WHAT IS THE GOLDEN MUSSEL?

       
                         
   



           
 
   An invasion of Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker) in the Río de la Plata was detected in 1991 for the first time in America (1) this species, known as Golden Mussel in the Northern Hemisphere , belongs to the mussel family.
     


  The golden mussel is native from rivers and streams of China and southeast Asia. It invaded Hong Kong in 1965 and Japan and Taiwan in the '90s. In 1995 Darrigran and Pastorino(2) proposed the hypothesis that this species was unintentionally introduced to America through the ballast water in transoceanic ships.

      
The golden musselpopulation is found on any natural hard surface available (including logs, water vegetation and compact sandy silt), as well as any artificial structure (i.e. walls, piers, pipes).



 
           
  
   Since the invasion started, the golden mussel has spread significantly. Considering the serious problems it causes, it is astonishingly overlooked by society.
 
     

 

(1). Pastorino et al. 1993 Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857)(Mytilidae), nuevo bivalvo invasor en aguas del Río de La Plata.

(2). DARRIGRAN G. & G. PASTORINO. 1995. The Recent Introduction of Asiatic Bivalve, Limnoperna fortunei (Mytilidae) into South America. The Veliger, 38(2):183-187. California, EEUU.

 

For more information contact us by e-mail:
invasion@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar
gdarrigran@hotmail.com
 gdarrigran@malacología.com.ar

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