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Page last updated
Thu 3 September 2025

The Freshwater Mussels (Unionoida) of the World (and other less consequential bivalves)

FM(U)otW(aolcb) is the web version of the MUSSEL Project Database. Follow the links to browse the data or use the custom Google search field. Either way, you win!

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Bivalvia | Unionida | Unionoidea | Margaritiferidae | Margaritiferinae | Margaritifera

species Margaritifera margaritifera (Linnaeus, 1758): synonymy
     22 specimens + 391 Genbank vouchers

Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758
Lister, 1678. Hist. Anim. Anglic.: [app.] 15, pl. 1, fig. 1. [pre-linnaean]
Lister, 1685. Conch.: pl. 149, fig. 4. [pre-linnaean]
Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat. 1: 671, sp. 20.
Linnaeus, 1767. Syst. Nat. 1(2): 1112, sp. 29.
Type(s): LECTOTYPE LS_29, “Habitat in totius orbis arctici cataractis.”.

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Ortmann (1909), Ortmann (1910), Ortmann (1912), ... Haas (1924), Frierson (1927), Germain (1931), Zhadin (1938), Zhadin (1965)
Margaritana (s.s.) margaritiferaThiele (1934)
Margaritifera margaritiferaMandahl-Barth (1938), Modell (1942), Kira (1959), Heard & Guckert (1970), Burch (1975), ... Wang et al. (2025), Chen et al. (2025), Dai et al. (2026), Moorkens et al. (2026), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940), Bogatov (2022)
Unio margaritiferaKira (1954)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969), Falkner et al. (2001), Falkner et al. (2002)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritiferaHaas (1969), Bolotov et al. (2016)
MargaritiferidaeKrebs et al. (2003)

Margaritana fluviatilis Schumacher, 1817
Schumacher, 1815. Overs. Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Forhandl. Kjobehhaven 1813-1815: 7. [nomen nudum]
Schumacher, 1817. Essai. Nouv. Syst.: 124, pl. 10, fig. 4.

Margaritifera margaritiferaHabe (1977), Ziuganov et al. (1994), Watters et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Unio elongata Lamarck, 1819
Pennant, 1777. British Zool. 4: pl. 43, fig. 18.
Lamarck, 1819. Hist. Natur. Anim. sans Vert. 6: 70, sp. 2.
Type(s): POSSIBLE SYNTYPE MNHN_MPL_0028, Habite dans les rivières de l’Angleterre, et probablement du nord de l’Europe [Lives in the rivers of England and Northern Europe probably].

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914), Germain (1931)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Graf (2007), Araujo et al. (2009), Watters et al. (2009), Kantor et al. (2010), Fauna Europaea (2012), Bolotov et al. (2013), Vinarski & Kantor (2016), Moorkens et al. (2026)
Margaritifera elongataBogatov et al. (2003), Starobogatov et al. (2004), Kantor & Sysoev (2005)
Margaritifera margaritifera elongataBogatov (2022)

Alasmodonta arcuata Barnes, 1823
Barnes, 1823. Amer. J. Sci. 6 (1-2): 277, pl. 12, figs. 20a-d.

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Hannibal (1912), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914), Frierson (1927)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Strayer & Jirka (1997), Araujo et al. (2009), Watters et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016), Moorkens et al. (2026)

Unio sinuata C. Pfeiffer, 1825
C. Pfeiffer, 1825. Naturgesch. Dtsch. Land-Süßw. Moll. 2: ??.
(misidentified reference to Unio sinuata Lamarck, 1819)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914)

Unio roissyi Michaud, 1831
Michaud, 1831. Compl. Hist. Nat. Moll., Draparnaud: 112, pl. 16, figs. 27-28.

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914), Germain (1931)
Margaritana roissyiRochebrune (1903)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Watters et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016), Moorkens et al. (2026)

Unio margaritifer var. minor Rossmässler, 1835
Rossmässler, 1835. Icon. Land- und Süssw.-Moll. 1 (2): 21, pl. 9, fig. 129.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914), Germain (1931)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera margaritiferaWatters et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Unio brunneus Bonhomme, 1840
Bonhomme, 1840. Mém. Aveyron 2: 460.

