Classification: State Extirpated
Interior
Exterior
NOTE: Hover over the bold words for definitions or see the Glossary.
This species was described by Conrad in 1834 from the Flint River in Alabama. The Cumberland bean is a small species with solid, elongate, inflated, oval valves. Female shells reach a slightly larger size than males, attaining a maximum length of about 55 mm. Beaks are high and situated near the anterior end where the shell is thickest. The periostracum is somewhat glossy and often appears dark greenish-black in older specimens. Young specimens may be olive-green or yellowish-brown with numerous wavy, dark green rays. The nacre color is a bluish white or white with a bluish iridescence posteriorly. The left valve has two solid triangular pseudocardinal teeth, a narrow interdentum and two long, straight, relatively heavy lateral teeth. The right valve has three pseudocardinal teeth and a single lateral tooth (Parmalee and Bogan 1998).
Shell Anatomy
This species is a bradytictic breeder. Probable fish hosts that have been identified for the Cumberland bean include the following darter species: fantail, stripetail, sooty, barcheek, striped and Tennessee snubnose (Layzer and Anderson 1991, 1992).
General Life History For Mussels