Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 65 



11. FAT MUCKET 



LAMPSILIS LUTEOLA (Lamarck) 



Lampsilis luteola is the most widely distributed of the Amer- 

 ican Unionidse, its range extending over nearly all of North Amer- 

 ica east of the Rocky Mountains. It lives and thrives under a 

 great variety of conditions, being frequent in both lakes and rivers. 



In Lake Maxinkuckee this is the most common mussel, being 

 found almost everywhere in water from 2 to 5 or 6 feet deep where 

 the bottom is suitable. It prefers a rather solid bottom with some 

 admixture of sand or gravel, but occurs also even where the bot- 

 tom is of a rather firm peaty nature as in some places in Outlet 

 Bay. It is, however, rather scarce and widely scattered in such 

 localities. The best beds are found at Long Point, at Farrar's, in 

 front of McDonald's, by the old Kruetzberger pier, and in 

 Aubeenaubee Bay off from the Military Academy. In Lost Lake 

 it was abundant in the large mussel bed below the Bardsley cot- 

 tage, and a few shells were found in the north end of the lake. 



The Lake Maxinkuckee shells are smaller and thinner than 

 those of the rivers; they closely resemble those of most of the 

 neighboring lakes with which they were compared, such as Twin 

 Lakes, Pretty Lake, Bass Lake, etc. The L. luteola of Upper Fish 

 Lake are much larger and more like river shells. Compared with 

 specimens of more remote lakes, those of Lake Erie are much 

 smaller, more solid and not stained, the rays being quite distinct. 

 The L. luteola of Lake Pokegama, Minn., are unlike any of those 

 above cited, being large, thick and heavy, furnishing excellent but- 

 ton material. 



Lampsilis luteola is represented in Lake Maxinkuckee and Lost 

 Lake by 2 forms; although these forms are well connected by 

 intergrades the extremes are pretty markedly distinct. 



The colony in Lost Lake is composed of compressed, elongate 

 shells, almost as large as those found in rivers, but considerably 

 thinner. It is in the females of this group, and only in part of 

 them, that the greatest variation occurs. The males are not much 

 unlike the ordinary well-known form of the neighboring rivers. 

 The most strongly aberrant females are markedly compressed, and 

 flare out broadly in the post-basal region. The umbones are far 

 forward and they remind one somewhat in contour of the marine 

 species, Modioki plicatula. Some of them closely resemble Lamp- 

 silis radiata of the Atlantic drainage. The Lost Lake mussels of 

 this species are stained a peculiar attractive ash-gray which does 

 not greatly obscure the rays. They are not so heavily encrusted 



517618- -Vol. 2 



