# Fusconaia mitchelli

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Species of bivalve

Fusconaia mitchelli Conservation status Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1] Endangered (ESA)[2] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Bivalvia Order: Unionida Family: Unionidae Genus: Fusconaia Species: F. mitchelli Binomial name Fusconaia mitchelli Simpson, 1895 Synonyms Quadrula mitchelli

***Fusconaia mitchelli***, the **false spike**, is a [species](/source/Species) of [freshwater mussel](/source/Freshwater_mussel), an [aquatic](/source/Aquatic_animal) [bivalve](/source/Bivalve) [mollusc](/source/Mollusc) in the family [Unionidae](/source/Unionidae), the river mussels.

This species is native to [Mexico](/source/Mexico), where its historical range is in the states of [Coahuila](/source/Coahuila), [Nuevo Leon](/source/Nuevo_Leon), and [Tamaulipas](/source/Tamaulipas), and the [United States](/source/United_States), where it was found in the states of [New Mexico](/source/New_Mexico) and [Texas](/source/Texas).

## Conservation

This species has experienced an extreme population decline due to habitat deterioration. Until recently, no live individuals had been observed since the late 1970s, leading many researchers to believe it was close to (if not already) extinct. However, interest in this species was revived in 2011 when a fresh-dead shell was discovered. A 2011 a survey of the [Guadalupe River](/source/Guadalupe_River_(Texas)) near [Gonzales, Texas](/source/Gonzales%2C_Texas) revealed a small surviving population, with seven live mature individuals counted.[3]

## Taxonomy

In 2016, this species underwent its first genetic study due to its recent rediscovery. The results showed that this species was better placed in *Fusconaia* rather than *Quadrula*, which it was previous included in.[4] Historically, it also was formerly included in the now-obsolete genus *Quincuncina*.

		- Live *Fusconaia mitchelli* from the Guadalupe River, Gonzales County, Texas, in 2011.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Bogan, A.E. 1996. [Fusconaia mitchelli](http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/19056/all). [2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.](https://web.archive.org/web/20140627094911/http://www.iucnredlist.org/) Downloaded on 9 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["false spike (*Fusconaia mitchelli*)"](https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/3963). *Environmental Conservation Online System*. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 20 January 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Randklev, Charles; et al. (2012). ["False Spike, *Quadrula mitchelli* (Bivalvia: Unionidae), is Not Extinct: First Account of a Live Population in Over 30 Years"](https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/nrem_pubs/1). *American Malacological Bulletin*. **30** (2): 327–328. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2012AMalB..30..327R](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012AMalB..30..327R). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4003/006.030.0213](https://doi.org/10.4003%2F006.030.0213). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [86854005](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86854005).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Pfeiffer, John; et al. (2016). "Generic reclassification and species boundaries in the rediscovered freshwater mussel 'Quadrula' mitchelli (Simpson in Dall, 1896)". *Conservation Genetics*. **17** (2): 279–292. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2016ConG...17..279P](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ConG...17..279P). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/s10592-015-0780-7](https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10592-015-0780-7). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [16877311](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:16877311).

Taxon identifiers Quincuncina mitchelli Wikidata: Q3017309 CoL: 78S57 GBIF: 2287946 IRMNG: 11351246 ITIS: 80357 WoRMS: 857930 Unio mitchelli Wikidata: Q28320755 CoL: 7DKMV ITIS: 906952 WoRMS: 859312

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