OutdoorNebraska

54 Mucket, Actinonaias ligamentina Description: The Mucket is oblong or oval shaped and can get quite large (up to 175mm). The shell is compressed and moderately thick with the anterior end being thicker than the posterior. The anterior end is rounded while the posterior end is bluntly pointed. The shell is smooth with a broad posterior ridge. The color is yellowish or greenish with green rays though older individuals can get quite dark. The pseudocardinal teeth are large and prominent. The lateral teeth are typical, two in the left valve, one in the right. The beak sticks very slightly above the dorsal margin. The beak sculpture is not very visible. Similar species: The Mucket most resembles a Fatmucket. The Fatmucket is more elongate (male) or more inflated (female). The beak sculpture of the Fatmucket is a series of V-shaped ridges. Conservation status: G5, N5, SX. The Mucket is extirpated from Nebraska though the sum total of collections is two relict shell. Hosts: American eel, black crappie, bluegill, central stoneroller, common carp, green sunfish, largemouth bass, orangespotted sunfish, rock bass, sauger, smallmouth bass, tadpole madtom, white bass, white crappie, yellow perch. Habitats used: Medium to large rivers in gravel or mixes sand and gravel (Cummings and Mayer 1992). Medium to large rivers in soft or coarse substrate and flowing water (Seitman 2003). Stable gravel bottoms in flowing rivers (Oesch 1995). Shallower waters (<1m) in sediments ranging from cobble and gravel in riffles with strong current to quiet water in runs with coarse gravel to sand or mud (Parmalee and Bogan 1998). Cobble and sand in moving water, rarely in ponds or lakes (Watters et.al. 2009). Native range: The Mississippi River basin from Louisiana to Minnesota and New York. Also found in St. Lawrence River and tributaries to Great Lakes. Nebraska collection notes: This species is represented by a single relict shell fragment collected from Logan Creek in the Elkhorn River basin and a second in Sarpy County. Comments: My descriptions and experience with this species is with a borrowed shell from Arkansas and several relict shell found along the Mississippi River in Moline, Illinois. Rating this species as "extirpated" in Nebraska almost assumes that they were once common in the state. The collections information says this was probably never the case but they were always extremely rare. The scientific names of species are always being reviewed and, in some cases, corrected to better represent where they fit with other species. The name for the Mucket is being reviewed and may change to Ortmanniana ligamentina.

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