''Epioblasma ahlstedti'', commonly called the Duck River dartersnapper, is a species of

freshwater mussel Freshwater bivalves are one kind of freshwater mollusc, along with freshwater snails. They are bivalves that live in fresh water as opposed to salt water, which is the main habitat type for bivalves. The majority of species of bivalve molluscs ...

, an aquatic bivalve

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Unionidae The Unionidae are a family of freshwater mussels, the largest in the order Unionida, the bivalve molluscs sometimes known as river mussels, or simply as unionids. The range of distribution for this family is world-wide. It is at its most divers ...

, the river mussels. It is native to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the southeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where it is endemic to the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

drainage. Although it is currently known only from the Duck River in Tennessee, museum specimens document that it was also historically found in the Buffalo River, the main stem of the Tennessee River at

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

, and in Shoal Creek, Alabama. Like many freshwater mussels, this species has experienced extreme habitat loss and is now considered Critically Imperiled. The last remaining populations are found only in a 30-mile stretch the Duck River, one of the most biologically diverse rivers in North America. This species was described to science in 2010, distinguishing it from the closely related (and also endangered) ''

Epioblasma capsaeformis The oyster mussel (''Epioblasma capsaeformis'') is a rare species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. This aquatic bivalve mollusk is native to the Cumberland and Tennessee River systems of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Virginia ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q105200609 Endemic fauna of Tennessee ahlstedti