Theliderma sparsa

Theliderma sparsa
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 2.3)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific 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.

Distribution

There are two to three populations remaining. In the Clinch River of Virginia there is a small, isolated population. A population in the upper Powell River in Tennessee is nearly gone. These occurrences may not be viable. All other occurrences have been extirpated.^[4]

Reproduction

Like other unionid mussels, Theliderma sparsa uses fish as an intermediate host for its glonchidia larvae. Captive breeding experiments have demonstrated that the mussel larvae can develop on the gills of blotched chub (Erimystax insignis) and streamline chub (Erimystax dissimilis).^[5] Water temperature and vibration prompt release of glonchidia, according to Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Southwest Virginia Mussel Recovery Coordinator Tim Lane.^[5]

Conservation

Theliderma sparsa is a federally endangered species.^[6] It gained protection under the Endangered Species Act with this status in 1976.^[7]

References

1. 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.
4. NatureServe (3 March 2023). "Theliderma sparsa". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
5. Kirk, Molly (15 September 2022). "Solving the Appalachian Monkeyface Mussel Mystery". Notes from the Field. Photos by Meghan Marchetti. Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
6. "Appalachian monkeyface (pearlymussel) (Theliderma sparsa)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
7. 41 FR 24062