The pimpleback mussel has a thick, rounded shell. The shell is brown or yellow with a green stripe. There are many warty bumps on the posterior half of the outer shell. The inside of the shell is pearly white.

The pimpleback mussel grows to four inches in length. The pimpleback mussel lives in rivers with a mud, sand or gravel bottom. This mussel often lives for more than 10 years, and some individuals may live for more than 100 years.

The sexes are separate. The male releases sperm into the water. The female draws sperm in through the incurrent siphon along with water and other particles. Eggs are fertilized internally. Fertilized eggs develop into an intermediate larval stage called glochidia.

Glochidia are stored in the female’s gills that provides a safe place to develop and plenty of oxygen. In the spring or summer, glochidia are released from the female into the water, where they begin their parasitic stage. Glochidia attach to a fish and form a cyst.

Within the cyst, the larvae transform into the adult form, a process that may take from one to 25 weeks depending on the host, water temperature and place of attachment. The adult breaks free of the cyst and drops to the bottom where it begins its adult life, if conditions are favorable. There are several host fishes for the pimpleback mussel, mainly catfishes.

The pimpleback mussel is a filter-feeder, bringing in water and the organic matter it contains through the incurrent siphon, filtering the particles out, then sending the rest of the water away from the body through the excurrent siphon. Particles filtered include plankton and detritus.

Widespread in the Interior Basin and the Gulf Coastal Plain (west of the Mobile Basin), USA.

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