Salamander mussel

Simpsonaias ambigua, the salamander mussel or mudpuppy mussel, is a species of bivalve in the family Unionidae. It is unique among freshwater mussels in using mudpuppies as its glochidial host. It is the only freshwater mussel known to have a non-fish host.^[2]

Salamander mussel
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Unionida
Family:	Unionidae
Tribe:	Anodontini
Genus:	Simpsonaias Frierson, 1914
Species:	S. ambigua
Binomial name
Simpsonaias ambigua (Say, 1825)
Synonyms
Simpsoniconcha ambigua (Say, 1825)

Distribution and conservation status

The mussel is native to the United States and Ontario, Canada. The Canadian Species at Risk Act listed the Salamander mussel in the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as being endangered in Canada.^[3]