{{Short description|Species of bivalve}} {{More footnotes needed|date=December 2025}} {{Speciesbox | image = Unionidae - Anodonta cataracta.jpg | image_caption = The pearly interior of a valve of ''Pyganodon cataracta'' at the [[Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano]] | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn|author1=Cummings, K.|author2=Cordeiro, J.|name-list-style=amp|year=2012|title=''Pyganodon cataracta''|article-number=e.T189007A1917221|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T189007A1917221.en|access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> | status2 = G5 | status2_system = TNC | status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.109938 |title=''Pyganodon cataracta'' |access-date=30 December 2025}}</ref> | genus = Pyganodon | species = cataracta | authority = ([[Thomas Say|Say]], 1817) |synonyms={{collapsible list|bullets=yes|''Anodonta cataracta'' <small>Say, 1817</small>|''Anodonta cataracta'' subsp. ''cataracta'' <small>Say, 1817</small>|''Anodonta cataracta'' subsp. ''marginata'' <small>Say, 1817</small>|''Anodonta marginata'' <small>Say, 1817</small>|''Anodonta atra'' <small>Rafinesque, 1820</small>|''Anodonta cuneata'' <small>Rafinesque, 1820</small>|''Anodonta digonota'' <small>Rafinesque, 1831</small>|''Anodonta teres'' <small>Conrad, 1834</small>|''Anodonta excurvata'' <small>DeKay, 1843</small>|''Anodonta virgulata'' <small>Lea, 1857</small>|''Anodonta dariensis'' <small>Lea, 1858</small>|''Anodonta williamsii'' <small>Lea, 1862</small>|''Anodonta tryonii'' <small>Lea, 1862</small>|''Anodonta doliaris'' <small>Lea, 1863</small>|''Pyganodon marginata'' <small>(Say, 1817)</small>}} |synonyms_ref=<ref>{{ITIS|taxon=''Pyganodon cataracta'' (Say, 1817)|id=568176|access-date=6 August 2023}}</ref> }}
'''''Pyganodon cataracta''''', formerly '''''Anodonta cataracta''''', is a [[species]] of large [[freshwater mussel]], an [[Aquatic animal|aquatic]] [[bivalve]] [[mollusc]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Unionidae]], the river mussels. Its common name is the '''eastern floater'''.
==Subspecies== *''Pyganodon cataracta'' subsp. ''cataracta'' *''Pyganodon cataracta'' subsp. ''marginata''
==Description== ''Pyganodon cataracta '' can reach a size of {{convert|10|-|15|cm}}.
==Distribution and habitat== This [[mussel]] is present in freshwater habitats along the [[Atlantic]] coast of North America, ranging from Alabama to some parts of [[Canada]]. It is typically found in soft-bottomed ponds, rivers and small lakes.
==Taxonomy== Like many other of its relatives, the eastern floater was thought to be in the genus ''[[Anodonta]]'', but was since moved to other genera such as ''[[Pyganodon]]'', ''[[Utterbackia]]'', and more.<ref>https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1351487</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} *Richard A. Tankersley - [https://books.google.com/books/about/Larval_Brooding_by_the_Freshwater_Unioni.html?id=jXTxtgAACAAJ Larval Brooding by the Freshwater Unionid Mussel Anodonta Cataracta ] - Wake Forest University. Department of Biology, 1992 *[http://mussel-project.uwsp.edu/db/db.php?p=tax&l=sppop&n=4376 The Freshwater Mussels (Unionoida) of the World] *[http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/search/all/key/anodonta+cataracta/match/1 Catalogue of Life]
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[[Category:Anodonta|cataracta]] [[Category:Bivalves described in 1817]]
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