for several years it’s been in the back of my mind to learn more about freshwater mussels and i’ve decided to finally dive in, does anyone have any particular suggestions on id guides, general books with ecology info, anything like that? eastern north america would probably be my focus but really anything helps, i think these guys are so cool and massively underappreciated.
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The Minnesota DNR published a great booklet field guide in 2003 for Minnesota mussels, not sure if its still avaliable.
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I’ll tag a couple of freshwater mussel guys for their input: @thomaseverest @lj_l
This type of question is music to their ears!
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I’ve found this Pennsylvania-specific guide to Mussels very helpful: https://pa.fisheries.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Mussel-ID-workshop-field-guide-2-9-18.pdf
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Here is a great resource produced by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, and covers species found in the Ohio River Basin, which includes species found in western PA, Ohio, and WV.
Additionally, here is a guide to the freshwater mussels of West Virginia, which also includes useful information on mussel life histories, threats, restoration efforts, etc.: https://wvdnr.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/WV-Mussels-Final.pdf
If you’re looking for guides for the Atlantic slope, I haven’t found many that are great, but here is one from South Carolina’s DNR: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/aquaticed/pdf/MussellFieldGuide.pdf
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This guide is associated with a Canadian freshwater mussel iNat project (Canaiad) which has links to other resources and some helpful experts:
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Freshwater mussels are some of the best studied mollusks (which are pretty understudied in general), so there are actually a lot of good books. Here’s a few free resources:
https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/books/2012/books_2012_haag_001.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280298409_Freshwater_mussels_of_the_upper_Mississippi_River
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301625118_Manual_of_the_Freshwater_Bivalves_of_Maryland
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=20017Q7N.TXT
There are other good books available for purchase too.
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I learned with the Upper Mississippi one, but honestly the field museum one is probably easier to learn with.
Freshwater Mussels of Chicago Wilderness
https://science.fieldmuseum.org/fieldguides/guides/guide/386
Upper Mississippi
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Cummings, Kevin S., and Christine A. Mayer. 1992. Field Guide to Freshwater Mussels of the Midwest. Illinois Natural History Survey, Manual #5. Champaign, Illinois. 195 pp.
Photo, description, range map, bits on information on identification and habitat.
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I don’t know about resources, but I’ve read in Formule 1 (I have two bound collections of the magazine, but they’re probably in a box somewhere, as I’m moving) an article entitled «Échangeurs d’enfants» about bitterlings (bouvières; I think they were talking specifically about Rhodeus) and freshwater mussels (moules d’eau douce). Baby bitterlings grow up inside the mantle cavities (IIRR) of freshwater mussels, and larval freshwater mussels are parasites in the gills of fish, including bitterlings. But bitterlings are Eurasian fish, so this may not be relevant to you.
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