#unionid

[thebrainscoop]

What do bivalves (Family: Unionidae) and the fashion industry have in common? Well, buttons. From the 1890's to the 1930's, the source of "pearl" buttons came from the fishing of various freshwater mussel species. Lack of industry regulation - in addition to factory pollution and the building of dams - have all contributed to the required protection of many remaining species today. To give you a sense of how many animals were taken, in 1908 alone more than 38,130 tons of mussels were fished out of Iowa and Illinois. It took around 30,000 medium-sized mussels to constitute a single ton of weight. (at The Field Museum)

Fresh-water mussels and mussel industries of the United States, Coker 1919.

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Actinonaias pectorosa

....is a species of freshwater Unionid bivalve mollusc, which is endemic to the Cumberland River and Tennessee River drainages in the eastern United States. A. pectorosa typically occurs in sand-gravel bottoms in riffles with fast currents, typically in water less than three feet in depth. Like most bivalves Actinonaias pectorosa is a filter feeder. 

Classification

Animalia-Mollusca-Bivaliva-Palaeoheterodonta-Unionoida-Unionidae-Lampsilini-Actinoaias-A. pectorosa

Image: Dick Biggins