#xenostrobus

[drhoz]

#2415 - Xenostrobus neozelanicus - Little Black Mussel

AKA Hauea and Flea Mussel, Modiolus ater, Modiolus neozelanicus, and Mytilus ater.

A small mussel found around New Zealand and the Auckland Islands. Like other mussels, a filter feeding bivalve that are usually found in intertidal environments. One genus is found in freshwater, and one subfamily lives in the deep ocean.

Puritutu Rock, New Plymouth, New Zealand.

[drhoz]

Little Black Horse Mussel (Xenostrobus pulex). Various Perth beaches.

[drhoz]

#992 - Xenostrobus pulex - Little Black Horse Mussel

Also known as Flea Mussels, probably because they’re small, triangular, and black. These fingernail-sized mussels are ridiculously common on Perth beaches where-ever sand, stone, and rock come together. Groynes seems particularly popular with them. Funnily enough, Perth is the extreme western end of their range. I wonder if that makes them even MORE common on the south coast? Found across to New South Wales, and also in New Zealand.

Naturally, such a concentration of prey is irresistible to predators like the Cart-rut Shell and other whelks, but the mussels grow rapidly enough that they can keep ahead of their enemies.

Madora Bay, Perth