Federal
Status: Not listed
Yellow Sandshell - Lampsilis teres
Federal
Status: Not listed
Ohio Status: Endangered
Key charactersistics: Elongate, relatively thick, often glossy shell; adults usually solid yellow, juveniles yellowish green with fine green rays (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Similar species: Fat mucket, black sandshell, pondhorn, scaleshell (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Description: Shell relatively large, elongate, moderately thick, and somewhat inflated. Anterior end rounded, posterior end pointed in males, truncated in females. Dorsal margin straight, ventral margin straight or occasionally pinched in the middle. Umbos only slightly elevated above the hinge line. Beak sculpture of four to six double-looped ridges. Shell smooth, very shiny when young, becoming dull with age. Periostracum yellow, usually with green rays in young shells, rayless in older individuals. Length to 6 inches (15.2 cm) (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Pseudocardinal teeth elongate and compressed; two in the left valve, one in the right (occasionally with a thin, ridgelike tooth in front). Lateral teeth long and straight to slightly curved; two in the left valve, one in the right. Beak cavity moderately deep. Nacre silvery white, occasionally tinged with cream or salmon near the beak cavity, iridescent posteriorly (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
Hosts: Alligator, longnose, and shortnose gar, black and white crappie, green and orangespotted sunfish, warmouth, largemouth bass, and shovelnose sturgeon (Watters 1995).
Habitat: Medium to large rivers in sand or fine gravel (Cummings, Mayer 1992).
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