Corbiculidae
(Asian clam)

1-2 inches, shell moderately thick and rounded. Yellowish brown to black, with elevated concentric ridges. Valves with true cardinal teeth. Ligament external.

1 exotic species present in Great Lakes.

Sphaeriidae
(fingernail clams)

<1 inch, shell thin and fragile. Whitish, concentric ridges not prominent. Valves with true cardinal teeth. Ligament external.

27 Great Lakes species

5 exotic species present in Great Lakes

Dreisseniidae
(quagga & zebra mussels)

<1 inch, moderately thick, triangular, and more or less elongated. Surface variably banded with black or brown and cream stripes. Valves without true cardinal teeth. Byssal threads apparent. Ligament internal.

2 exotic species present in Great Lakes

Unionidae
(freshwater mussels)

Adults usually >1 inch. Pseudocardinal teeth, vestigial or absent. Ligament external.

42 Great Lakes species

1 exotic species present in Great Lakes.

glochidia - BIODIDAC

Post-veliger

Species List

Class

• Order
  • Family
    • Genus
      • Species Reported Locations**

** Reported locations based on a limited literature search. Codes indicate presence reported but absence of a code should not be interpreted as a species absence.

• Pelecypoda (Bivalvia) (clams) XWRN12345 SMHEO
• Prionodesmaceae (Veneroida)
• Corbiculidae
• Corbicula
  • C. fluminea R ME (Exotic)
• Dreisseniidae X12345 SMHEO
• Dreissena spp.
  • D. polymorpha 1234 XSHEO* (Exotic)
  • D. bugensis 12345 MHEO* (Exotic)
• Sphaeriidae (Pisidiidae ) (fingernail clams) XWRN12345 SMHEO
• Musculium spp. XR SEO
  • M. lacustre S
  • M. partumeium SEO
  • M. securis X
  • M. transversum R E
• Pisidium spp. XWRN12345 SMHEO
  • P. adamsi S
  • P. amnicum SO (Exotic)
  • P. casertanum XRN1 SO
  • P. compressum S
  • P. conventus 1 SO
  • P. fallax R
  • P. ferrugineum R1 SO
  • P. henslowanum R (Exotic)
  • P. idahoense S
  • P. insigne S
  • P. lilljeborgi R1 SO
  • P. milium S
  • P. moitessieranum S (Exotic)
  • P. nitidum S
  • P. simplex S
  • P. subtruncatum S
  • P. supinum (Exotic)
  • P. variabile 1 O
  • P. ventricosum S
  • P. walkeri S
• Sphaerium spp. WR1 SMHEO
  • S. corneum SMEO (Exotic)
  • S. nitidum 1 SO
  • S. simile R
  • S. striatinum R S
• Unionoida
• Unionidae (freshwater mussels) XWR HCE
• Actinonais sp.
  • A. ligamentina CEO
• Alasmidonta spp.
  • A. marginata CEO
  • A. undulata O
  • A. viridis CEO
• Amblema sp.
  • A. plicata plicata CE
• Anodontoides
  • A. ferussacianus CEO
• Cyclonais sp.
  • C. tuberculata CE
• Elliptio spp.
  • E. complanta CEO
  • E. dilatata CEO
• Epioblasma spp.
  • E. torulosa rangiana CE
  • E. triquetra CE
• Fusconia sp.
  • F. flava CE
• Lampsilis spp.
  • L. cardium CE
  • L. fascicola CE
  • L. ovata W HCEO
  • L. radiata R CEO
  • L. siliquoidea CEO
• Lasmigona spp.
  • L. complanata complanata CEO
  • L. compressa CEO
  • L. costata CEO
  • L. subviridis E (Exotic)
• Leptodea sp.
  • L. fragilis CEO
• Ligumia spp.
  • L. nasuta CEO
  • L. recta CEO
• Obliquaria sp.
  • O. reflexa CE
• Obovaria sp.
  • O. subrotunda CE
• Pleurobema spp.
  • P. coccineum CE
  • P. sintoxia C
• Potamilus spp.
  • P. alatus CEO
  • P. ohiensis E
• Ptychobranchus sp.
  • P. fasciolaris CE
• Pyganodon spp.
  • P. cataracta CEO
  • P. grandis CEO
• Quadrula spp.
  • Q. pustulosa pustulosa CE
  • Q. quadrula CE
• Simpsonais sp.
  • S. ambigua CE
• Strophitus sp.
  • S. undulatus CEO
• Toxolasma sp.
  • T. parvus CE
• Truncilla spp.
  • T. donaciformis CE
  • T. truncata CE
• Utterbackia sp.
  • U. imbecillis CEO
• Villosa spp.
  • V. fabalis CE
  • V. iris CEO

* (Dominant) based on:

• Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.
• Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.

