Kidneyshell - Ptychobranchus fasciolaris
Federal Status: Not listed (Watters 1995)
Ohio Status: Not listed (Watters 1995)
Key characteristics: Thick, kidney-shaped shell, heavy teeth, yellowish brown, with broken green rays (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Similar species: Spike, mucket, ellipse, rainbow (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Description: Shell solid, thick, elongate, compressed, and kidney-shaped. Anterior end rounded, posterior end bluntly pointed. Dorsal margin straight to slightly curved, ventral margin curved, straight, or arched. Umbos low, approximately even with the hinge line. Beak sculpture, if visible, of two or three indistinct ridges. Shell smooth. Periostracum yellowish brown to brown with broad green rays, usually interrupted or broken. Length to 6 inches (15.2 cm) (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Pseudocardinal teeth thick and triangular; two in the left valve, one in the right, sometimes with a low, roughened tubercular tooth on either side. Lateral teeth short, nearly straight, heavy, and serrated. Beak cavity shallow or absent. Some females with a fold or groove on the inside. Nacre pearly white (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Hosts: None reported (Watters 1995).
Habitat: Medium to large rivers in gravel (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
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