Pegias
A live individual of Pegias fabula

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Tribe: Anodontini
Genus: Pegias
Simpson, 1900
Species:
P. fabula
Binomial name
Pegias fabula
(I. Lea, 1838)

Pegias is a monotypic genus[3] of freshwater mussels in the family Unionidae. This genus contains the single species Pegias fabula, known commonly as the littlewing pearlymussel.

Distribution

The species is native to the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems in the United States, where it is present in streams in North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.[2] It has been a federally listed endangered species of the United States since 1988.[4][5]

Description

This mussel is up to 3.8 centimetres (1.5 in) long by 1.3 centimetres (0.51 in) wide. The outer surface of the shell is light greenish or dark yellowish, but it is often eroded off, leaving the shell chalky whitish in color.[3]

Threat of extinction

This mussel has been extirpated from most streams where it once occurred, including any in the state of Alabama. There are between six and twenty remaining populations, most of which contain fewer than 500 individuals.[2]

The main threat to the species is bad water quality, especially due to acidic mine drainage. Other threats include oil and gas exploration, road construction, channeling of the rivers, logging, agriculture, and pesticides.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Cummings, K.; Cordeiro, J. (2012). "Pegias fabula". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012: e.T16479A1074877. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T16479A1074877.en. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 NatureServe (4 August 2023). "Pegias fabula". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  3. 1 2 USFWS. Pegias fabula Recovery Plan. September 1989.
  4. ↑ "Littlewing pearlymussel (Pegias fabula)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  5. ↑ 53 FR 45861
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