Tom's question and Tom's reply reminded me of a Corbicula story.  My
co-workers, when I was in the St. Louis area, were going on a float trip on
the Meramec River, one of those largely pristine rivers with a still healthy
population of rare shells such as Leptodea leptodon, Cumberlandia monodonta,
Lampsilis orbiculata and others.  They knew I saved unionids and brought me a
cup full of shells, iced down, no less,to keep the animal alive.  I thanked
them for their efforts and thoughtfulness.  Unfortunately the shells they
brought were all Corbicula, an introduced pest species, and they were all dead
without animals inside.  My friends did not know enough about the shells than
to try to look inside a closed bivalve to see if it was alive or dead.

Still time to register for COA! It will be a blast!

Alan Gettleman
Merritt Island, Florida

George Watters wrote:

> I have met people who swore they have seen live mussels floating merrily
> downstream. Since most people can't tell a live from a dead mussel, I have
> my doubts. But the term "floaters" must have originated somewhere. So I
> agree we're talking about decomposing anodontines rising to the surface.
>
> Also, thanks to Aristotle (and necessarily continuing through medieval
> times), it was well-known that mussels swam to the surface at night and
> gulped air. The air became pearls. This was common knowledge.
>
> In the Ohio River, on an almost annual basis, the Asian exotic Corbicula
> dies en masse and the bodies (minus the shells) float to the surface. The
> whole river looks as if it is covered with popcorn. Fragrant popcorn.
>
> I must admit that one of my favorite diversions when out collecting with
> someone is to get upstream and carefully send single valves floating
> downstream to them. The look on their face is precious. I'm such a scamp.
>
> G. Thomas Watters, PhD
> Curator of Molluscs
> Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology
> Museum of Biological Diversity
> The Ohio State University
> 1315 Kinnear Road
> Columbus, OH 43212
> v: 614-292-6170
> f: 614-292-7774
> [log in to unmask]