OutdoorNebraska

48 Higgins eye, Lampsilis higginsii Description: The Higgins eye is a smaller mussel, growing up to 100mm. The shell is rounded, thick and heavy. In the male, both ends are rounded. In the female, the posterior end is inflated and squared off. The shell is smooth and yellowish brown, often with green rays on the posterior end. The nacre is white. The beaks are elevated above the dorsal margin and turn toward each other. The beak sculpture is supposed to be some double-looped ridges though I could see none on this specimen. Similar species: The Higgins eye is similar to the Plain Pocketbook and the Hickorynut. The Hickorynut does not have green rays and is longer on the posterior end. The Plain Pocketbook gets larger, is generally a light tan color and has a beak sculpture of several heavy ridges. The collection of any shell suspected to be a Higgins eye should be reported. Hosts: Bluegill, freshwater drum, green sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, sauger, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch. Conservation status: G1, N1, S1. A single valve is the total justification for this designation. Directed searches have not found any more to date. Habitats used: Mississippi River and larger tributaries in gravel or mud (Cummings and Mayer 1992). Large rivers in soft or coarse substrate (Seitman 2003). Large rivers on stable substrates from sand to boulders but not firmly packed clay, flocculent silt, organic material, bedrock or shifting sand (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2003). Native range: The Mississippi River from Missouri to Minnesota. Nebraska collection notes: This species was collected before 1900 in the middle Elkhorn River. A single valve in good condition was collected in the Missouri River at RM 809.8 in September 2004. Comments: The photographs are of a specimen collected from the upper Mississippi River. The Missouri River of Nebraska is outside the range of this species which is normally the upper Mississippi River. It is not outside the realm of possibility that a glochidea-carrying fish swam all the way from the Mississippi, up the Missouri to Gavins Point Dam where the juvenile dropped off. Far-fetched, perhaps, but not impossible. This also holds for the Elkhorn River collection. This last one is indicated as a "live" collection on the map but please note that this collection was made in the 1880's.

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