Page 206 - The Freshwater Mussels of Oklahoma

Partial Synonymy:
Anodonta imbecilis Say, 1829, Isely 1925; Murray and Leonard 1962; Johnson
1970; Valentine and Stansbery 1971; Oesch 1984
Anodonta imbecillis Say, 1829, Simpson 1914; Johnson 1980; Branson 1983;
Turgeon and others 1988; Howells and others 1996
Utterbackia imbecillis (Say, 1829), Williams and others 1992; Vidrine 1993
Description:
“Shell oblong, thin, with dorsal and ventral lines nearly parallel, pointed behind at
or above the median line, inequilateral, convex or inflated; beaks compressed or
flattened, not projecting above the nearly or quite straight dorsal line, their sculpture
consisting of a few rather feeble, irregular, broken ridges, which are sometimes faintly
doubly looped; posterior ridge low, curved down in the middle; epidermis generally
smooth, yellowish-green or blue-green, often banded and feebly rayed, with two or more
wide, ill-defined, dark rays, on the posterior slope; muscle scars scarcely visible; nacre
pale blue or bluish-white” (Simpson 1914, p 395).
Hosts for Glochidia:
Banded Killifish, Bluegill, Creek Chub, Dollar Sunfish, Green Sunfish,
Largemouth Bass, Longeared Sunfish, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, Warmouth, Western
Mosquitofish, Yellow Perch, it is also reported that no fish host is necessary for this
species (Watters, 1994).

Table 40. Summary of U. imbecillis shell characters.

H/L Maximum W/L
Range Mean H/L Length Range Mean W/L
Location N (%) (%) (mm) (%) (%)
Arkansas River System
Canadian and Verdigris 10 45.0-66.7 52.7 87 25.9-40.2 36.4
River drainages
Red River System
Mountain Fork River 5 50.0-53.7 51.8 64 35.2-40.6 37.6
Little River and Pine 25 47.9-56.3 50.8 73 22.2-39.1 31.3
Creek Reservoir
Kiamichi River 26 45.5-56.7 48.6 51 21.4-35.6 29.3
Lake Texoma 9 45.7-55.0 50.1 63 25.0-37.0 29.0
Stephens County pond 12 48.4-52.5 50.0 66 28.9-36.9 34.4
Lake Burtschi (Grady 4 50.0-55.0 51.5 63 20.0-42.9 28.7
County)
Quannah Parker Lake 40 46.2-56.3 51.3 78 19.2-43.2 35.5
(Comanche County)

General Distribution:
Mississippi River system, Great Lakes drainage and Gulf of Mexico tributaries
from Florida to northern Mexico.
Oklahoma Distribution:
Found in ponds, lakes, streams and rivers throughout most of eastern and southern
Oklahoma.

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