- Range:
Blue = current range
Hollow circles = former range
- Status in Kansas:
SPECIES IN NEED OF CONSERVATION
- North American Status:
(From NatureServe)
This species is
wide-ranging in North America and is considered stable throughout much of its range, with
few exceptions. It is distributed in the Mississippi River system from Pennsylvania and
Tennessee west to Minnesota and Colorado; St. Lawrence River system and the Great Lakes
(Burch, 1975). In Canada, this species has several secure populations in Manitoba and
Ontario and likely Saskatchewan, fewer populations in Quebec, and occurs in Alberta but
status unknown.
- Comments:
This mussel has a straw-colored, thin shell with a smooth and shiny exterior. Young
shells reveal fine V-ridges on the umbo. The nacre is white. While most of the mussels in
Kansas are found in the southeastern part of the state, the cylindrical papershell’s
range was across the northern half of Kansas. Relic shells have been found in the Kansas,
Saline, Nemaha and Blue rivers. Currently, the only remaining population exists in a short
stretch of the Smoky Hill River. Low to nonexistent stream flow rates threaten the
remaining population in Kansas.
- Fish Hosts:
bluntface shiner, fathead minnow, white crappie and black crappie
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