This is a demonstration of the ISM freshwater mussel image gallery.
Class Bivalvia : Subclass Paleoheterodonta : Genus Lasmigona
Lasmigona complanata (White Heelsplitter)
The white heelsplitter mussel shell is large (up to eight inches in length), rounded, and compressed. This specimen shows the pointed posterior end and the several ridges extending to the side. The surface is greenish brown in younger shells and dark brown to black on older ones.
This species lives in the mud, sand, or fine gravel of pools or slow streams. It occurs throughout Illinois.
Conservation Status: common and widespread
Taxonomy: Order Unionoida; Superfamily Unionoidea; Family Unionidae; Subfamily Anodontinae
Collection of the Illinois State Museum, photograph by Robert Warren
ISM Accession #: ISM-FIA
Class Bivalvia : Subclass Paleoheterodonta : Genus Lasmigona
First | Previous | Next | Last