Mussel
(Carolina
Heelsplitter)
![](critteroutlines/inches/musselinchtest.gif)
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General Info:
- Scientific name:
Lasmigona decorata
Description:
- Largest known
specimen: 4.6" in length, 1.56" in width, and 2.7" in
height
- Greenish-brown
to dark brown in color with greenish-brown or black rays on younger
mussels
- The inside surface
(the nacre) is a pearly white to a bluish white, fading into orange
Significance to the
Haw River:
- Stream quality
indicators
- Mussels are nature's
water filters. They clean sediment out of the river as a natural process.
When pollution and extreme runoff of soil into the river kills them,
the water becomes even more murky and dirty. This leads to problems
for other species in the river.
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