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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 | Unionidae | Ambleminae | Quadrulini | Megalonaias

species Megalonaias nervosa (Rafinesque, 1820): synonymy
     24 specimens + 5 Genbank vouchers

Unio (Leptodea) nervosa Rafinesque, 1820
Rafinesque, 1818. Amer. Mon. Mag. 3: 355 [as ‘Potamilus nervosus’]. [nomen nudum]
Rafinesque, 1820. Ann. Gén. Sci. Phys. 5 (13): 296, pl. 80, figs. 8-10 [also as ‘Elliptio nervosa’].
Rafinesque, 1864. [in] Binney & Tryon, reprint: 22, 41.
Type(s): TYPE LOST XXX_UNKNOWN, aux rapides de l’Ohio.

Simpson (1900), Simpson (1914), Burch (1975)
Truncilla donaciformisOrtmann & Walker (1922)
Lampsilis (Ligumia) nervosaFrierson (1927)
Ligumia nervosaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaMorrison (1969), Oesch (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Cummings & Mayer (1992), Williams et al. (1993), ... Hauck et al. (2023), Ma et al. (2024), FMCS (2025), Cummings et al. (2025), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Megalonaias giganteaMathiak (1979), R.I. Johnson (1980)
Tritogonia nervosaITIS (2012)
M. nervosaMarshall et al. (2018)

Unio crassus var. giganteus Barnes, 1823
Barnes, 1823. Amer. J. Sci. 6 (1-2): 119.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Unio crassus Say, 1817)

Simpson (1914)
Megalonaias giganteaOrtmann & Walker (1922), Ortmann (1924), Ortmann (1925), F.C. Baker (1928), Murray & Leonard (1962), Haas (1969), Heard & Guckert (1970), Burch (1975), Gordon et al. (1979), Mathiak (1979), R.I. Johnson (1980), ITIS (2012)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927), Haas (1930)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaMorrison (1969), Oesch (1984), Vidrine (1993), Howells et al. (1996), Parmalee & Bogan (1998), R.I. Johnson (1999), Brim Box & Williams (2000), Contreras-Arquieta (2000), Williams et al. (2008), Watters et al. (2009), IUCN (2011), Pfeiffer et al. (2018)
Amblema giganteaDavis & Fuller (1981)

Unio heros Say, 1829
Say, 1829. New Harm. Dissem. 2(19): 291, sp. 1.
Say, 1858. [in] Binney, Compl. Writings T. Say: 165, 225.
Type(s): TYPE LOST XXX_UNKNOWN, Fox River of the Wabash.

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Unio (s.s.) multiplicatusCall (1900)
Quadrula herosOrtmann (1909)
Crenodonta herosOrtmann (1912)
Megalonaias herosUtterback (1915), Ortmann (1923)
Megalonaias giganteaOrtmann & Walker (1922), F.C. Baker (1928), Murray & Leonard (1962), Haas (1969), Burch (1975), R.I. Johnson (1980)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927), Haas (1930)
Amblema (sec. Megalonaias) herosThiele (1934)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaOesch (1984), Vidrine (1993), Howells et al. (1996), Parmalee & Bogan (1998), Brim Box & Williams (2000), ... Williams et al. (2014), Pfeiffer et al. (2018), Pfeiffer et al. (2019), Graf & Cummings (2021), Cummings et al. (2025)

Unio multiplicatus Lea, 1831
Lea, 1831. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 4 [O. 1]: 70, pl. 4, fig. 2.

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Unio (s.s.) multiplicatusCall (1900)
Quadrula herosOrtmann (1909)
de Gregorio (1914)
Megalonaias herosUtterback (1915)
Megalonaias giganteaOrtmann & Walker (1922), F.C. Baker (1928), Burch (1975)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaOesch (1984), Howells et al. (1996), Parmalee & Bogan (1998), Brim Box & Williams (2000), Williams et al. (2008), Watters et al. (2009), Pfeiffer et al. (2018)

Unio undulatus Say, 1831
‘Barnes’ Say, 1831. Amer. Conch. 2: pl. 16.
(misidentified reference to Unio undulatus Barnes, 1823)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Megalonaias nervosaParmalee & Bogan (1998)

Unio boykinianus Lea, 1840
Lea, 1840. Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. 1: 288.
Lea, 1842. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 8 [O. 3]: 208 [46], pl. 13, fig. 22.
Type(s): TOPOTYPE USNM_83903, Columbus, Georgia.

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) boykinianaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Amblema (Megalonaias) gigantea-boykinianaFrierson (1927)
Crenodonta boykinianaClench & Turner (1956)
Megalonaias gigantea boykinianaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias giganteaBurch (1975)
Megalonaias boykinianaDavis (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Williams et al. (1993), Rosenberg et al. (1994), Rosenberg et al. (1997), Graf & Cummings (2007), Cummings & Graf (2010), ITIS (2012)
Amblema plicataVidrine (1993)
Megalonaias nervosaMulvey et al. (1997), Brim Box & Williams (2000), Williams et al. (2008), IUCN (2011), Williams et al. (2011), Williams et al. (2014), Pfeiffer et al. (2018), Graf & Cummings (2021)

Unio eightsii Lea, 1860
Lea, 1860. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 12: 306.
Lea, 1860. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. 4 [O. 8]: 367 [49], pl. 64, fig. 192.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE (MONOTYPY) USNM_83991 (by R.I. Johnson, 1974: 51), Sabinas R., Nuevo Leon, Mexico.

