Purple bankclimber

{{Short description|Species of bivalve}} {{Speciesbox | name = Purple bankclimber | image = Usfws-fws-biologist-holds-purple-bankclimber-freshwater-mussel-large.jpg | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 17 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Cummings, K. |author2=Cordeiro, J. |date=2012 |title=''Elliptoideus sloatianus'' |volume=2012 |article-number=e.T7652A3140353 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T7652A3140353.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = G2 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.120124 |title=''Elliptoideus sloatianus'' |access-date=24 December 2025}}</ref> | genus = Elliptoideus | parent_authority = Frierson, 1927 | display_parents = 2 | species = sloatianus | authority = ([[Isaac Lea|I. Lea]], 1840) | synonyms = ''Nephronaias sloatianus'' I. Lea, 1840 }}

The '''purple bankclimber''' ('''''Elliptoideus sloatianus''''') is a rare and endangered [[species]] of [[freshwater mussel]], an [[aquatic animal|aquatic]] [[bivalve]] [[mollusk]] in the family [[Unionidae]], the river mussels.

This species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to the states of [[Georgia (US State)|Georgia]] and [[Florida]] in the [[United States]]. It can be found in the [[Chattahoochee River|Chattahoochee]], Flint, and [[Ochlockonee River|Ochlockonee]] rivers. Its habitats are rivers and streams. It is normally found in medium currents over sand, sand mixed with mud, or gravel substrates, swept free of silt by the current.<ref name="fws">{{cite web|title=Purple bankclimber (mussel) (Elliptoideus sloatianus) Species page|author=US Fish and Wildlife Service|url=https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/7660}}</ref>

The threats to this mussel are habitat change, sedimentation, and water quality degradation. It is listed as threatened under the [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref name="fws"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Molluscs of the United States]] [[Category:Unionidae]] [[Category:Bivalves described in 1840]] [[Category:ESA threatened species]] [[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]