Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Shiny Pigtoe

Fusconaia cor

(Conrad, 1834)

Shiny Pigtoe

G1Critically Imperiled Found in 6 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G1Critically ImperiledGlobal Rank
Critically endangeredIUCN
Very high - highThreat Impact
Shiny pigtoe (Fusconaia cor). Photo by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Public Domain (U.S. Government Work), via ECOS.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.108198
Element CodeIMBIV17040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal
IUCNCritically endangered
CITESAppendix I
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumMollusca
ClassBivalvia
OrderUnionoida
FamilyUnionidae
GenusFusconaia
Synonyms
Fusconaia edgariana(I. Lea, 1840)
Concept Reference
Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Ortmann (1918) determined Fusconia edgariana to be a junior synonym of Fusconaia cor. In an unpublished study of molecular systematics, Campbell and Harris (2006) found this species to be closely related to Fusconaia cuneolus but held up as distinct.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-12-08
Change Date1998-02-26
Edition Date2023-12-08
Edition AuthorsM. Morrison (1998); Cordeiro, J. (2011); T. Cornelisse (2023)
Threat ImpactVery high - high
Range Extent5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences1 - 5
Rank Reasons
This species has a limited range and due to long-term population declines and many ongoing threats, it has a limited number of viable occurrences.
Range Extent Comments
This species occurs in four rivers in the southeastern United States; the North Fork of the Holston River in Virginia, the Clinch and Powell Rivers in Virginia and Tennessee, and the Paint Rock River in Alabama (Williams et al. 2008; USFWS 2021).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from four extant populations (USFWS 2021).
Threat Impact Comments
This species is threatened by sedimentation, nutrient, and chemical pollution from land conversion activities, including development, agriculture, oil and gas operations, and coal mining, toxic chemical spills, dams and water diversions that change hydrological conditions, host fish distribution, and prevent habitat connectivity and recolonization, and lethal epidemics caused by densoviruses (USFWS 2021).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in shoals and riffles of small to medium sized rivers in clear streams with moderate to fast currents (Bogan and Parmalee 1983). It is typically well burrowed in sand and cobble substrates and does not appear tolerant of deeper water or reservoirs (USFWS 1984).

Reproduction

A short-term brooder that spawns in late May to early June (Neves 1991).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN1
ProvinceRankNative
AlabamaS1Yes
VirginiaS1Yes
TennesseeS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
7 - Natural system modificationsLarge - restrictedSerious - moderateHigh (continuing)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useLarge - restrictedSerious - moderateHigh (continuing)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8.5 - Viral/prion-induced diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9 - PollutionLarge (31-70%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9.2 - Industrial & military effluentsRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9.2.1 - Oil spillsRestricted (11-30%)Serious or 31-70% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluentsLarge - restrictedSerious - moderateHigh (continuing)
9.3.2 - Soil erosion, sedimentationLarge - restrictedSerious - moderateHigh (continuing)

