Sinanodonta lauta is a large freshwater mussel from Japan, Korea, and a small corner of the Russian Far East; it has not been found in the wild in the United States. It is a close relative of the Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana), and the two are so alike that DNA is often needed to tell them apart.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A thin, fragile shell without well-developed hinge teeth. Large shells can top 8 in (20 cm), and the color ranges from green to nearly black.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- ponds
- rivers
- Range
- Native to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and coastal rivers of southern Primorye in Russia. It has turned up outside its native range in Kazakhstan, Iran, and Siberian rivers, probably carried along with imported carp.
- Preferred conditions
- Lives buried in soft, muddy bottoms.
Behavior
- Diet
- A that strains tiny food particles from the water.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Its larvae spend time attached to fish as tiny parasites before dropping off to settle on the bottom — a likely way it hitchhikes to new places with stocked fish.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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