Simpson (1914)
Margaritana margaritiferaGermain (1931)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera brunneaFalkner et al. (2001), Falkner et al. (2002)
Margaritifera margaritiferaAraujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016), Lopes-Lima et al. (2017)

Alasmodon margaritiferus var. arcuata Brown, 1844
Brown, 1844. Ill. Rec. Conch. Gr. Brit. & Ireland: 84, pl. 30*, fig. 3.
Brown, 1845. Ill. Land & Fr. Water Conch. Gr. Brit. & Ireland: 115, pl. 23, fig. 3.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758; homonym of Alasmodonta arcuata Barnes, 1823)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)

Alasmodon margaritiferus var. olivacea Brown, 1844
Brown, 1844. Ill. Rec. Conch. Gr. Brit. & Ireland: 84, pl. 30*, fig. 1.
Brown, 1845. Ill. Land & Fr. Water Conch. Gr. Brit. & Ireland: 115, pl. 23, fig. 1.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)

Unio tristis Morelet, 1845
Morelet, 1845. Moll. Terr. Fluv. Portugal: 107, pl. 31, fig. 2.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE BMNH_93-2-4-1961, la Tamega, pres a Amarante, Portugal.

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Watters et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Unio raveneliana Chenu, 1859
‘Lea’ Chenu, 1859. Manuel Conchyl. 2: 144, fig. 714.
(misidentified reference to Unio ravenelianus Lea, 1834)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Preston (1912), Simpson (1914)

Margaritana borealis Westerlund, 1871
Westerlund, 1871. Nova Reg. Soc. Scient. 8: 168.

Margaritifera borealisBogatov et al. (2003), Starobogatov et al. (2004), Kantor & Sysoev (2005)
Margaritifera margaritiferaGraf (2007), Kantor et al. (2010), Bolotov et al. (2013), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)
Margaritifera margaritifera borealisBogatov (2022)

Margaritana freytagi Kobelt, 1886
Kobelt, 1886. Jb. Nassau. Ver. Naturk. 39: 98, pl. 8, figs. 1-4.
Kobelt, 1886. Icon. Land- und Süssw.-Moll. 2: 45, pl. 55, figs. 291-294.
Type(s): LECTOTYPE SMF_4984, Nister b. Hachenburg.

Simpson (1914)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana michaudi Locard, 1889
Michaud, 1831. Compl. Hist. Nat. Moll., Draparnaud: 113, pl. 16, fig. 29 [as ‘Unio elongata’].
Locard, 1889. Contr. Faune Malacol. Franc. 13: 123 [17], 180 [74].
Locard, 1893. Coqu. Eau Douce Saumâtre France: 150.
Type(s): PARALECTOTYPE MNHN_22368, Vire [Calvados].

Margaritana margaritiferaGermain (1931)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana pyrenaica Locard, 1889
Bourguignat in Locard, 1889. Contr. Faune Malacol. Franc. 13: 123 [17], 181 [75].
‘Bourguignat’ Locard, 1893. Coqu. Eau Douce Saumâtre France: 150.
Type(s): SYNTYPE MNHN_22478, Carcenac (Aveyron).

Margaritana margaritiferaGermain (1931)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana margaritifera forma jetschini Westerlund, 1890
Westerlund, 1890. Fauna Paläarct. Binnenconch. 2(7): 185. [infra-subsp.]
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Simpson (1914)

Margaritana alleni Locard, 1899
Castro in Locard, 1899. Conchyliol. Portug.: 212.

Simpson (1914)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana margaritifera parvula Haas, 1908
Haas, 1908. Beitr. Kenntn. Mittleleurop. Najadeen, Beilage zu... 1908 (1): 15.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)
Type(s): LECTOTYPE SMF_4982, Ulfenbach bei Affolterbach.

Margaritana margaritifera parvulaHaas (1924)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera parvulaFalkner et al. (2001)
Margaritifera margaritiferaVinarski & Kantor (2016), Lopes-Lima et al. (2017), Moorkens et al. (2026)

Margaritana margaritifera var. siluriana Bloomer, 1927
Bloomer, 1927. Proc. Malac. Soc. London 17: 211.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaVinarski & Kantor (2016), Moorkens et al. (2026)

Margaritana durrovensis Phillips, 1928
Phillips, 1928. Proc. Malac. Soc. London 18: 71, pls. 3-5.
Bloomer, 1928. Proc. Malac. Soc. London 18: 74, text fig.
Type(s): SYNTYPES BMNH_1928-10-23-1-2, River Nore, Durrow, Queen’s Co., Ireland.

Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994), Araujo et al. (2009), Vinarski & Kantor (2016), Lopes-Lima et al. (2017), Moorkens et al. (2026)
Margaritifera margaritifera durrovensisIUCN (1996), Machordom et al. (2003), Walker et al. (2006)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera durrovensisFalkner et al. (2001)

Mya margaritifera Da Costa, 1778
Da Costa, 1778. British Conch.: 225, pl. 15, fig. 3.
(reference to Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Unio elongata Michaud, 1831
Michaud, 1831. Compl. Hist. Nat. Moll., Draparnaud: 113, pl. 16, fig. 29.
(reference to Unio elongata Lamarck, 1819)

Unio (sec. Lymnium) batavusSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Margaritana margaritiferaGermain (1931)

Unio margaritifera Rossmässler, 1835
Rossmässler, 1835. Icon. Land- und Süssw.-Moll. 1 (1): pl. 4, fig. 74. [in part]
(reference to Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Unio rivalis Lea, 1836
‘Zeig.’ Lea, 1836. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 46.
‘Zeig.’ Lea, 1838. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 28.
(intro'd as syn of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Unio roisii Lea, 1852
‘Mich.’ Lea, 1852. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 40.
(error for Unio roissyi Michaud, 1831)

Unio reyniesii Lea, 1870
‘Mich.’ Lea, 1870. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 64.
(error for Unio roissyi Michaud, 1831)

Margaritana margaritifera var. compressa Westerlund, 1873
Westerlund, 1873. Fauna Moll. Terr. Fluv. Suec. Norv. Dan. (2): 578.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritifera margaritiferaVinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana margaritifera var. ventricosa Westerlund, 1873
Westerlund, 1873. Fauna Moll. Terr. Fluv. Suec. Norv. Dan. (2): 578.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritifera margaritiferaVinarski & Kantor (2016)

Margaritana durrovensis Bloomer, 1928
Bloomer, 1928. Proc. Malac. Soc. London 18: 74, text fig.
(reference to Margaritana durrovensis Phillips, 1928)

Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969)
Margaritifera margaritiferaFauna Europaea (2012)

Margaritana durrowensis Haas, 1940
‘Phillips’ Haas, 1940. Zool. Ser. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 120.
(error for Margaritana durrovensis Phillips, 1928)

Margaritana tenerus Ziuganov et al., 1994
Ziuganov et al., 1994. Freshw. Pearl Muss. & Fish: 59.
(intro'd as syn of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994)

Margaritana vulgaris Ziuganov et al., 1994
Ziuganov et al., 1994. Freshw. Pearl Muss. & Fish: 59.
(intro'd as syn of Mya margaritifera Linnaeus, 1758)

Margaritifera margaritiferaZiuganov et al. (1994)

Margaritana pirenaica Vinarski & Kantor, 2016
‘Boruguignat in Locard’ Vinarski & Kantor, 2016. Analyt. Cat. Fr. Brack. Moll. Russia: 59.
(error for Margaritana pyrenaica Locard, 1889)

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

Margaritana margaritiferaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Ortmann (1909), Ortmann (1910), Ortmann (1912), ... Haas (1924), Frierson (1927), Germain (1931), Zhadin (1938), Zhadin (1965)
Unio (sec. Lymnium) batavusSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Margaritana roissyiRochebrune (1903)
Simpson (1914)
Margaritana margaritifera parvulaHaas (1924)
Margaritana (s.s.) margaritiferaThiele (1934)
Margaritifera margaritiferaMandahl-Barth (1938), Modell (1942), Kira (1959), Heard & Guckert (1970), Burch (1975), ... Wang et al. (2025), Chen et al. (2025), Dai et al. (2026), Moorkens et al. (2026), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Margaritifera margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1940), Bogatov (2022)
Unio margaritiferaKira (1954)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera margaritiferaHaas (1969), Falkner et al. (2001), Falkner et al. (2002)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritiferaHaas (1969), Bolotov et al. (2016)
Margaritifera margaritifera durrovensisIUCN (1996), Machordom et al. (2003), Walker et al. (2006)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera brunneaFalkner et al. (2001), Falkner et al. (2002)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera parvulaFalkner et al. (2001)
Margaritifera (s.s.) margaritifera durrovensisFalkner et al. (2001)
MargaritiferidaeKrebs et al. (2003)
Margaritifera elongataBogatov et al. (2003), Starobogatov et al. (2004), Kantor & Sysoev (2005)
Margaritifera borealisBogatov et al. (2003), Starobogatov et al. (2004), Kantor & Sysoev (2005)
Margaritifera margaritifera elongataBogatov (2022)
Margaritifera margaritifera borealisBogatov (2022)

 
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