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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 | Etherioidea | Iridinidae | Iridininae | Mutela

species Mutela dubia (Gmelin, 1791): synonymy
     334 specimens

Mytilus dubius Gmelin, 1791
Adanson, 1757. Hist. Nat. Sénégal, Coquillages: 234, pl. 17, fig. 21 [as ‘le mutel’]. [pre-linnaean]
Gmelin, 1791. Syst. Nat. 1(6): 3363, sp. 56.
(renamed Anodonta adansonii Gray, 1825)
Type(s): HOLOTYPE MNHN_UNCATALOGED, “lacs d’eau douce de l’intérieur du Sénégal”.

Mutela (s.s.) dubiaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
Mutela dubiaThiele (1934), Modell (1942), Franc (1949), Appleton (1979), Van Damme (1984), ... Wu et al. (2024), Galal-Khallaf et al. (2024), Dai et al. (2025), Chen et al. (2025), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Mutela dubiusLévèque (1967), Kenmuir (1980)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007)
Mutela dubia niloticaIbrahim et al. (1999)

Iridina exotica Lamarck, 1819
Bruguière, 1797. Encycl. Méth. 2: pl. 204, figs. 1a-b [as Anodontites sp.].
Lamarck, 1819. Hist. Natur. Anim. sans Vert. 6: 89, sp. 1.

Mutela (s.s.) exoticaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela exoticaE.A. Smith (1904)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Thiele (1934), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
Iridina exoticaModell (1942), Graf (2000)
Mutela dubia var. exoticaFranc (1949)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Iridina elongata G.B. Sowerby, 1821
G.B. Sowerby, 1821. Genera of Shells 2: 40, pl. 90.
Sowerby, 1839. Conch. Man.: 54, fig. 150.

Mutela (s.s.) exoticaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Mutela exoticaE.A. Smith (1904)
Mutela (s.s.) exotica var. elongataKobelt (1910)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Iridina nilotica Cailliaud, 1823
Cailliaud, 1823. Voyage à Meroe, Atlas 2: pl. 60, fig. 11.
Sowerby, 1824. Zool. Jour. 1: 53, pl. 2.
Type(s): SYNTYPE MNHN_MP_0280, Bahr Yousef, Egypte.

Mutela (s.s.) niloticaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Mutela niloticaPallary (1903), Pallary (1909), Haas (1929), Graf (2000)
Mutela (Mutelina) niloticaKobelt (1904)
Mutela exoticaE.A. Smith (1904)
Lévèque (1967)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia niloticaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)

Iridina striata Swainson, 1823
Swainson, 1823. Philos. Mag. & J. 61: 112.
Oken, 1834. Isis (Oken) 27(5): 458.

Mutela (s.s.) exoticaSimpson (1900), Simpson (1914)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Anodonta adansonii Gray, 1825
Gray, 1825. Ann. Phil. 9: 138.
(new name for Mytilus dubius Gmelin, 1791)

Anodonta purpurea Deshayes, 1826
Deshayes, 1826. Nouv. Bull. Sci. 1826: 61.
Férussac, 1826. Bull. Sci. Nat. et Géol. 9: 250.

Mutela oudnoei Koenig, 1826
Koenig, 1826. [in] Denham & Clapperton, Narr. Travels Africa, Appendix: 254.

Mutela (s.s.) oudnoeiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)

Iridina mutel Rang, 1835
Adanson, 1757. Hist. Nat. Sénégal, Coquillages: 234, pl. 17, fig. 21 [as ‘le mutel’]. [pre-linnaean]
Rang, 1835. Nouv. Ann. Mus. 4(3): 314.

Mutela (s.s.) dubiaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Spatha (Mutela) plicata Martens, 1866
‘Parreyss in collect.’ Martens, 1866. Malak. Blatt. 13: 10.

Mutela plicataPallary (1909)
Simpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) plicataPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) niloticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia niloticaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999)

Iridina angustata Sowerby, 1868
Sowerby, 1868. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 2, sp. 5.

Mutela (s.s.) angustataSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela nilotica var. angustataPallary (1909)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaSimpson (1914), Haas (1969)
Mutela niloticaHaas (1929)
Mutela dubia var. angustataFranc (1949)
Lévèque (1967)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)
Mutela dubia niloticaIbrahim et al. (1999)

Mycetopus plicatus Sowerby, 1868
‘Gray?, MS” Sowerby, 1868. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 2, sp. 3.
(homonym of Spatha (Mutela) plicata Martens, 1866)
Type(s): MANUSCRIPT NAME BMNH_46-7-24-18, Syene, Egypt.

