare subtidally, which is an alternate means of distinguishing it from the black mussel in South Africa.

Mussels are generally considered as a bioindicators of the whole ecosystem in which they live. The immune system of bivalve molluscs is often chosen as a target parameter to evaluate the welfare of the species and of their surrounding environment.[8] In the Adriatic Sea, Chamelea gallina and Mytilus galloprovincialis share similar variations of the cytotoxic activity during the year. The exertions by the hemolymph of the species are considered a useful biomarker of the immune activity and therefore of the health of mussels.[8]

The immune systems of the clam

environmental stress.[10]

Mariculture

Novigrad Mussel

estuarine location of Novigrad makes it suitable for aquaculture.[12]

The

condition index, which is at least 12%. Fresh meat is smooth to the touch, with a soft and elastic consistency, carrying a characteristic scent of the marine algae. The surface of the meat is shiny, moist, and smooth.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  2. ^ a b Mytilus galloprovincialis (mollusc) Global Invasive Species Database. issg.org
  3. PMID 28035234
    .
  4. ^ Thomas J. Hilbish, Pamela M. Brannock, Karlie R. Jones, Allison B. Smith, Brooke N. Bullock and David S. Wethey (2010) Historical changes in the distributions of invasive and endemic marine invertebrates are contrary to global warming predictions: the effects of decadal climate oscillations. Journal of Biogeography 37:423–431.
  5. ^ Mytilus galloprovincialis www.nies.go.jp
  6. ISBN 0-86486-672-0
  7. ^ Day, J.H. 1969. Marine Life on South African Shores Balkema, Cape Town
  8. ^
    OCLC 8615572059. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on July 2, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2020. (at p. 50 and in the abstract).
  9. PMID 22479452
    .
  10. ISSN 0141-1136
    .
  11. ^ a b "Novigrad Mussel becomes 43rd Croatian product protected". Croatia Week. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  12. ^ Župan, Ivan; Šarić, Tomislav; Mokos, Melita; Gangemi, Jessica; Cipriano, Agnese. "COMPARISON OF MUSSEL PRODUCTION PARAMETERS FROM TRADITIONAL AND IMTA SITESIN THE ADRIATIC SEA (CROATIA)".
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