Ptychobranchus subtentum

Ptychobranchus subtentum
Ptychobranchus subtentum
Conservation status
Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Unionoida
Family:	Unionidae
Genus:	Ptychobranchus
Species:	P. subtentum
Binomial name
Ptychobranchus subtentum Say, 1825

Ptychobranchus subtentum, also known as the Fluted kidneyshell, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.

This species is endemic to the drainages of the Cumberland River and the Tennessee River in the United States.

Reproduction

All Unionidae are known to use the gills, fins, or skin of a host fish for nutrients during the larval glochidia stage. Ptychobranchus subtentum enclose their larvae in a membranous capsule that resembles the pupae of black flies. When a fish bites the capsule bait, the Ptychobranchus subtentum larvae are forced out through the mimic capsule's "eyes" and then attach to the gills of the host fish.

Shell morphology