This is a demonstration of the ISM freshwater mussel image gallery.
Class Bivalvia : Subclass Paleoheterodonta : Genus Anodonta
Anodonta suborbiculata (Flat Floater)
The flat floater mussel, also know as heelsplitter, has a large, flat, thin, circular shell. It is smooth, shiny, and varies from yellow to dark brown, sometimes with green rays. It grows to seven inches in length.
This species lives in ponds or lakes, or in mud-bottomed pools of creeks and rivers. In Illinois it occurs in the southwest three-quarters of the state.
Conservation status: Locallly abundant along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and their tributaries.
Taxonomy: Order Unionoida, Superfamily Unionoidea, Family Unionidae, Subfamily Anodontinae.
Collection of the Illinois State Museum, photograph by Karen Little
ISM Accession #: 673903
Class Bivalvia : Subclass Paleoheterodonta : Genus Anodonta
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