Flat Floater - Anodonta suborbiculata
Federal Status: Not listed (Watters 1995)
Ohio Status: Special interest (Watters 1995)
Key characteristics: Large, thin, nearly circular shell, double-looped beak sculpture, without teeth (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Similar species: Giant floater, paper pondshell (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Description: Shell large, thin, nearly circular, and compressed to slightly inflated in some individuals. Anterior and ventral margins broadly rounded, posterior end bluntly pointed. Dorsal margin flattened and nearly straight. Umbos low, flattened, not raised above the hinge line. Beak sculpture of three or four irregular or broken double-looped ridges. A small wing occasionally present behind the umbo. Shell smooth, shiny, yellow or yellowish green to dark brown, with fine green rays in some individuals. Length to 7 inches (17.8 cm) (Cummings, Mayer 1992). Both valves without teeth, hinge line only slightly thickened. Beak cavity large and very shallow. Nacre white or pinkish white and iridescent (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Hosts: Channel catfish, green and longear sunfish (Watters 1995).
Habitat: Ponds, lakes, or sluggish mud-bottomed pools of creeks and rivers (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
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