The black mussel, Choromytilus meridionalis, is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of bivalve

Bivalvia

Bivalvia is a taxonomic class of marine and freshwater molluscs. This class includes clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, and many other families of molluscs that have two hinged shells...

. It is a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 mollusc in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Mytilidae

Mytilidae

Mytilidae is a family of small to large saltwater mussels, marine bivalve mollusks in the order Mytiloida. It is the only family in the order...

.

Distribution

This species is found only around the southern African coast, from central Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

 to Port Elizabeth, from the low intertidal to about 10m.

Description

This animal grows up to 150mm in length. It is a shiny black mussel which grows clustered in groups on rocks and in sandy areas. It is narrower and blacker
than the Mediterranean mussel

Mediterranean mussel

The Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, also known as the bay mussel, blue mussel or Mittelmeer-Miesmuschel is a species of bivalve. It is a marine mollusc in the family Mytilidae.-Distribution:...

, Mytilus galloprovincialis, with which it is often confused.

Ecology

The black mussel is a filter feeder, which eats floating scraps of algae and phytoplankton. It is threatened by the invasion of the fast-growing and hardy Mediterranean mussel, which outcompetes it for space.

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