Dear mussel lovers and experts,

Perna viridis Linne. It's been on my mind. It's an important commercial
foodsource in Asia.

I have a valve I found on a reef in the Phuket Sea in Thailand. It's
approximately 17.5cm in length; huge. Kev Lamprell is certain that it's an
undescribed species. Others believe it's likely to be a very mature Perna
viridis and that mature specimens are not commonly encountered because
they're harvested much earlier.

A simple way of eliminating the P. viridis possibility would be if there's
data on how large it grows--record size. Surely in all the literature about
an important commercial species, there is something about maximum size. A
cursory search in very recent literature at the NC Museum of Natural
Sciences reveals nothing.

Anybody have data?

Thanks,

David Kirsh
Durham, NC

> From: Scott Schubbe <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Sun, 4 Nov 2001 13:01:28 EST
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Mussel Help
>
> Today I collected for the first time, the newly introduced Asian green mussel
> along a sea wall. I do not know the Latin for this species, someone help!
>
> Thanks,
> Scott