—

Roadless Areas (6)
Idaho (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekCaribou-Targhee National Forest118,582
Virginia (5)
AreaForestAcres
Bear CreekJefferson National Forest18,274
Beartown Addition AJefferson National Forest1,370
Beartown Addition BJefferson National Forest2,985
Garden MountainJefferson National Forest3,960
Hunting Camp Little Wolf CreekJefferson National Forest8,953
References (46)
  1. Ahlstedt, S.A. 1983. The molluscan fauna of the Elk River in Tennessee and Alabama. American Malacological Bulletin 1:43-50.
  2. Ahlstedt, S.A. 1984. Twentieth century changes in the freshwater mussel fauna of the Clinch River (Tennessee and Virginia). M.S. Thesis, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee. 102 pp.
  3. Ahlstedt, S.A. 1995-1996. Status survey for federally listed endangered freshwater mussel species in the Paint Rock River system, northeastern Alabama, U.S.A. Walkerana 8(19):63-80.
  4. Ahlstedt, Steven A. 1986. Activity 1: Mussel Distribution Surveys. Cumberlandian Mollusk Conservation Program. TVA.
  5. Barr, W.C., S.A. Ahlstedt, G.D. Hickman, and D.M. Hill. 1993-1994. Cumberlandian mollusk conservation program. Activity 8: Analysis of macrofauna factors. Walkerana 7(17/18):159-224.
  6. Beaty, Braven. The Nature Conservancy - Virginia Chapter, Southwest Area Steward. Abingdon, VA.
  7. Bogan, A.E. and P.W. Parmalee. 1983. Tennessee's rare wildlife. Vol. 2: The mollusks. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Conservation Department: Nashville, Tennessee. 123 pp.
  8. Bogan, Art (Curator of Aquatic Invertebrates, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences). 1997. Review and annotation of mussel watershed distribution maps for TN. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC. September 1997.
  9. Campbell, D. and P. Harris. 2006. Report on molecular systematics of poorly-known freshwater mollusks of Alabama. Report to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Montgomery, Alabama. 34 pp.
  10. Eckert, N.L., J.J. Ferraro, M.J. Pinder, and B.T. Watson. 2008. Freshwater mussel survey of Clinchport, Clinch River, Virginia: Augmentation monitoring site: 2006. Report to Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 39 pp.
  11. Eckert, N.L., M.J. Pinder, A.E. Duncan, J.J. Ferraro, and B.T. Watson. 2010. Freshwater mussel survey of Cleveland Island, Clinch River, Virginia: Augmentation monitoring site: 2008. Report to Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. 47 pp.
  12. Fraley, S.J. and S.A. Ahlstedt. 2000. The recent decline of the native mussels (Unionidae) of Copper Creek, Russell and Scott Counties, Virginia. Pages 189-195 in R.A. Tankersley, D.I. Warmolts, G.T. Watters, B.J. Armitage, P.D. Johnson, and R.S. Butler (eds.). Freshwater Mollusk Symposia Proceedings. Ohio Biological Survey, Columbus, Ohio. 274 pp.
  13. Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society (FMCS). 2023. The 2023 checklist of freshwater bivalves (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionida) of the United States and Canada. Considered and approved by the Bivalve Names Subcommittee October 2023. Online: https://molluskconservation.org/MServices_Names-Bivalves.html
  14. Graf, D.L. and K.S. Cummings. 2021. A 'big data' approach to global freshwater mussel diversity (Bivalvia: Unionoida), with an updated checklist of genera and species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 87(1):1-36.
  15. Hanlon, S.D., M.A. Petty, and R.J. Neves. 2009. Status of native freshwater mussels in Copper Creek, Virginia. Southeastern Naturalist 8(1):1-18.
  16. Howard, A. D. 1915. Some exceptional cases of breeding among the Unionidae. The Nautilus 29:4-11.
  17. Hubbs, D. 2002. Monitoring and management of endangered mussels. 2001-02 Annual Report Project 7365, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, Tennessee. 3 pp.
  18. Isom, B. G. and P. Yokley, Jr. 1973. The mussels of the Flint and Paint Rock River Systems of the southwest slope of the Cumberland Plateau in North Alabama-1965 and 1967. The American Midland Naturalist 89(2):442-446.
  19. Isom, B.G., P. Yokley, Jr., and C.H. Gooch. 1973. Mussels of Elk River Basin in Alabama and Tennessee- 1965-1967. American Midland Naturalist 89(2):437-442.
  20. Jones, J.W. and R.J. Neves. 2007. Freshwater mussel status: Upper North Fork Holston River, Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist, 14(3): 471-480.
  21. Jones, J.W., R.J. Neves, M.A. Patterson, C.R. Good, and A. DiVittorio. 2001. A status survey of freshwater mussel populations in the upper Clinch River, Tazewell County, Virginia. Banisteria 17: 20-30.
  22. Lefevre, G. and W. T. Curtis. 1912. Studies on the reproduction and artificial propagation of fresh-water mussels. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries 30:102-201.
