Theliderma sparsa

Theliderma sparsa, the Appalachian monkey-face pearly mussel or Appalachian monkeyface, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

Theliderma sparsa

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Theliderma
Species:
T. sparsa
Binomial name
Theliderma sparsa
(Lea, 1841)
Synonyms

Quadrula sparsa (I. Lea, 1841)

This species is endemic to western Virginia and eastern Tennessee in the Appalachia region, in the Southeastern United States.

It is critically endangered due to pollution of the rivers in which it lives. Being a detritivore, the mussel absorbs the pollutants which contaminate the river as it feeds.

Distribution

There are two to three populations remaining. In the Clinch River of Virginia there is a small, isolated population. A population in the upper Powell River in Tennessee is nearly gone. These occurrences may not be viable. All other occurrences have been extirpated.[2]

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References
  1. Bogan, A.E. (1996). "Theliderma sparsa". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 1996: e.T19042A8792941. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T19042A8792941.en. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  2. Quadrula sparsa. The Nature Conservancy.


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