Sagittunio nasutus, the eastern pondmussel, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.[2]

Sagittunio nasutus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Subfamily: Ambleminae
Tribe: Lampsilini
Genus: Sagittunio
Species:
S. nasutus
Binomial name
Sagittunio nasutus
(Say, 1817)
Synonyms
  • Lampsilis (Eurynia) nasuta (Say, 1817)
  • Lampsilis (Eurynia) nasutus (Say, 1817)
  • Lampsilis (Ligumia) nasuta (Say, 1817)
  • Lampsilis nasuta (Say, 1817)
  • Ligumia nasuta (Say, 1817)
  • Margarita (Unio) nasutus (Say, 1817)
  • Margaron (Unio) nasutus (Say, 1817)
  • Obliquaria (Ellipsaria) attenuata Rafinesque, 1820 (synonym)
  • Unio nasutus Say, 1817 (original combination)

This species is native to the eastern United States and Ontario, Canada.[1] In Canada, the eastern pondmussel has been adversely affected by zebra mussels, which were introduced near the end of the 1980s.[3] Originally assessed as endangered due to the existence of only two known Canadian populations,[3] the eastern pondmussel was placed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act in 2013.[4] However, a reassessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in 2017 identified seventeen additional subpopulations,[5] and the eastern pondmussel was relisted as "special concern" in August 2019.[4] The population of the lower Great Lakes has limited diversity in certain mitochondrial genetic markers compared to those of the eastern seaboard's population, evidence of a founder effect and suggestive of a post-glacial arrival of Atlantic coast mussels to the Great Lakes by a restricted route.[5]: 7 [6] The Walpole Island First Nation protects a population of eastern pondmussels residing in their tribal waters within the delta of Lake St. Clair.[3]: 12 

Like many Unionoid mussels, female eastern pondmussels display a lure to attract their fish hosts (see video, right).

Female Ligumia nasuta displaying her lure

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Bogan, A.E. & Woolnough, D. (2017). "Ligumia nasuta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T11967A69491281. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T11967A69491281.en. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. ^ MolluscaBase eds. (2021). MolluscaBase. Sagittunio nasutus (Say, 1817). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1056434 on 2021-05-08
  3. ^ a b c COSEWIC (2007). "COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Eastern Pondmussel Ligumia nasuta in Canada". Ottawa: Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. ISBN 978-0-662-46023-7. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Eastern Pondmussel (Ligumia nasuta)". Species at risk public registry. Government of Canada. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b COSEWIC (2017). "COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report on the Eastern Pondmussel (Ligumia nasuta) in Canada". Ottawa: Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. ISBN 978-0-660-09215-7. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  6. ^ Scott, Mariah Wild; Begley, Matthew T.; Krebs, Robert A.; Zanatta, David T. (2014). "Mitochondrial DNA Variation in the Eastern Pondmussel, Ligumia nasuta (Bivalvia: Unionoida), in the Great Lakes Region". Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation. 17 (2): 60–67. doi:10.31931/fmbc.v17i2.2014.60-67.
  • Say, T. (1817). Conchology. - In: Nicholson, W.: American edition of the British Encyclopedia, or, dictionary of arts and sciences comprising an accurate and popular view of the present improved state of human knowledge. First Edition, A-3 - C-6 [= 1-20], pl. [1-4]. page(s): [unpaginated], pl. 4 fig. 1
  • Watters, G.T. (2018). A preliminary review of the nominal genus Villosa of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionidae) in North America. Visaya. Suppl. 10: 3-139.