Asian Green Mussel

Common name for a bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, usually 8-10 centimeters in length, though occasionally reaching up to 16,5 centimeters, and with the scientific names Mytilus smaragdinus, Mytilus viridis, Mytilus Chloromya smaragdinus, Chloromya viridis, Mytilus Chloromya viridis, and Mytilus opalus, and also commonly known as Green Mussel, Green Lipped Mussel, Philippine Mussel, Sea Mussel, and Philippine Green Mussel. The outer surface of the shell is smooth with a vivid green to dark brownish-green colour near the outer edge and olive-green near the attachment point. Whereas the dorsal side of the shell is curved, the ventral margin is either straight or weakly concave. The shell tapers to a sharp, downturned beak which has interlocking hinge teeth on the inside of the shell, which itself is shiny and pale bluish green and has a wavy posterior end of the pallial line, i.e. a mark line on the interior part of the shell that runs more or less symmetrical to the outer ventral edge of each valve. This, together with the large boomerang to kidney-shaped adductor muscle, which controls the opening and closing of the valves are diagnostic features of the Asian Green Mussel. The mantle, i.e. the the layer of tissue that covers the mussel on each side of the body, has a function in energy storage and is one of the parts of the mussel that contains gonads, i.e. reproductive tissue that produces eggs or sperm. Whereas the mantle edge is usually dark brownish to black, the colour of the rest of the mantle is determined by the gonad inside. Because mussel eggs are orange, mature females have orange-coloured mantles, whilst the mantle of mature male mussels are cream-coloured, because they produce cream-coloured sperm. See also POSTAGE STAMPS. 回