Arkansia

Ouachita rock pocketbook
A live individual of Arkansia wheeleri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionoida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Arkansia
Species: A. wheeleri
Binomial name
Arkansia wheeleri
Ortmann & Walker, 1912

Arkansia is a monotypic genus[2] of freshwater mussels in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. The sole species in the genus is Arkansia wheeleri. Its common names are the Ouachita rock pocketbook and Wheeler's pearly mussel.[1] The genus was named for the state of Arkansas, where the mussel was first discovered.[2] This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.[3]

Distribution

This species is native to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in the United States, which have only four or five small, isolated populations.[4] Of the remaining populations, only the one located in the Kiamichi River in Oklahoma is viable.[4]

Description

This mussel is not sexually dimorphic; the sexes appear the same. The shell is somewhat rounded or oval, up to 11.2 centimeters long by 6 wide by 8.7 high. The shell is brown or black, lustrous and iridescent. The nacre is part pink and part white or bluish.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Cummings, K. & Cordeiro, J. (2011). "Arcidens wheeleri". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2011: e.T2114A9250119. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T2114A9250119.en. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 USFWS. Arkansia wheeleri Recovery Plan. March 2004.
  3. ↑ USFWS. Final rule to list the Ouachita rock-pocketbook (mussel) as an endangered species. Federal Register October 23, 1991.
  4. 1 2 Arkansia wheeleri. The Nature Conservancy.


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