Mutela (Pseudomutela) plicataSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela niloticaPallary (1903)
Mutela plicataPallary (1909), Pallary (1909)
Pseudomutela plicataPallary (1924)
Mutela (s.s.) plicataPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Haas (1969)
Mutela dubia niloticaDaget (1998)

Mutela elongata Morgan, 1897
‘Sowerby’ Morgan, 1897. Recherch. origin. Egypte II: 99.
(reference to Iridina elongata G.B. Sowerby, 1821)

Mutela dubia niloticaDaget (1998)

Mutela nilotica var. emini Martens, 1897
Martens, 1897. Besch. Weich. Deutsch Ost Afr. 4: 253.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Iridina nilotica Cailliaud, 1823)
Type(s): SYNTYPES ZMB_108807, Kassenye, Albert Nyanza.

Mutela (s.s.) nilotica var. eminiSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) eminiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela dubia var. eminiFranc (1949)
Mutela (s.s.) niloticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia eminiMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)

Mutela chevalieri Germain, 1904
Germain, 1904. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 10: 469.
Germain, 1907. L’Afrique Centrale Française: 566, lithograph, fig. 1.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE MNHN_MP_0203, Haut Oubangui.

Mutela (s.s.) chevalieriKobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Simpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), IUCN (2010), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Mutela angustata var. curta Germain, 1906
Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 174.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Iridina angustata Sowerby, 1868)
Type(s): SYNTYPES MNHN_MP_0197, Lac Tchad.

Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. curtaSimpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. curtaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)
Mutela dubia niloticaIbrahim et al. (1999)

Mutela angustata var. ponderosa Germain, 1906
Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 56, Abb. 1.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Iridina angustata Sowerby, 1868)
Type(s): SYNTYPES MNHN_MP_0292, Lac Chad.

Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. ponderosaSimpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. ponderosaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Pliodon (Cameronia) hardeleti Germain, 1906
Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 57, fig. 2.

Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeletiSimpson (1914)
Iridina (s.s.) hardeletiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Pliodon (Cameronia) tchadiensis Germain, 1906
Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 60, fig. 4.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE MNHN_MP_0301, Lac Tchad.

Pleiodon (Cameronia) tchadiensisSimpson (1914)
Iridina (s.s.) tchadiensisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Lévèque (1967)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Pliodon (Cameronia) hardeleti var. molli Germain, 1906
Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 58, Abb. 3.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Pliodon (Cameronia) hardeleti Germain, 1906)
Type(s): HOLOTYPE MNHN_MP_0225, Lac Tchad.

Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeleti var. molliSimpson (1914)
Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti var. molliPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Lévèque (1967)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Mutelina falemeensis Germain, 1907
Germain, 1907. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 13: 67.
Germain, 1907. L’Afrique Centrale Française: 569, fig. 96.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE MNHN_MP_0245, Fleuve Faleme, Senegal.

Mutelina falemeensisGermain (1907)
Mutela (s.s.) falemeensisSimpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela rostrataVan Damme (1984), Mandahl-Barth (1988), Ibrahim et al. (1999)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)
Mutela dubiaGraf & Cummings (2011)

Mutelina mabillei [sic] var. frasi Germain, 1907
Germain, 1907. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 13: 68.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mutelina mabilli Rochebrune, 1886)

Mutelina mabillei [sic] variété frasiGermain (1907)
Mutela (s.s.) mabilli var. frasiSimpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela rostrataVan Damme (1984)
Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Mutela angustata mut. grisea Germain, 1917
Germain, 1917. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 23: 520.
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Iridina angustata Sowerby, 1868)

Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Mutelina singularis Pallary, 1924
Pallary, 1924. Mém. Inst. Égypte 7 (n.s.): 53, pl. 4, fig. 17.
Type(s): UNKNOWN UMMZ_111999, Canal Mahmoudich, Egypt.

Mutelina singularisPallary (1924)
Mutela (s.s.) singularisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) niloticaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia niloticaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999), Graf & Cummings (2007)
Mutela singularisIbrahim et al. (1999)

Mutela (s.s.) garambae Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927
Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927. Bull. AMNH 53: 431, pl. 40, figs. 1-2.
Type(s): HOLOTYPE (ORIG. DESIG.) AMNH_72067, Middle Garambe River, Belgian Congo (Zaire), Africa.

Mutela (s.s.) garambaePilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela niloticaHaas (1929)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubiaVan Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011)
Mutela dubia garambaeMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)

Mutela (s.s.) garambae praetenuis Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927
Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927. Bull. AMNH 53: 432, pl. 40, fig. 3 [as ‘prætenuis’].
(intro'd as intra-sp. of Mutela (s.s.) garambae Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927)
Type(s): HOLOTYPE (ORIG. DESIG.) AMNH_72066, Aba River, Africa.

