Hyridella glenelgensis
Hyridella glenelgensis, also known as the Glenelg freshwater mussel or Glenelg River mussel, is a species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
| Hyridella glenelgensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Unionida |
| Family: | Hyriidae |
| Genus: | Hyridella |
| Species: | H. glenelgensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Hyridella glenelgensis (Dennant, 1898) | |
The species is endemic to the Glenelg River, which is close to the border between the states of South Australia and Victoria in south-eastern Australia. They used to be plentiful, when the last assessment was done in 2014 there were only about 1000 individuals left,[1] and as of 2020 there are only a few small populations left. They have been affected by run-off of sediment into the river from land that had been degraded by livestock, and then further damaged by the bushfires over the 2019-2020 summer. In October 2020 the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority was given funding of A$180,000 by the federal government towards restoring the habitat of the mussel.[2]
References
- Walker, KF; Jones, H. A. & Klunzinger, M (2014). "Hyridella glenelgensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2014: e.T58609631A58628791. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T58609631A58628791.en. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- Whiteside, Grace (29 October 2020). "Funding to protect critically endangered Glenelg River mussels". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 October 2020.