Epioblasma flexuosa, the arcuate pearly mussel or leafshell, was a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This species was endemic to the United States, where it was found in the major drainages of the Ohio River, including the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Wabash Rivers. Its natural habitat was flowing water.

Epioblasma flexuosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Epioblasma
Species:
E. flexuosa
Binomial name
Epioblasma flexuosa
(Rafinesque, 1820)
Synonyms

Dysnomia flexuosa Rafinesque, 1820

Like most other members of this sensitive genus, it became extinct early after industrialization due to habitat loss and pollution. The last living individual was seen in the year 1900.[2]

It appears to be most closely related to Epioblasma lewisii, which is also now extinct.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ Bogan, A.E.; et al. (Mollusc Specialist Group) (2000). "Epioblasma flexuosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000: e.T7868A12859429. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T7868A12859429.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ NatureServe (7 April 2023). "Epioblasma flexuosa". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  3. ^ Johnson, R.I. (1978). "Systematics and zoogeography of Plagiola (= Dysnomia = Epioblasma), an almost extinct genus of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Middle North America". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 148: 239–321.