Mollusca · mollusks

Blue mussel

Mytilus edulis

Mytilidae · musselsIUCN: Not evaluated
Blue mussel
Photo: Rainer Zenz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A blue-black mussel that forms dense beds on rocky shores and pilings.

Fun factIt anchors itself with byssal threads, inspiring research on underwater glues.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Arctic Ocean
Depth zone
Intertidal shore, Coastal shallows & estuaries
Diet
Plankton (filter feeder)
Size
Shell up to 10 cm

Classification

Mollusca › Bivalvia › Mytilidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
    • Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
    • Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
    • Includes mollusks and segmented worms
  5. Phylum Mollusca mollusks
    • Soft body with a muscular foot and a fold of tissue (mantle) that makes the shell
    • Most have a rasping, tongue-like ribbon of teeth (radula)
    • Includes snails, clams, octopuses, and chitons
  6. Class Bivalvia clams, oysters & kin
    • Body enclosed in two hinged shells (valves)
    • No head and no radula
    • Most filter food from water with large gills
  7. Subclass Pteriomorphia oysters, scallops & mussels
    • Often attach to surfaces with threads (byssus) or cement
    • Includes oysters, scallops, mussels, and pearl oysters
  8. Family Mytilidae mussels
    • Mussels: elongated shells
    • Attach with strong byssal threads, forming dense beds
  9. Genus Mytilus
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  10. Species Mytilus edulis Blue mussel

Closest relatives in the guide