S (Lake Superior) based on:

• Vertical distribution of profundal benthos in Lake Superior Sediments. 1982. Ann S. Heuschele. JGLR 8(4)603-613.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17.
• Lake Superior: an invasion coldspot? 2003. Igor A. Grigorovich, Alexei V. Korniushin, Derek K. Gray, Ian C. Duggan, Robert I.
  Colautti& Hugh J. MacIsaac. Hydrobiologia 499: 191-210.

M (Lake Michigan) based on combination of:

• The Nearshore Benthic Invertebrate Community of Southern Lake Michigan and its Response to Beach Nourishment. 2004. Eric L. Garza and Richard L. Whitman. J. Great Lakes Res. 30(1):114-122.
• Abundance and biomass of the meiobenthos in nearshore Lake Michigan with comparisons to the macrobenthos. 1983. JGLR 9(4)530-547.
• Discovery of the Asiatic Clam, Corbicula fluminea, in Lake Michigan. 1984. David S. White, Michael H. Winnell, and David J. Jude. JGLR 10(3)329-331.
• Space as a limiting resource in freshwater systems: competition between zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and freshwater sponges (Porifera). 2004. Thomas E. Lauer & Anne Spacie. Hydrobiologia 517: 137-145.
• First Finding of the Amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus and the Mussel Dreissena bugensis in Lake Michigan. 2001. Thomas F. Nalepa, Don W. Schloesser, Steve A. Pothoven, Darryl W. Hondorp, David L. Fanslow, Marc L. Tuchman and Guy W. Fleischer. J. Great Lakes Res. 27(3):384-391.

H (Lake Huron) based on:

• Abundance, Biomass, and Species Composition of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, 1987-96. Thomas Nalepa, David Fanslow, Margaret Lansing, Gregory Lang, Mark Ford, Gerald Gostenik, and David Hartson. NOAA Technical Memorandum GLERL-122.
• Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List

C (St. Clair - Detroit River Corridor) based on:

• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List
• Zebra Mussel Infestation of Unionid Bivalves (Unionidae) in North America. DW Schlosser, TF Nalepa, and GL Mackie. AMER. ZOOL., 36:300-310 (1996)
• A Refuge for Native Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from Impacts of the Exotic Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) in Lake St. Clair. DT Zanatta, GL Mackie, JL Metcalfe-Smith, and DA Woolnough. J. Great Lakes Res. 28(3):479-489 Internat. Assoc. Great Lakes Res., 2002
• Changes in the Biodiversity of Freshwater Mussels in the Canadian Waters of the Lower Great Lakes Drainage Basin Over the Past 140 Years JL Metcalfe-Smith, SK Staton, GL Mackie, and NM Lane. J. Great Lakes Res. 24(4):845-858, 1998.

E (Lake Erie) based on:

• Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.
• Discovery of the Asiatic Clam, Corbicula fluminea, in Lake Michigan. 1984. David S. White, Michael H. Winnell, and David J. Jude. JGLR 10(3)329-331.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Distribution of some common benthic invertebrates in nearshore Lake Erie, with emphasis on depth and type of substratus. 1988. David R. Barton. JGLR 14(1)34-43.
• Benthic and pelagic secondary production in Lake Erie after the invasion of Dreissena spp. with implications for fish production. 2000. Ora E. Johannsson, Ron Dermott, Donna M Graham, Julie A. Dahl, E. Scott Millard, Debra D. Myles, and Jennifer LeBlanc. JGLR 26(1)31-54.
• Changes in the benthic macroinvertebrate community of the Cleveland Harbor area of Lake Erie from 1978 to 1989. 1993. Kenneth A. Krieger and Lloyd S. Ross. JGLR 19(2) 237-249.
• Lethal and sublethal effects of sponge overgrowth on introduced dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River system. 1995. A Ricciardi, FL Snyder, DO Kelch and HM Reiswig. CJFAS 52:2695-2703.
• Changes to the deepwater benthos of eastern Lake Erie since the invasion of Dreissena 1979-1993. 1997. R Dermott and D Kerec. CJFAS 54: 922-930.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List
• First Finding of the Amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus and the Mussel Dreissena bugensis in Lake Michigan. 2001. Thomas F. Nalepa, Don W. Schloesser, Steve A. Pothoven, Darryl W. Hondorp, David L. Fanslow, Marc L. Tuchman and Guy W. Fleischer. J. Great Lakes Res. 27(3):384-391.
• Zebra Mussel Infestation of Unionid Bivalves (Unionidae) in North America. DW Schlosser, TF Nalepa, and GL Mackie. AMER. ZOOL., 36:300-310 (1996)
• Changes in the Biodiversity of Freshwater Mussels in the Canadian Waters of the Lower Great Lakes Drainage Basin Over the Past 140 Years JL Metcalfe-Smith, SK Staton, GL Mackie, and NM Lane. J. Great Lakes Res. 24(4):845-858, 1998.

