Mussel

Mussels are several families of bivalve molluscs. Mussels live in lakes, rivers, and creeks. They sometimes also live in intertidal areas along coastlines worldwide. The freshwater mussels (several allied families, the largest being the Unionidae) and saltwater mussels (family Mytilidae) are not closely related, despite the fact that they may look similar. They are grouped in different subclasses. The freshwater Zebra mussels and their relatives (family Dreissenidae) live attached to rocks in a manner similar to marine mussels, but are classified with the Heterodonta, the taxonomic group including most bivalves referred to as "clams".

Mussel
Mussels
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Subclasses
Pteriomorpha (marine mussels) Palaeoheterodonta (freshwater mussels) Heterodonta (zebra mussels)

From archeology, it is known that humans have been eating mussels for thousands of years. They can be cooked or eaten raw. Care must be taken however as mussels quickly become poisonous after they die.

Mussel Media

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  Marine blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, showing some of the inner anatomy. The white posterior adductor muscle is visible in the upper image, and has been cut in the lower image to allow the valves to open fully.

• Flight around a 3D-rendering of a μCT-scan of a young Mytilus that is almost completely covered with Balanidae (barnacles). Resolution of the scan is 29 μm/Voxel.

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  A Mytilus with its byssus clearly showing, at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California

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  A sea star consuming a mussel in Northern California

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  Mussels completely covering rocks in the intertidal zone, in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

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  Mussel dredgers

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  Bouchots are marine pilings for growing mussels, here shown at an agricultural fair.

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  Cleaning mussels in a mussel farm (Bay of Kotor, Montenegro)

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  Mussel cutter Trijntje (registration WYK3) in the port of Hörnum, Sylt, Germany

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  A New Zealand Green Lipped Mussel Farm near Havelock, South Island, New Zealand

• Using a remotely-operated submersible to inspect mussel longlines in New Zealand

Other websites

• Freshwater Mussel Genera Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
• Methods of mussel farming Archived 2008-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Photo of bouchot pilings for growing mussels Archived 2007-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Gilbertson, Lance. (1999). Zoology Laboratory Manual (4th ed.), pp. 11.1-11.4. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
• Mississippi River Mussels Archived 2006-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Marine Ecology Station Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine