Pearlymussel, Pink Mucket

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Pearlymussel, Pink Mucket
Species: Lampsilis Abrupta              Federal Listing:  Endangered; June 14, 1976              Status:Declining

This is the only endangered or threatened mussel in Arkansas with a shell thick enough to be used in the cultured pear industry. In the book Arkansas Mussels, authors John Harris and Mark Gordon note, "Shells are often taken by commercial fishermen and mistaken for the ebony shell or mucket." Misidentification could be one factor causing their decline.

Pink muckets occur over a wide geographic area, including the Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland river systems. The largest Arkansas populations are in the Spring and White rivers, with smaller numbers in the Ouachita and Little river systems.

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