Mutela (s.s.) garambae praetenuisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela niloticaHaas (1929)
Mutela (s.s.) dubiaHaas (1969)
Mutela dubia garambaeMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998)

Mutela voltae Odei, 1974
Odei, 1974. Rev. Zool. Afr. 88(2): 446, figs. 1-4.
Type(s): PARATYPES MRAC_799163, Ghana: lac Volta, Zikpo.

Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Iridina nilensis of Authors, unknown year
in MNHN Coll. of Authors.
Type(s): MANUSCRIPT NAME MNHN_MP_0577, [no locality available - Africa].

Scapha elongata Humphrey, 1797
Humphrey, 1797. Mus. Col.: 59. [nomen nudum]

Spatha cailliaudi Martens, 1866
‘Parr.’ Martens, 1866. Malak. Blatt. 13: 10.
(intro'd as syn of Iridina nilotica Cailliaud, 1823)

Mutela adansoni Jousseaume, 1886
‘Bourguignat’ Jousseaume, 1886. Bull. Soc. Zool. France 11: 488.
(reference to Anodonta adansonii Gray, 1825)

Mutela (s.s.) dubiaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)

Mutela chambardi Servain, 1890
Servain, 1890. Bull. Soc. Malac. France 7: 303. [nomen nudum]

Mutela conica Servain, 1890
Servain, 1890. Bull. Soc. Malac. France 7: 303. [nomen nudum]

Mutela letourneuxi Servain, 1890
Servain, 1890. Bull. Soc. Malac. France 7: 303. [nomen nudum]

Mutela saulcyi Servain, 1890
Servain, 1890. Bull. Soc. Malac. France 7: 303. [nomen nudum]

Iridina tschadiensis Jaeckel, 1972
‘Germain’ Jaeckel, 1972. Zeitschr. f. Geomorphol. 16: 225.
(error for Pliodon (Cameronia) tchadiensis Germain, 1906)

Mutela dubia dubiaDaget (1998)

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

Mutela (s.s.) dubiaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
Mutela (s.s.) exoticaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) niloticaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Mutela (s.s.) angustataSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (Pseudomutela) plicataSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) nilotica var. eminiSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
Mutela niloticaPallary (1903), Pallary (1909), Haas (1929), Graf (2000)
Mutela exoticaE.A. Smith (1904)
Mutela (Mutelina) niloticaKobelt (1904)
Mutelina falemeensisGermain (1907)
Mutelina mabillei [sic] variété frasiGermain (1907)
Mutela plicataPallary (1909), Pallary (1909)
Mutela nilotica var. angustataPallary (1909)
Mutela (s.s.) exotica var. elongataKobelt (1910)
Mutela (s.s.) chevalieriKobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Simpson (1914), Lévèque (1967), Haas (1969)
Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. curtaSimpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. ponderosaSimpson (1914)
Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeletiSimpson (1914)
Pleiodon (Cameronia) tchadiensisSimpson (1914)
Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeleti var. molliSimpson (1914)
Mutela (s.s.) falemeensisSimpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) mabilli var. frasiSimpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Pseudomutela plicataPallary (1924)
Mutelina singularisPallary (1924)
Iridina (s.s.) exoticaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Thiele (1934), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
Mutela (s.s.) oudnoeiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) plicataPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) eminiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. curtaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. ponderosaPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Iridina (s.s.) hardeletiPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Iridina (s.s.) tchadiensisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti var. molliPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) singularisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) garambaePilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela (s.s.) garambae praetenuisPilsbry & Bequaert (1927)
Mutela dubiaThiele (1934), Modell (1942), Franc (1949), Appleton (1979), Van Damme (1984), ... Wu et al. (2024), Galal-Khallaf et al. (2024), Dai et al. (2025), Chen et al. (2025), Campbell & Lydeard (2026)
Iridina exoticaModell (1942), Graf (2000)
Mutela dubia var. exoticaFranc (1949)
Mutela dubia var. angustataFranc (1949)
Mutela dubia var. eminiFranc (1949)
Mutela dubiusLévèque (1967), Kenmuir (1980)
Mutela rostrataVan Damme (1984), Mandahl-Barth (1988), Ibrahim et al. (1999)
Mutela dubia dubiaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007)
Mutela dubia niloticaMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)
Mutela dubia eminiMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)
Mutela dubia garambaeMandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010)
Mutela singularisIbrahim et al. (1999)

 
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