''Obovaria olivaria'' is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, bival ...

mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It is commonly referred to as "hickorynut". The species is native to eastern North America. It is found in the drainages of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

, the St. Lawrence River, and the Great Lakes. It is known to use only

sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

s as larval hosts. Although the species is considered of least concern by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, it is considered endangered across much of its native habitat. The species is especially threatened near the Great Lakes and in Canada.

References

Molluscs of the United States olivaria Bivalves described in 1820 Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Unionidae-stub