MtTSSEL FAUNA OF MAUMEE KIVEK. S9 



DISCUSSION OF MUSSEL SPECIES. 



1. Quadrida tuherculata (Rafinesque). Purple warty-back. This 

 is not a very common species of mussel in the Maumee or its tribu- 

 taries, only a few occasional examples having been taken. It was 

 most abundant in the upper portions of the river, near Fort Wayne, 

 and down as far as Maumee Center Bridge. No living examples 

 were obtained below Defiance, Ohio, and only a very few dead shells 

 were picked up below here, the last one being obtained at Waterville, 

 Ohio. All specimens seen were kept, and only about 52 were obtained 

 in the Maumee system altogether. The range of this species is given 

 by Simpson ^ as " Mississippi drainage generally ; southern Michigan ; 

 San Saba County, central Texas." While it is in the main a Missis- 

 sippi form, it is one of those species which occur occasionally within 

 the St. Lawrence Basin, and although not usually a lake-dwelling 

 species a few old valves were found along the shore of Put-in Bay, 

 The Maumee examples show very little variation. Although most of 

 them were rather small, some of the shells seen at the clammer's 

 camp near Fort Wayne were quite large. The few mussels of this 

 species obtained alive usually contained small baroques in the dorsal 

 region. 



This mussel is of no value for buttons on account of its color. In 

 addition to being purple, the luster is usually dull. The epidermis, 

 which is commonly brown, is somewhat tinged with green in examples 

 from Maumee Center Bridge. In some places the distomid of Kelly, 

 associated with dorsal baroques, is a common parasite. The examples 

 found in the Maumee River, however, are comparatively free from 

 this parasite. 



2. Quadrula coccinea (Conrad). This species is not as common in 

 the Maumee Basin as Q. Uiberciilata^ only about 31 specimens having 

 been obtained. It was more abundant in the upper course of the river, 

 but dwindled out and finally disappeared; the greatest number (10) 

 was obtained at Kern's Reservation, not far below Fort Wayne, and 

 the last one was taken at Florida, Ohio, in the riffles below the bridge. 

 It is a species common to both the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence 

 drainage. The larger number of examples seen were white nacred, 

 though a few were rosy. 



The larger white-nacred specimens would make excellent button 

 shells, classing with the pig-toes, though considerably thinner. 



3. Quadrula ruhiginosa (Lea). Quadrula ruhiginosa is one of the 

 most widely distributed of our fresh-water shells and occurs in a 

 great variety of situations; it is found in lakes as well as in rivers. 

 It is fairly common all along the Maumee and its tributaries (except 

 the Tiffin, which was not thoroughly examined and in which few 



« Proceedings U. S. National Museum, vol. xxii^ p. 795. 