  23. Major, Smoot (Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage). 1997. Review and annotation of fish and mussel watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Ruth Mathews, TNC on 19 August 1997.
  24. Mirarchi, R.E., J.T. Garner, M.F. Mettee, and P.E. O'Neil. 2004b. Alabama wildlife. Volume 2. Imperiled aquatic mollusks and fishes. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, Alabama. xii + 255 pp.
  25. MolluscaBase eds. 2024. MolluscaBase. Accessed at https://www.molluscabase.org
  26. Moyle, P., and J. Bacon. 1969. Distribution and abundance of molluscs in a fresh water environment. Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science 35(2/3):82-85.
  27. Neves, Richard (Dick). Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Blacksburg, VA.
  28. Neves, R.J. 1991. Mollusks. Pages 251-320 in K. Terwilliger (ed.). Virginia's Endangered Species. Proceedings of a Symposium, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company, Blacksburg, Virginia. 672 pp.
  29. Ortmann, A.E. 1918c. The nayades (freshwater mussels) of the Upper Tennessee drainage. With notes on synonymy and distribution. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 57: 521-626.
  30. Parmalee, P.W. and A.E. Bogan. 1998. The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press: Knoxville, Tennessee. 328 pp.
  31. Strayer, D. 1983. The effects of surface geology and stream size on freshwater mussel (Bivalvia, Unionidae) distribution in southeastern Michigan, U.S.A. Freshwater Biology 13:253-264.
  32. Strayer, D. L. 1999. Use of flow refuges by unionid mussels in rivers. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 18(4):468-476.
  33. Strayer, D. L., and J. Ralley. 1993. Microhabitat use by an assemblage of stream-dwelling unionaceans (Bivalvia) including two rare species of <i>Alasmidonta</i>. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 12(3):247-258.
  34. Turgeon, D. D., J. F. Quinn, Jr., A. E. Bogan, E. V. Coan, F. G. Hochberg, W. G. Lyons, P. M. Mikkelsen, R. J. Neves, C. F. E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F. G. Thompson, M. Vecchione, and J. D. Williams. 1998. Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland. 526 pp.
  35. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1983. Agency draft of recovery plan: shiny pigtoe pearly mussel (<i>Fusconaia edgariana</i>). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 4, Atlanta, Georgia. 64 pp.
  36. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1984. Recovery plan for the shiny pigtoe pearly mussel, <i>(Fusconaia edgariana</i>). Region 4. Atlanta, Georgia. 67 pp.
  37. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2001. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; establishment of nonessential experimental population status for 16 freshwater mussels and 1 freshwater snail (Anthony's Riversnail) in the free-flowing reach of the Tennessee River below the Wilson Dam, Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, Alabama. Federal Register, 66(115): 32250-32264.
  38. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2006. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; establishment of nonessential experimental population status for 15 freshwater mussels, 1 freshwater snail, and 5 fishes in the lower French Broad River and in the lower Holston River, Tennessee; Proposed Rule. Federal Register, 71(113): 34195-34230.
  39. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2013. Shiny Pigtoe <i>Fusconaia cor</i> 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Asheville Ecological Services Field Office Asheville, North Carolina. 22 pp.
  40. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2021. Shiny Pigtoe <i>Fusconaia cor</i> 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region Asheville Ecological Services Field Office Asheville, North Carolina. 40 pp.
  41. Van der Schalie, H. 1938. The naiad fauna of the Huron River in southeastern Michigan. Miscellaneous Publication of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 40:7-78.
  42. Vaughn, C.C. 2018. Ecosystem services provided by freshwater mussels. Hydrobiologia, 810: 15-27.
  43. Watters, G. T. 1992. Unionids, fishes, and the species-area curve. Journal of Biogeography 19:481-490.
  44. Williams, J.D., A.E. Bogan, and J.T. Garner. 2008. Freshwater Mussels of Alabama & the Mobile Basin in Georgia, Mississippi & Tennessee. University of Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 908 pp.
  45. Williams, J. D., A. E. Bogan, R. S. Butler, K. S. Cummings, J. T. Garner, J. L. Harris, N. A. Johnson, and G. T. Watters. 2017. A revised list of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionida) of the United States and Canada. Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation 20:33-58.
  46. Williams, J. D., M. L. Warren, Jr., K. S. Cummings, J. L. Harris, and R. J. Neves. 1993. Conservation status of freshwater mussels of the United States and Canada. Fisheries 18(9):6-22.