Freshwater Mussel Genera

Kevin S. Cummings, ksc@illinois.edu

The objective of these webpages is to illustrate (with photographs) all of the “genera” of freshwater mussels (Unionoida) in the world. The genera included are largely those recognized by Haas (1969) with the exception of the North American fauna, which follow Turgeon, et al. (1998). Other deviations from Haas (1969) will be referenced to the new source of information.

If anyone spots any errors or misspellings of type localities, type designations, rivers or other geographic names, please let me know and I will make appropriate changes. I plan on adding information on type species for each genus and a list of currently recognized species/taxa in the near future. An example of the kind of added information can be seen in the account for the genus Castalina. If anyone has any comments on how and what type of data to include in these species list sections, please let me know. I am still playing around with the format. Also understand that these pages (like many on the web) are “works in progress” and the data contained in them should be checked to the primary literature to ensure accuracy.

All photos copyright: Kevin S. Cummings – 1999.

Museum Acronyms used in photo captions follow: Systematic Research Collections – Mollusca.