Wabash Pigtoe
Fusconaia flava
DIAGNOSTICS 10
SHELL
- size: mid-sized; maximum 140 mm, most under 60 mm
- thickness: thick
- shape: quadrate to triangular; occasional low posterior wing; shallow and wide sulcus below posterior ridge, more obvious in older specimens
- width: moderately to very inflated
- surface: smooth, satiny in young
- color/markings: pale to dark brown
- beaks: elevated, midway between posterior and central shell; sculptures: few weak bars more pronounced on posterior ridge
- sexual dimorphism: none
- pseudocardinal teeth: large, heavy
- lateral teeth: strong
- nacre: white, occasionally with salmon tinge
Soft parts: white
Similar species/lookalikes: Most similar with Pleurobema sintoxia, with which it is often confused. In P. sintoxia the beaks are situated much more forward, and the posterior ventral edge is usually rounded, more rarely straight. In F. flava that edge is usually slightly concave, sometimes flat, especially in younger animals. Nacre in P. sintoxia is sometimes pink, and periostracum is often maroon.
DISTRIBUTION/WATERSHEDS 11
ONTARIO
Lake Huron-St-Clair dr.:
- Ausable R.
- Sydenham R.
Thames R.
Lake Erie dr.:- Grand R.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Philippe Blais, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Philippe Blais
- (c) Jesse Weinzinger, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jesse Weinzinger
- (c) dbarclay, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by dbarclay
- (c) Mary Mirasola, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mary Mirasola
- (c) J. Burke Korol, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by J. Burke Korol
- (c) Quinten Wiegersma, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Quinten Wiegersma
- (c) Colin Murray, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Colin Murray
- (c) Mignoffo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mignoffo
- (c) kellyrenner, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
- Adapted by Philippe Blais from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusconaia_flava
- (c) Philippe Blais, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
