- Range:
Blue = current range
Hollow circles = former range
- Status in Kansas:
Species in need of conservation
- North American Status:
(From NatureServe)
This species is widespread
and secure throughout most of its range across the Mississippi drainage. It occurs north
to eastern South Dakota, south to northern Mexico, and in all of the Gulf drainages from
the Withlacoochee River, Florida, to the Rio Grande. It also occurs in the Appalachicolan
Basin (ACF basin = formed by Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint Rivers) of Alabama,
Florida, and Georgia, where it was historically known from 101 records from 40 sites from
the ACF system where it was once widespread including the mainstem and tributaries of the
Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, Chipola, and Flint Rivers with current distribution much the
same.
- Comments:
The yellow sandshell is a long and rather narrow mussel. Because of its color and
shape some of the old shellers would refer to it as the “banana boat,” while
another colloquial name is “bank creeper” because it tends to crawl around. It
is sexually dimorphic, with the female being slightly more bulged in appearance than the
male. The female has a mantle lure to entice fish into close range to enhance the
probability of glochidia encystment on the host fish. This mussel is widespread in Kansas
but never reaches high densities in any location. It is better represented in southeast
Kansas and is sometimes found in sparse numbers in reservoirs. Historically, the yellow
sandshell was found farther north and west in Kansas streams where relic shells can be
found as evidence of past occurrence.
- Fish Hosts:
longnose gar, shortnose gar, black crappie, white crappie, largemouth bass and
green sunfish
|