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Unio (Crenodonta) digitatusMartens (1900)
de Gregorio (1914)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaHowells et al. (1996), Parmalee & Bogan (1998), R.I. Johnson (1999), Williams et al. (2008), Watters et al. (2009), Pfeiffer et al. (2018), Cummings et al. (2025)

Unio baykinianus Küster, 1861
‘Lea’ of Authors.
Küster, 1861. Conchyl. Cab. 9(2): 181.
Paetel, 1890. Cat. Conch.-Samml. 3: 145.
(error for Unio boykinianus Lea, 1840)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) boykinianaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)

Unio triumphans B.H. Wright, 1898
B.H. Wright, 1898. Nautilus 11(9): 101.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE USNM_150554, Coosa Riv., St. Clair Co., Ala.

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) triumphansSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Quadrula triumphansSimpson (1900)
Megalonaias triumphansOrtmann (1923), Haas (1969)
Amblema (Megalonaias) triumphansFrierson (1927)
Megalonaias nervosaParmalee & Bogan (1998), Brim Box & Williams (2000), Williams et al. (2008), Watters et al. (2009), Pfeiffer et al. (2018)

Unio undulata Valenciennes, 1827
Valenciennes, 1827. Receuil Observ. Zool. 2(11-12): 229, pl. 54, figs. 3-3b.
(misidentified reference to Unio undulatus Barnes, 1823)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) undulataSimpson (1900)
Megalonaias nervosaWatters et al. (2009)

Plectomerus boykianus Conrad, 1853
‘Lea’ Conrad, 1853. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 6: 260.
(error for Unio boykinianus Lea, 1840)

Unio atrocostatus Reeve, 1864
‘Lea’ Reeve, 1864. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 4, sp. 13; errata [changed to ‘U. heros, Say’].
(error for Unio heros Say, 1829; misidentified reference to Unio atrocostatus Lea, 1845)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaParmalee & Bogan (1998), Watters et al. (2009)

Unio atrocostatus Sowerby, 1868
‘Lea’ Sowerby, 1868. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 77, sp. 404.
(misidentified reference to Unio atrocostatus Lea, 1845)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) undulataSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Amblema (s.s.) plicata-costataFrierson (1927)

Unio eighti Paetel, 1890
‘Lea’ Paetel, 1890. Cat. Conch.-Samml. 3: 151.
(error for Unio eightsii Lea, 1860)

Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Megalonaias nervosaParmalee & Bogan (1998), Watters et al. (2009)

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

Simpson (1900), Simpson (1914), de Gregorio (1914), Burch (1975)
Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) undulataSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) herosSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Unio (s.s.) multiplicatusCall (1900)
Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) boykinianaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Unio (Crenodonta) digitatusMartens (1900)
Quadrula (sec. Crenodonta) triumphansSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Quadrula triumphansSimpson (1900)
Quadrula herosOrtmann (1909)
Crenodonta herosOrtmann (1912)
Megalonaias herosUtterback (1915), Ortmann (1923)
Truncilla donaciformisOrtmann & Walker (1922)
Megalonaias giganteaOrtmann & Walker (1922), Ortmann (1924), Ortmann (1925), F.C. Baker (1928), Murray & Leonard (1962), Haas (1969), Heard & Guckert (1970), Burch (1975), Mathiak (1979), Gordon et al. (1979), R.I. Johnson (1980), ITIS (2012)
Megalonaias triumphansOrtmann (1923), Haas (1969)
Lampsilis (Ligumia) nervosaFrierson (1927)
Amblema (Megalonaias) giganteaFrierson (1927), Haas (1930)
Amblema (Megalonaias) gigantea-boykinianaFrierson (1927)
Amblema (s.s.) plicata-costataFrierson (1927)
Amblema (Megalonaias) triumphansFrierson (1927)
Amblema (sec. Megalonaias) herosThiele (1934)
Crenodonta boykinianaClench & Turner (1956)
Ligumia nervosaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias nervosaMorrison (1969), Oesch (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Cummings & Mayer (1992), Williams et al. (1993), ... Hauck et al. (2023), Ma et al. (2024), FMCS (2025), Cummings et al. (2025), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Megalonaias gigantea giganteaHaas (1969)
Megalonaias gigantea boykinianaHaas (1969)
Amblema giganteaDavis & Fuller (1981)
Megalonaias boykinianaDavis (1984), Turgeon et al. (1988), Williams et al. (1993), Rosenberg et al. (1994), Rosenberg et al. (1997), Graf & Cummings (2007), Cummings & Graf (2010), ITIS (2012)
Amblema plicataVidrine (1993)
Tritogonia nervosaITIS (2012)
M. nervosaMarshall et al. (2018)

 
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