Genus Potamilus
Class Bivalvia
: Subclass Paleoheterodonta
: Genus Potamilus
Potamilus alatus (Pink Heelsplitter)
The pink heelsplitter mussel is named for its pink nacre and its wing that protrudes behind the umbos. The shell is elongate, round at the anterior and square at the posterior. The smooth, dark green and brown shell becomes thicker with age. It grows to eight inches in length. Younger shells are marked with green rays. This species lives in medium to large rivers in the mud or the mixed mud, sand, and gravel. In Illinois it occurs in all regions except Chicago.
Conservation status: widespread and relatively common.
Taxonomy: Order Unionoida; Superfamily Unionoidea; Family Unionidae; Subfamily Lampsilinae
Collection of the Illinois State Museum, photograph by Karen Little
ISM Accession #: 667337
Class Bivalvia
: Subclass Paleoheterodonta
: Genus Potamilus
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