Margaritifera
Encyclopedia
Margaritifera is a genus
of freshwater mussels, aquatic
bivalve molluscs in the family Margaritiferidae
, the freshwater pearl
mussels.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of freshwater mussels, aquatic
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...
bivalve molluscs in the family Margaritiferidae
Margaritiferidae
Margaritiferidae is a family of medium-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the order Unionoida. They are known as freshwater pearl mussels, because they are capable of producing pearls.-Genera within the family Margaritiferidae:...
, the freshwater pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
mussels.
Species
Species within the genus Margaritifera include:- Margaritifera auricularia or Pseudunio auricularia - Spengler's freshwater musselSpengler's freshwater musselSpengler's freshwater mussel scientific name is a species of European freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae, the freshwater pearl mussels...
- Margaritifera falcata (GouldAugustus Addison GouldAugustus Addison Gould was an American conchologist and malacologist.-Biography:...
, 1850) - Margaritifera hembeli (Conrad, 1838)
- Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758) — Freshwater pearl mussel
- Margaritifera marrianae R. I. Johnson, 1983