The Cowling Arboretum is home to various organisms that lead a wealth of different lifestyles, but some of the most fascinating, specialized and understated animals are the mussels. Mussels are bivalves, meaning they are aquatic mollusks possessing a soft body enclosed within a hinged shell. Other bivalves include oysters and scallops. The arboretum is home to various mussel species, including the aptly named Pink Heelsplitter, the Plain Pocketbook, and the Fatmucket. Mussels can live many years. An individual six inches long might be 15-20 years old. They filter 10-15 gallons of water a day, removing excess nutrients and pollution. Considering their longevity, they can be a huge help in maintaining water quality and the habitats of other Organisms. To reproduce, mussels release their gametes into the water column. Then, small larval mussels must attach to a host organism, usually a fish’s gills. Some mussels are specialized to only attach to one species of fish. Once they are large enough to rest on the bottom, they use an anchoring organ called a foot to keep them in place as they feed. They can also move by repeatedly reaching forward and dragging themselves along the riverbed.

In the arboretum, mussels can be found in the Cannon River and in Spring Creek northwest of Highway 19. Their shells are often present on the sandy banks of the Cannon

because their predators, such as raccoons and otters, do not have the strength to open the shells when the mussels are alive, so they remove them from the water and wait for them to desiccate. Please do not pick up or remove mussels since all parts of the animals are federally protected, even the empty shells, and it is not allowed to remove plants, animals, or artifacts from the arboretum. If you would like to know more about mussels, such as the Pink Heelsplitter, you can investigate the mussels page of the arboretum website.