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Mytilidae

Mytilidae

Overview

Mytilidae Rafinesque, 1815

Common Name: True mussels

Extant/Extinct

Key morphological features: Shells range in shape from subcircular, narrow to elongated and is composed of calcite, aragonite, or both.

        SIZE: Up to ~100mm

Paleoecology: Most species live byssally attached to hard substrates, often forming dense aggregations although some speceis burrow into hard substrates such as coral. Mytilids can be found worldwide and inhabit a range of environments from estuaries to the deep sea.

        MOBILITY: Stationary and mobile (burrow)

        FEEDING MODE: Filter Feeder

        HABITAT: epifaunal, semi-infaunal

Sources:

Mikkelsen, P.M., and Bieler, R. 2008. Seashells of Southern Florida: Bivalves. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 503 pp.

Cox, L.R., et al. 1969. Systematic Descriptions, in Moore, R. C., ed., Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part N, Mollusca 6, Volume 1. The University of Kansas and Geological Society of America. 489 pp. 


Genera of Mytilidae present in the Cretaceous of the Western Interior Seaway