Plethobasus cicatricosus

Plethobasus cicatricosus, the white warty-back pearly mussel or white wartyback, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Once widely distributed in the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee River systems in the United States, its range has declined dramatically to the point of near-extinction. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

Plethobasus cicatricosus

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Plethobasus
Species:
P. cicatricosus
Binomial name
Plethobasus cicatricosus
(Say, 1829)

This mussel is yellow-green or yellow-brown in color. The nacre is white and partly iridescent.[2] There is a row of tubercles on one edge of the shell.[3]

The white wartyback lived in the main arteries of big rivers.[2] It was distributed through Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. It has now been extirpated from all of these states except for Tennessee and Alabama, where it possibly remains in the main flow of the Tennessee River. However, no live individuals have been documented since 1997.[4]

If a viable population is discovered, plans exist for the white wartyback to be reintroduced to the French Broad River and the Holston River in Tennessee.[3] There are currently no live individuals that exist in laboratories or propagation facilities.[4]

References
  1. Cummings, K. & Cordeiro, J. (2011). "Plethobasus cicatricosus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2011: e.T17622A7198828. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T17622A7198828.en. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. USFWS. Plethobasus cicatricosus Recovery Plan. September 1984.
  3. Plethobasus cicatricosus. The Nature Conservancy.
  4. White wartyback (Plethobasus cicatricosus) 5-year review United States Fish and Wildlife Service


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