Species Factsheet
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Threatened
and Endangered Species Factsheet |
 Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
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Description: The Higgins'-eye’s three- to-four inch roundish shells, or valves, are golden-olive brown with dark rings and green and orangish rays. Shell interior is coated with white or pink mother-of-pearl, or nacre. The mussel's hinged edge is swollen. The unhinged edge is squared in females and pointed in males. The shell is made of calcium like our fingernails, protecting the fleshy animal inside. The soft mussel has a single "foot" which carries it only a few hundred yards during its potential 30-year life span. Mussels embed themselves partly open, hinged end up, in river-bottom mussel beds. One siphon takes in food and water while an output siphon releases wastes downstream. Habitat: The world range of this ordinary looking mussel is the upper Mississippi River, from Prescott, Wisconsin, south to Iowa and Illinois, and larger tributaries such as the St. Croix and Wisconsin rivers. Feeding habits: Mussels are filter feeders living on a diet of microorganisms gleaned from rich currents. Current Iowa range:Allamakee, Clayton, Clinton, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jackson, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott counties. Do something WILD!: Visit the state historical museum or other local museums to learn more about the creatures that live at the bottom of Iowa rivers.
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