Genus Ellipsaria
Class Bivalvia
: Subclass Paleoheterodonta
: Genus Ellipsaria
Ellipsaria lineolata (Butterfly)
The butterfly mussel shell is yellowish brown with broken brown rays. It is rounded at the anterior end and pointed at the posterior end, reminiscent of a butterfly's wing. It grows to four inches in length.
This species lives in the sand or gravel of large rivers. It occurs along the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, and Wabash Rivers in Illinois.
Conservation status: threatened in Illinois
Taxonomy: Order Unionoida; Superfamily Unionoidea; Family Unionidae; Subfamily Lampsilinae
Collection of the Illinois State Museum, photograph by Robert Warren
ISM Accession #: 677080
Class Bivalvia
: Subclass Paleoheterodonta
: Genus Ellipsaria
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