Ptychobranchus subtentum

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Ptychobranchus subtentum

Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Ptychobranchus
Species:
P. subtentum
Binomial name
Ptychobranchus subtentum
(Say, 1825)

Ptychobranchus subtentum, also known as the fluted kidneyshell, is a

mollusk in the family Unionidae
, the river mussels.

This species is endemic to the drainages of the Cumberland River and the Tennessee River in the United States.[1]

Reproduction

All Unionidae are known to use the gills, fins, or skin of a host fish for nutrients during the larval

black flies. When a fish bites the capsule bait, the Ptychobranchus subtentum larvae are forced out through the mimic capsule's "eyes" and then attach to the gills of the host fish.[2]

Shell morphology

References

  1. ^ a b "Ptychobranchus subtentum". NatureServe. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
  2. ^ M. C. Barnhart (1998–2006). "Fluted kidneyshell: Ptychobranchus subtentum". Unio Gallery.