O (Lake Ontario) based on:

• Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.
• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.
• Benthic macroinvertebrate communities of southwestern Lake Ontario following invasion of Dreissena. 1994. Timothy W. Stewart and James M. Haynes. JGLR 20(2)479-493.
• Benthic macroinvertebrate communities in southwestern Lake Ontario following invasion of Dreissena: Continuing change. 1999. James M. Haynes, Timothy W. Stewart, and George E. Cook. JGLR 25(4)828-838.
• NOAA Great Lakes Nonindigenous Species List
• Changes to the deepwater benthos of eastern Lake Erie since the invasion of Dreissena 1979-1993. 1997. R Dermott and D Kerec. CJFAS 54: 922-930.
• First Finding of the Amphipod Echinogammarus ischnus and the Mussel Dreissena bugensis in Lake Michigan. 2001. Thomas F. Nalepa, Don W. Schloesser, Steve A. Pothoven, Darryl W. Hondorp, David L. Fanslow, Marc L. Tuchman and Guy W. Fleischer. J. Great Lakes Res. 27(3):384-391.
• Changes in the Biodiversity of Freshwater Mussels in the Canadian Waters of the Lower Great Lakes Drainage Basin Over the Past 140 Years JL Metcalfe-Smith, SK Staton, GL Mackie, and NM Lane. J. Great Lakes Res. 24(4):845-858, 1998.

X (Great Lakes coastal wetlands) based on:

• The ecology of invertebrates in Great Lakes coastal wetlands: current knowledge and research needs. 1992. Kenneth A. Krieger. JGLR 18(4)634-650.
• Burton, T.M., D.G. Uzarski and J.A. Genet. 2004.  Invertebrate habitat use in relation to fetch and plant zonation in northern Lake Huron coastal wetlands.  Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management. 7(2): 249-267

W (wave zone = 0-2m) based on:

• Wave-zone macrobenthos of the exposed Canadian shores of the St. Lawrence Great Lakes. 1978. D.R. Barton and B.N. Hynes. JGLR 4(1)27-45.

R (rocky habitats) based on: Benthic Community Structure and Composition among rocky habitats in the Great Lakes and Keuka Lake, NY. 1987. Michael H. Winnell and David J. Jude. JGLR 13(1)3-17. and Pothoven et al. In press.

L (littoral) based on: Relationships among zoobenthos, sediments, and organic matter in littoral zones of western Lake Erie and Saginaw Bay. 1983. Richard A. Cole and Diana L. Weigmann. JGLR 9(4)568-581.

N (nearshore) based on:

• The Nearshore Benthic Invertebrate Community of Southern Lake Michigan and its Response to Beach Nourishment. 2004. Eric L. Garza and Richard L. Whitman. J. Great Lakes Res. 30(1):114-122.
• Distribution of some common benthic invertebrates in nearshore Lake Erie, with emphasis on depth and type of substratus. 1988. David R. Barton. JGLR 14(1)34-43.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.

1 = 14-30m based on:

• Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.
• Factors influencing changes in the nearshore benthic community on the Canadian site of Lake Ontario. 2000. Bruce W. Kilgour, Robert C. Bailey, and E Todd Howell. JGLR 26(3)272-286.
• Pothoven et al. In press.

2 = 31-50m based on:Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society. and Pothoven et al. In press.

3 = 51-70m based on:Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.

4 = 71-90m based on:Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.

5 = >90m based on:Disruption of the benthic community in Lake Ontario. 2003. S.J. Lozano and T.F. Nalepa. in State of Lake Ontario (SOLO) -- Past, Present and Future. M Munawar (ed). Ecovision World Monograph Series. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society.