(Photo/Island)
We have said sun and moon clams before, we have talked about clams, we have also said field snails, mountain pit snails, etc., today let's talk about one of the most common ingredients in the vegetable market, the mollusk - river mussels.
Image source: http://www.meishij.net/recaipu/hebangxianroudoufu.html
Although molluscs are the second largest group of organisms in the biological world after insects in diversity, their presence in both the general public and the domestic natural natural world is quite low. Most of the concepts of molluscs that many people think of are probably from various snail shells in the wet market.
River mussels are in the impression of many people as two shells, stuffed with meat that can be cooked with tofu or stir-fried with sauce, but in fact, river mussels have one of the most diverse double-shelled shells (that is, bivalves under the mollusk phylum). There are about 900 species in 6 families under the mussel order Unionoida, all of which live in freshwater environments. We generally see species in China are the species of the genus Unionidae, and the diversity of River Mussels in China is second only to the United States in the world, with about 100 species and most of them endemic to China.
So what are the different types of river mussels that we usually see in the wet market?
At present, the river mussel that everyone can see most easily in the wet market is the first to promote this: Sinanodonta woodiana, a toothless mussel with a back horn
Sinanodonta woodiana, a toothless mussel in the back corner, Photography: Island
This kind of river mussel is native to the vast region of East Asia, the vitality is extremely tenacious, basically and the river connected to the unpolluted waters can see this mussel, generally one or two pounds of weight, can grow to more than 20 centimeters.
Although the river mussel itself has poor mobility, generally buried in the sediment and filters various plankton by extending water pipes, their juvenile "hook larvae" can spread everywhere through the gills of parasitic fish (especially the trout), while the trout lays their eggs in the shell of the river mussel, using the river mussel to incubate and protect their offspring, in short, the river mussel and the trout form a symbiotic relationship of each other's offspring.
(from Blue Zoological http://blueanimalbio.com/)
The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain in China are the areas with the highest diversity of river mussels, and Shanghai is the model production area of many domestic mussels. Nowadays, most of the rivers in Shanghai are either polluted or completely landfilled into roads, so most of the wild river mussel species can no longer be seen.
However, I can also find some other less common river mussel species from rivers and lakes on the outskirts of Shanghai in the wet market:
Wrinkled crown mussel Cristaria plicata Photo by Zhang Lejia
Wrinkled crown mussel Cristaria plicata can easily grow to 25 cm or more than 5 or 6 pounds. At the same time, this unique Chinese river mussel is also the largest river mussel in the world, which can grow to about 40 centimeters.
Domed bead mussel Nodularia douglasiae Photo by Zhang Lejia
Domed bead mussel Nodularia douglasiae, a smaller and longer mussel, but the nacre layer is very thick, and it is very easy to find pearls in it (although almost always in the shape of crooked dates).
Sword-shaped spear mussel Lanceolaria gladiola Photo by Zhang Lejia
Lanceolaria gladiola, a relatively large mussel that is rare in Shanghai, shaped like a dagger, has only been seen in some rivers on Chongming Island in Shanghai.
Chinese spiny clam Acuticosta chinensis Photo by Zhang Lejia
The Chinese spiny mussel Acuticosta chinensis, a small mussel with the largest size like a USB stick, can be seen on the shell of two ridges and green radial patterns, is also endemic to China, generally mixed in the river clam field snail.
Ray spinosa mussel Schistodesmus lampreyanus Photography: Zhang Lejia
Schistodesmus lampreyanus, a model origin of this mussel in Shanghai, has obvious wavy convexity on the surface of the shell and a very thick shell, but at present it can only be seen in Dianshan Lake in Shanghai.
In the future, when you have time, you can visit some vegetable markets, carefully observe the aquatic stalls, and if your hometown is around Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, then you can see more rare species.
The above is today's push, thank you for reading.
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