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- ›Bivalves
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- ›Heteroconchia
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- ›Freshwater Mussels
- ›Unionoidea
- ›River Mussels
- ›Ambleminae
- ›Pleurobemini
Elliptio
Elliptio is a genus of medium- to large-sized freshwater mussels, aquatic bivalve mollusks in the family Unionidae, commonly known as the unionids, freshwater mussels or naiads.
In contrast with many other groups of American Unionidae, the Elliptio species reach their greatest diversity in the Atlantic-draining rivers of Georgia and the Carolinas, and large parts of Florida. One species ranges north into New England and southern Canada, and two occur in the interior Mississippi drainages. Most Elliptio species have elongated shells, with silvery or purplish interior nacre beneath a thick periostracum, and few reach large size or thickness.
30 branches of this genus, most-observed first
Eastern Elliptio
speciesElliptio complanata
Florida Spike
speciesElliptio jayensis
Elephantear
speciesElliptio crassidens
Gulf Spike
speciesElliptio pullata
Northern Lance
speciesElliptio fisheriana
Alabama Spike
speciesElliptio arca
Carolina Slabshell
speciesElliptio congaraea
Delicate Spike
speciesElliptio arctata
Hidden Spike
speciesElliptio occulta
Atlantic Spike
speciesElliptio producta
Southern Lance
speciesElliptio ahenea
Gulf Slabshell
speciesElliptio fumata
Altamaha Slabshell
speciesElliptio hopetonensis
Roanoke Slabshell
speciesElliptio roanokensis
Variable Spike
speciesElliptio icterina
Georgia Elephantear
speciesElliptio dariensis
Yellow Lance
speciesElliptio lanceolata
Pod Lance
speciesElliptio folliculata
Carolina lance
speciesElliptio angustata
Altamaha Lance
speciesElliptio shepardiana
Winged Spike
speciesElliptio nigella
Box Spike
speciesElliptio cistellaeformis
Chipola Slabshell
speciesElliptio chipolaensis
Inflated Spike
speciesElliptio purpurella
Satilla Elephantear
speciesElliptio downiei
Fluted Elephantear
speciesElliptio mcmichaeli
Cape Fear Spike
speciesElliptio marsupiobesa
St. Johns Elephantear
speciesElliptio monroensis
Altamaha Spiny Mussel
speciesElliptio spinosa
Brother Spike
speciesElliptio fraterna
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Elliptio in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 88135.