Unio mancus

Unio mancus is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.^[2][3]

Subspecies

• Unio mancus mancus Lamarck, 1819
• Unio mancus requienii Michaud, 1831
• Unio mancus turtonii Payraudeau, 1826

Unio mancus
A view of valves of Unio mancus
A live individual of Unio mancus
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Unionida
Family:	Unionidae
Subfamily:	Unioninae
Tribe:	Unionini
Genus:	Unio
Species:	U. mancus
Binomial name
Unio mancus Lamarck, 1819
Synonyms
Unio elongatulus Pfeiffer, 1825 Unio emarginatus I. Lea, 1834 · Unio fascellinus Locard, 1882 Unio lagnisicus Bourguignat, 1882 · Unio manca Lamarck, 1819 Unio plebeius Drouët, 1888 (junior homonym of Unio compressus var. plebius C.B. Adams, 1842) Unio suborbicularis Drouët, 1888 Unio valentinus Rossmässler, 1854 (junior synonym) Unio voltzii var. ursannensis Kobelt, 1911 (junior synonym)

Distribution

This species can be found from northeast Spain throughout the Mediterranean zone, northeast Africa and in the Middle East.^[4] It is present in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria and Turkey.^[1]

Description

Shells of Unio mancus usually reach a size of 55–65 millimetres (2.2–2.6 in), with a maximum of 10 centimetres (3.9 in).^[5] These freshwater mussels have a dark brown or yellowish-green periostracum. The shells are equivalve, inequilateral and oval-shaped, with a rounded anterior margin and a truncated posterior margin. The inner is iridescent white.^[6]