Brachidontes exustus

Brachidontes exustus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Mytilida
Family:	Mytilidae
Genus:	Brachidontes
Species:	B. exustus
Binomial name
	Brachidontes exustus; (Linnaeus, 1758)

Brachidontes exustus, commonly known as the scorched mussel, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae. ^[1]

Description

The valves of B. exustus can be dark blackish, yellow, green, or brown with toothed ribs. The anterior end of the valves extends past the umbo and there are up to four teeth at the hinge.^[2]

Habitat

B. exustus can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Cape Hatteras to the West Indies and Brazil.^[1] They are an intertidal species that attaches to hard surfaces using strong thread-like proteinaceous structures called byssal threads. They often form clusters as the lowest intertidal zone. ^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 17.
^ ^a ^b Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard S. (1988). Seashore animals of the Southeast: a guide to common shallow-water invertebrates of the southeastern Atlantic coast. Columbia, S.C: Univ. of South Carolina Pr. ISBN 978-0-87249-535-7.

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[:0-1] Abbott, R.T. & Morris, P.A. A Field Guide to Shells: Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. 17.

[:1-2] Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard S. (1988). Seashore animals of the Southeast: a guide to common shallow-water invertebrates of the southeastern Atlantic coast. Columbia, S.C: Univ. of South Carolina Pr. ISBN 978-0-87249-535-7.

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