The different types of freshwater shellfish come from different freshwater, after reading the 9 Different Types of Freshwater Shellfish article, you will know what are the main types of freshwater shellfish.
What is freshwater shellfish?
Freshwater shellfish are shellfish that live in freshwater and refer to a number of species of the phylum Mollusca in the classes Valvularia (Lanellibranchia a.k.a. Bivalvia) and Gastropoda that live in freshwater.
Freshwater shellfish are some of the species of the mollusk phylum Valvularia (Lanellibranchia also known as Freshwater Bivalvia) and Gastropoda that live in freshwater.
There are about 15,000 species of freshwater bivalves globally, with a marked imbalance in distribution. There are 2,000 freshwater bivalve species, mainly belonging to the Unionidae and Margaritanidaein the order Unionoida, and the Corbiculidae and Corbiculidae in the order Veneroida.
The species of freshwater mussels and pearl mussels are called mussels, and the species of corbiculids and spherical clams are called fingernail clams, while snails are the most numerous group in the freshwater shellfish world, with more than 12,000 types of freshwater shellfish recorded in the world.
Freshwater shellfish have a high nutritional value. It is rich in calcium and other trace elements such as iodine, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, and diamond, especially oyster meat, which has the highest zinc content among all shellfish.
Freshwater shellfish muscle is tender, and delicious in flavor, the ratio between its various trace elements is appropriate, high protein content, low-fat content, and easy to be digested and absorbed by the body.
Distribution of different types of freshwater shellfish
Due to the unbalanced distribution of freshwater shellfish in the world and the different levels of research and attention paid to the conservation biology of freshwater shellfish in different countries around the world, China and the United States are considered to be the countries with the richest biodiversity of freshwater shellfish.
Freshwater bivalve shellfish in China are mainly species of the mussel family. They are very diverse and productive and inhabit rivers, lakes, ponds, and other freshwater waters throughout China.
What are the different types of freshwater shellfish?
Freshwater shellfish varieties are very many, the following 9 different types of freshwater shellfish to understand the main types of freshwater shellfish.
River clams
River clam is a small shellfish, growing in small rivers and ditches, where the water quality is relatively good. River clams are sweet and savory, not only can they be fried and eaten, but also stewed, and easy to handle, so they are very popular.
Mussels
Mussels are living in freshwater lakes, ponds, rivers, and other underwater, half-buried in the sediment. Meat can be eaten, and can also be used as fish, poultry bait and poultry, and livestock feed.
Chinese mystery snail
Chinese mystery snails in China around freshwater lakes, reservoirs, rice paddies, ponds, and ditches are widely distributed, because of their tender meat, flavorful, and nutritious, and have become one of the people’s favorite aquatic products, especially in the south as a delicacy on the table.
Yellow sand clams
Yellow sand clams, also known as “Xijiang abalone“, yellow sand clams are famous because the river here is less polluted, the water quality is good, coupled with the sand in the water is yellow, clamshells in the yellow sand long-term scouring of the clamshells also became yellow and very shiny.
Freshwater mussels
Freshwater mussels are the only one of the mussel family to survive in freshwater, freshwater mussels are brownish in color, the ventral surface of the mussel is very smooth and sturdy, and the head can be as long as 4-4.5 cm.
Hyriopsis cumingii
Hyriopsis cumingii, also known as pearl mussels, and triangular mussels, is a freshwater bivalve mollusk, its shell is larger and flat, the color is mostly black, and brown, and thick and hard texture, and about 20 cm long, its triangular sail mussels are mainly distributed in China’s Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and other places.
Cristaria plicata
Cristaria plicata, the cockscomb pearl mussel, is a freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae.
Cristaria plicata is a freshwater benthic shellfish mussel, mostly in freshwater, slow-flowing, still-water lakes, ditches, and ponds, with strong resistance to sewage, and hypoxia, which are currently more distributed along the coast of China.
Freshwater oysters
The oyster is a freshwater or saltwater shellfish belonging to the class Cephalopoda in the phylum Mollusca. Oysters usually have a flattened shell, with two pieces of the shell joined together by a joint that can be opened and closed.
This bivalve shell structure provides oysters with excellent protection, allowing them to survive and reproduce in marine or freshwater environments.
Freshwater clams
The freshwater clam is a mollusk in the family Clamidae of the class Bivalvia cordata. It is also known as a blowtorch, sand clam, and sand clam. Its shell is oval, triangular or long oval, two shells are equal, the top of the shell slightly to the front of the projection;
The freshwater clam shell surface is smooth or with concentric rings, and shell skin; the hinged part of the two “eight” shape of the main teeth; before and after the closure of the shell muscle scar is the same size, are semicircular; the posterior end of the outer coat membrane to form two tubes; axe foot is developed, laterally flattened, no foot filaments.
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