Tubercled-blossom Pearly Mussel, 2022
mixed media on paper with metallic accents
5.125" x 7"
$97 including US shipping
From the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposal for removing 23 species from the Federal Lists of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants due to extinction:
The tubercled blossom (pearly mussel), Epioblasma torulosa torulosa, was listed as endangered on June 14, 1976. At the time of listing, the greatest factor contributing to the species' decline was the alteration and destruction of stream habitat due to impoundments.
The tubercled blossom was medium-sized, reaching about 3.6 inches (9.1 centimeters) in shell length, and could live as long as 50 years or more. The shell was irregularly egg-shaped or elliptical, slightly sculptured, and corrugated with distinct growth lines. The outer surface was smooth and shiny; was tawny, yellowish-green, or straw-colored; and usually had numerous green rays
The single greatest factor contributing to the decline of the tubercled blossom is the alteration and destruction of stream habitat due to impoundments for flood control, navigation, hydroelectric power production, and recreation. Siltation is another factor that has severely affected the tubercled blossom. Increased silt transport into waterways due to strip mining, coal washing, dredging, farming, logging, and road construction increased turbidity and consequently reduced the depth of light penetration and created a blanketing effect on the substrate. The 1985 recovery plan documented numerous coal operations within the range of the tubercled blossom that were causing increased silt runoff. A third factor is the impact caused by various pollutants. An increasing number of streams throughout the blossom's range receive municipal, agricultural, and industrial waste discharges.