In the early nineteenth century, a naturalist named Rafinesque stood on the banks of the Ohio River and began to describe the freshwater mussels he found there. Since that time, these animals have earned a place among the most imperiled animals in North America. Dozens of species have become extinct, and it is estimated that two-thirds of the remaining freshwater mussels face a similar fate. Yet, despite their importance, the mussels of Ohio remain a poorly documented and largely mysterious fauna. This book compiles existing research on Ohio's mussels, synthesizing works on genetics, biology, and systematics into one volume. Full-page color images depict shell variation, hinge detail, and beak sculpture. Full-page maps show the distribution of each species based upon the collections of numerous museums, with historical distributions dating from the 1800s. In addition to species accounts, the book has an introductory section that includes information on basic biology, human use, and conservation issues.--adapted from jacket.
"The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee . . . is indispensable to anyone, anywhere, working on this group. Parmalee and Bogan have written a work that sets the standard for future regional guides."--G. Thomas Watters, Ohio Biological Survey "The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee documents a tremendously diverse and unique mussel fauna that is rapidly being destroyed by modern development. Parmalee and Bogan set a new standard for state mussel surveys in their authoritative, thorough, and and highly readable account. The book will be of interest to biologists and conservationists worldwide and will appeal to anyone who cares about the preservation of natural resources in the southeastern United States."--Robert E. Warren, Illinois State Museum With more than 150 species and subspecies recorded in the state, Tennessee has one of the most diverse freshwater mussel faunas in North America. Valuable as indicators of water quality, these mollusks have themselves become threatened as development encroaches on habitat--twenty-three are currently listed as endangered species and at least twelve have become extinct. This is the first book for Tennessee to deal with this biologically and commercially significant group of mollusks. Its authors have been studying and writing about the mussels of Tennessee for more than twenty years and have undertaken a systematic organization of a large and complex body of information to bring order to a difficult field. The book traces the long history of human exploitation of mussels, from aboriginal food gathering to the growth of the cultured pearl industry. It provides an interpretive context for its exhaustive species accounts with background material on biology, distribution, economic utilization, taxonomy, and conservation issues. The authors also review the life cycle of the mussel and describe its many remarkable traits, such as its shell formation and the strategies it employs during the larval stage in parasitizing fish. The species accounts comprise 128 members of Family Unionidae--from pigtoes and pocketbooks to lilliputs and spikes--plus four additional species. The authors cover classification and synonymy, range and distribution, life history and ecology, and survival status. Particular attention is paid to shell description and structure to assist the reader in identification. Each species account includes a distribution map and color photos of two specimens. The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee is a major reference that encompasses historical and modern mussel collections and draws on conservation studies that span two centuries. It will stand as an authoritative guide to understanding Tennessee mollusks and as a benchmark in the study of these species worldwide. The Authors: Paul W. Parmalee is professor emeritus of zooarchaeology and director emeritus of the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Arthur E. Bogan is curator of aquatic invertebrates at the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh.
During the months of May-September 1979 the Ohio River, from its origin at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the Greenup Locks and Dam, Greenup, Kentucky, was surveyed in order to document the extant freshwater mussel fauna. This was accomplished by a team of biologists from Marshall University traveling the river in a sixteen foot bass boat powered by a fifty horsepower outboard motor. The river was traversed at approximately five miles per hour until either likely looking habitat or shell debris was spotted. Sighting of shell deposits was aided by using binoculars to scan the shore line. In either case, as shells were discovered the boat was beached and collections were made. All shells, old and new, were collected from the beaches, bagged and tagged with locality data and later returned to the laboratory for sorting and identification. Many additional shells were also hand picked from shallow waters. By virtue of the fact that mussels were already in short supply, very few live specimens were removed from the river. For the most part live specimens were collected, identified and returned to the water. Many sites were brailed, using a six foot sampling brail, but for the most part brailing proved unsatisfactory as there was so much debris on the river bottom that we spent more time cleaning the brail than we spent brailing. Upon returning to the laboratory specimens were cleaned, labeled, aged, cataloged and classified as to whether they were without a doubt distinctly fresh or whether they were sub-fossils. The total number of species identified was 35. Of this number eight were found only as sub-fossil shells and must be presumed to be presently extinct or very nearly so in this research of the river.
