Cracking pearlymussel
Bivalvia > Unionoida > Unionidae
Hemistena lata (Rafinesque, 1820)
Photographer: Gary Peeples, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Image Citation:
Gary Peeples, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.forestryimages.org
Image Use:
This image may be copied and used, in whole or in part, for any non-profit, educational purpose provided that all reproductions bear an appropriate credit. Any commercial or other use of the image requires the written permission of the photographer or contact organization, and Forestry Images.

The cracking pearlymussel (Hemistena lata) is an endangered species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae.

This species is native to the United States, where it remains only in Tennessee and Virginia. It was originally distributed in the Ohio River, Cumberland River and Tennessee River systems, but it has been extirpated from most of its previous range. Order: Unionoida, Family: Unionidae.