Critically Endangered
Carolina heelsplitter
Lasmigona decorata
Carolina heelsplitter is a bivalve in the family Unionidae (order Unionida) — Lasmigona decorata, recorded as Critically Endangered.
Appearance
This freshwater mussel has a greenish-brown to dark brown outer shell. The inner shell usually has nacre that is pearly white or bluish-white, although it can be pale orange in older specimens. The younger individuals tend to have faint black or greenish-brown rays on the outer surface of the shell. With an "ovate, trapezoid-shaped, unsculptured shell", the size of the largest Carolina heelsplitter is about 4.6 inches (12 cm) in length and 1.56 inches (4.0 cm) in width, with a thickness of 2.7 inches (6.9 cm).
The largest recorded specimen was about 5 in (130 mm) long.
Range and habitat
The Carolina heelsplitter lives in shallow streams and rivers, and occasionally, ponds. Historically, the Carolina heelsplitter was known to be found in the Catawba River and Pee Dee River systems in North Carolina, and the Pee Dee and Savannah River systems of South Carolina. Currently, 10 known populations (prior to the 2007–2008 drought) occur in North and South Carolina.
The original report stated that the populations appeared to have extremely restricted distribution and that much of the habitat in the species historic range (Catawba, Pee Dee, Saluda, and Savannah River systems) is now unsuitable for the reintroduction of the species.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
The Carolina heelsplitter is a bradytichtic species, brooding fertilized eggs over the winter after spawning.
In crisis
This species' current status is classified as "critically endangered". The IUCN Red List website states that to be considered critically endangered, the species must face an extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild in the immediate future. The major points were using government regulations to protect the species, creating educational opportunities, continuing to search for new populations, establishing six viable populations, and alleviating major threats to the species, with the final objective being to get the species delisted.
When the recovery plan was written, only four populations of Carolina heelsplitter were known. The recovery plan also stated that the species was extensively established enough that the population could not be completely wiped out by one major event involving its habitat.
Carolina heelsplitter is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Carolina heelsplitter, Wikidata item Q3017695. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
