[Mervione]

I was reading on Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_pearl_mussel ) that the freshwater mussel is an endagered specie, this made me a little worried. Since they call the mussel Pinctada margaritifera I´m wondering if this information I got is correct though...

If it is, then maybe it´s just in countries such as Sweden (Where they are rare.) they are endagered?

[jerin]

Mervione,

if they talked about the freshwater mussel, the name would be margaritifera margaritifera, Pinctada margaritifera would be the Black Tahitian Pearl mollusk.

[J Marcus]

Pinctada Margaritifera is a salt water species. It sounds like a bogus entry from a confused contributor to wikipedia. There are many, many species of freshwater mussel, many of which can produce pearls. The greatest concentration of and diversity of species is to be found in the Mississippi river drainage system in the USA. Unfortunately, a combination of problems, among them being pollution and over-harvest has reduced their numbers greatly and a good number of them are threatened, endangered or possibly even extinct. However, one simply cannot justify the sweeping generality that "...the freshwater mussel is an endangered specie." Some of the many freshwater species are and some are not. Before their habitat was degraded and their numbers were reduced, great numbers of very valuable pearls were harvested from these waters.

J Marcus
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

[Pearling Technologies]

I thought mussels were of the unionidae family? Mike.....you there?

[Mervione]

I see, it makes sense that a few of the freshwater species are endagered and some not. Silly me not to remember that we do have some freshwater mussels here, although they´re unable to produce pearls sadly... I remember that when I were small my family sometimes went to a beach with tons of them lying on the ground, you´d have to be careful or wear sandals or else you´d cut yourself on all the shells lying around, my sister did once. Me and a couple of siblings thought that they could produce pearls so we opened a few mussels until mom told us that they couldn´t. Poor mussels. I was so naive to think that the first mussel I´d open would hold a giant, shining, white perfectly round pearl... Now I just smile at the idea. I don´t even like white pearls much.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by Pearling Technologies

I thought mussels were of the unionidae family?

Yes, they are of the unionidae family.

Natural European freshwater pearls are from the Margaritifera margaritifera, not to be mixed up with the black-lipped Pinctada margaritifera, which is a saltwater oyster now commercially famous for bearing black Tahitian pearls.

Mervione, I think they are referring to local freshwater mussels around the world that have lost, or are rapidly losing their habitat due to the interferrence of man(what else?). Caitlin can elaborate more on this, as she has frequently been posting the plight of these creatures on P-G.

You can do a P-G search using the word unionidae---Caitlin's posts will pop up.

Slraep

[Mikeyy]

There are two stories that are being mixed together. Thus

I don't know about the freshwater shells in Europe. In the U.S. we do have endangered mussels. However, The shells harvested for nuclei manufacturing are not endangered species. The two stories are often intertwined causing confusion. I think by design(but thats just me).

Its analogues to not eating chicken because an Amazon parrot is endangered.

[Caitlin]

Margaretifia margaretiferia is an endangered species of mussel in Scotland where it used to be an excellent source for freshwater mussels.

Many species of mussels are doing well in America espcially in the Mississippi river and its major tributaries. Many states have special programs to clean up the mussels' habitats where the mussels are having problems.

I called all my articles "Unios in "........ and named a state. I believe all those threads are in the Pearl books and resources Forum. It is a lot of information, but pick a state and get going.

I have come to love those little critters, some of them have the most unbelievable nacre colors! The one below is a potamilus purpurtas

[Caitlin]

In North America, it is estimated that 43% of the 300 species of freshwater mussels are in danger of extinction. Further, the current extinction rate (percent loss per decade) for freshwater mussels is 1.2% and is estimated to be 6.4% in the future. These rates fall within the range of estimates for tropical rainforest communities (1-8% loss per decade). Historically, the Midwest boasted the most diverse collection of mussels in the world. But today, the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio list more than half of their 78 known mussel species as endangered, threatened, or requiring special concern.
No other group of animals in North America is in such grave danger of extinction! Four mussel species that reside in the Upper Mississippi River basin receive Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. They are listed as endangered species and include the winged mapleleaf, Higgins' eye, fat pocketbook and scaleshell. The sheepnose and spectaclecase are candidate species. Numerous other species are listed by the States of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri.

LINK http://www.fws.gov/midwest/mussel/threatened.html

Threatened and Endangered Mussels
All the pictures in the following posts are from Government webpages.

Winged
mapleleaf


Higgins' eye
pearlymussel


Fat
pocketbook


Scaleshell

Go Here to see more pics Unios (freshwater mussels) of the world

[J Marcus]

Caitlin: That's a fine education you're giving us in the importance and status of the Mississippi drainage pearl mussels. It's sad that things that reside hidden under the water and in the substrate don't get the attention they deserve. Besides their pearl production these creatures do an important job in filtering and maintaining water quality. Good work and thanks!

J Marcus
http://www.flyrodjewelry.com/home.html

[Mikeyy]

There wouldn't be much of a cultured pearl industry without them. I just want to make it clear that the species that are endangered are not harvested for nuclei production.

The Mississippi River basin has changed a lot in the past 80 years or so. The habitat for many of these shells doesn't exist any longer. Mussels generally prefer sand and gravel. In the 20's and 30's the U.S. government built locks and dams to control the rivers flow after years of serious flooding. The result was sedimentation. All the large shell beds were inundated with mud where there used to be gravel.
And to add to that you have the problem with the development large corporate ranching and farming operations. With their pesticides and other chemical products that run in to the same drainage system. And we are all familiar with the conditions our waters were in by the early 70's from other industrial waste products.
We have done a good job of cleaning up our rivers. But the sedimentation will always be there as long as there are dams. So the habitat for many shells will never be back.
It has zero to do with over harvesting for nuclei production. Because the vast majority of these shells were never used commercially.
A simple list of endangered mussels doesn't really explain the situation very well. It leaves you with the notion that mussels have been over harvested for nuclei production. This is a misconception.

Lastly, My company has been doing diving projects for the F.W.S. and the U.S.G.S. for a few years now. We also dive for state fish and wildlife services. How do you suppose they get the shells for their reports.