Freshwater Pearl Mussel
Margaritifera margaritifera · Mollusc
A large, heavy freshwater mussel, 10 to 13 cm, living half-buried in sand and gravel between boulders in clean, cool, fast streams and rivers of Europe from Norway to Spain, and of north-eastern North America. Its larvae must ride on the gills of salmon or trout to grow, and it is one of the longest-lived animals: 90 to 100 years on average, over 150 in Scandinavia, the oldest known 280 years. About one mussel in a thousand holds a pearl; it has been gathered since prehistory, and Marie de Médicis is said to have worn a gown set with 32,000 of its pearls. Today it is endangered and its beds are kept secret from poachers.
- Danger
- Harmless
- How it is met
- In colonies, day and night
- Size
- Small
- In winter
- Active in winter
Where it lives
Gives
Sources
- Daniel Mitchell, Margaritifera margaritifera (freshwater pearl mussel). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, 2011.
- Freshwater pearl mussel. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2026.
- Margaritifera margaritifera. Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre, 2026.
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