Mussel question

[KMC]

Hey all,
I am a student studying American freshwater mussels. I live in Massachusetts where unfortunately there are not that many mussels to find. I am looking for people who come across the little (sometime not so little) buggers when outdoors. I would love anyone who finds the muskrat middens on the side of the rivers/lakes (or how ever they come across the mussels) to box up a bunch of paired fellas big and small and send them my way. I am only looking for dead/spent shells, not live ones. I collect and study and write about all the different species. I'm not concered about big or small, the more different ones the better. Anyone who would be able to help me with my studies by just picking up a bunch of the ones you find while fishing would be a HUGE help in my studies. I would certainly compensate you for your effort and of course pay for shipping too. The only requirements would be that you provide matching paired (not single) valves and that they are not totally broken (they don't have to be absolutely perfect with no chips at all, but the cleaner with their natural "skin" the better). I've been trying to make contacts with people across the country that naturally run into mussels while out fishing or hiking that might be able to just pick up shells they come across without it being a big hassle for them. I can't thank enough anyone who would consider assisting me with this project. You can contact me through this site or directly at kczaja@fas.harvard.edu. Thank You!!!!! And good fishing!!!
-Kevin

[Capt. Fred]

Kevin, I grew up in MA and there used to be lots of freshwater shellfish (we called them clams so maybe they are different?) down in some of the shallow ponds on Cape Cod. I don't remember them being in the deeper kettle ponds but the ponds just inland from Craigsville Beach used to have tons of some sort of critter that was the same color as a saltwater mussle.

I'm in North Carolina now right near the Chowan River. I just noticed at the local marina some type of shellfish stuck to the pilings that I didn't recognize. I'll take a closer look and grab it if I can reach it without falling into the 45 degree water.

[KMC]

Hello Capt. Fred.,
thanks for the reply! Sorry for being delinquent in my reply. I forgot I posted in this section. If you found clams inland on the Cape, then they were definitely freshwater mussels. I have found most of what can be found around Massachusetts. This is why I'm trying to branch out. Are the mussel stuck to the pilings where you are in NC definitely freshwater? Native freshwater pearly mussels (what I study) exclusively live buried in mud/sand. They never stick to piliing or rocks like marine mussels do. The only freshwater bivalve (clam) that does that in america right now is the invasive zebra mussel. These are very bad mussels that kill our native ones by smothering them (and are pretty bad in general as they multiply so fast they pretty much overwhelm everything in their path). So I suppose, I hope this is at least brackish water and thus another less damaging species!. However, there are many interesting native mussels in NC, and I would love any you might come across and could share. Below is a picture of a zebra mussels for referrence:


And here a some of the native mussels that I study:



And thanks again for the offer to help!
-Take care, Kevin

Originally Posted by Capt. Fred

Kevin, I grew up in MA and there used to be lots of freshwater shellfish (we called them clams so maybe they are different?) down in some of the shallow ponds on Cape Cod. I don't remember them being in the deeper kettle ponds but the ponds just inland from Craigsville Beach used to have tons of some sort of critter that was the same color as a saltwater mussle.

I'm in North Carolina now right near the Chowan River. I just noticed at the local marina some type of shellfish stuck to the pilings that I didn't recognize. I'll take a closer look and grab it if I can reach it without falling into the 45 degree water.

[Capt. Fred]

The water at the marina is very brackish. It is too fresh for barnacles to grow from what I've been told. I haven't had a chance to try and grab one of these guys yet. The one I saw did not appear to be stuck to the piling in the normal way. It was in a corner between a vertical and horizontal beam on the bulkhead and it may have just been sitting there. It is snowing to beat the band here today but when the weather moderates I'll try and grab one and take a pic of it.

[KMC]

Snow does make this tough. I feel your pain up here in Massachusetts. Its been a cold and snowy winter in these parts.

[wajdi]

What are those finger-long, about the same size around thingies that occupy mudbands down here in the south? They seem to have a lot of hair-like crap comiing off the bottom end anchoring them in the mud. I got a number of cuts on my feet from them when I was a kid.

[KMC]

Sounds like Marine mussels to me. Up north, the most likely species is called the Ribbed Mussel. I do think it ranges down to the Gulf Coast too, so this might be what caused you all those cuts. However, I do know the warmer waters down there have more marine mussel species, so it could be something else as well.

Originally Posted by wajdi

What are those finger-long, about the same size around thingies that occupy mudbands down here in the south? They seem to have a lot of hair-like crap comiing off the bottom end anchoring them in the mud. I got a number of cuts on my feet from them when I was a kid.

[KMC]

Hello Capt. Fred,
I thought I'd check in now that snow is definitely no longer an obstacle. Did you ever figure out what that mussel was? If the water is brackish at all, one possibility would be the Hooked Mussel, they like brackish water a lot.
-Take care, Kevin

Originally Posted by Capt. Fred

The water at the marina is very brackish. It is too fresh for barnacles to grow from what I've been told. I haven't had a chance to try and grab one of these guys yet. The one I saw did not appear to be stuck to the piling in the normal way. It was in a corner between a vertical and horizontal beam on the bulkhead and it may have just been sitting there. It is snowing to beat the band here today but when the weather moderates I'll try and grab one and take a pic of it.