Theliderma sparsa

Theliderma sparsa
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Genus: Theliderma
Species:
T. sparsa
Binomial name
Theliderma sparsa
(Lea, 1841)
Synonyms[3]
  • Quadrula sparsa (I. Lea, 1841)
  • Margaron (Unio) sparsus (I.Lea, 1841)
  • Margaron (Unio) sparus (I.Lea, 1841)
  • Quadrula tuberosa subsp. sparsa (I.Lea, 1841)
  • Unio sparsus I.Lea, 1841

Theliderma sparsa, the Appalachian monkey-face pearly mussel or Appalachian monkeyface, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

This species is endemic to western Virginia and eastern Tennessee in the Appalachia region, in the Southeastern United States.

It is critically endangered[1] due to pollution of the rivers in which it lives.[citation needed] Being a detritivore, the mussel absorbs the pollutants which contaminate the river as it feeds.

  1. ^ a b Bogan, A.E. (1996). "Theliderma sparsa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T19042A8792941. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T19042A8792941.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ "Theliderma sparsa (I.Lea, 1841)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 27 March 2023.