Check List 18(2): 391-398, doi: 10.15560/18.2.391

Range extension and review of the conservation status of the freshwater mussel Alasmidonta mccordi Athearn, 1964 (Bivalvia, Unionidae) in the Coosa River drainage of Alabama and Georgia

James D. Williams^‡, Jason M. Wisniewski^§, Gerald R. Dinkins^|

‡ Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, United States of America§ Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, Nashville, United States of America| University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States of America

Corresponding author: James D. Williams ( fishwilliams@gmail.com )

Academic editor: Sérgio de Almeida

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Williams JD, Wisniewski JM, Dinkins GR (2022) Range extension and review of the conservation status of the freshwater mussel Alasmidonta mccordi Athearn, 1964 (Bivalvia, Unionidae) in the Coosa River drainage of Alabama and Georgia. Check List 18(2): 391-398. https://doi.org/10.15560/18.2.391

Abstract

The Coosa Elktoe, Alasmidonta mccordi Athearn, 1964, was previously known only from the type specimen collected in the Coosa River, St. Clair County, Alabama. Based on the discovery of five previously misidentified specimens in three museum lots, we extend the distribution of A. mccordi into the Etowah and Conasauga Rivers, tributaries of the Coosa River in northwest Georgia. Shell morphology of these museum specimens compare favorably with the only known specimen of the species. The conservation status of A. mccordi is examined in light of its wider historical distribution in the Coosa River drainage. We include recommendations for future research to detect extant populations of this presumed extinct freshwater mussel.

Keywords

Conasauga River, Coosa Elktoe, Etowah River, extinct species