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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.) dubia — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969), Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Thiele (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 dubius — Lévèque (1967), Kenmuir (1980) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007) Mutela dubia nilotica — Ibrahim 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.) exotica — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela exotica — E.A. Smith (1904) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Thiele (1934), Haas (1969), Haas (1969) Iridina exotica — Modell (1942), Graf (2000) Mutela dubia var. exotica — Franc (1949) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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.) exotica — Simpson (1900), Simpson (1914) Mutela exotica — E.A. Smith (1904) Mutela (s.s.) exotica var. elongata — Kobelt (1910) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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.) nilotica — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969) Mutela nilotica — Pallary (1903), Pallary (1909), Haas (1929), Graf (2000) Mutela (Mutelina) nilotica — Kobelt (1904) Mutela exotica — E.A. Smith (1904) — Lévèque (1967) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia nilotica — Mandahl-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.) exotica — Simpson (1900), Simpson (1914) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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.) oudnoei — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (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.) dubia — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (1998) | |
Spatha (Mutela) plicata Martens, 1866 ‘Parreyss in collect.’ Martens, 1866. Malak. Blatt. 13: 10.
Mutela plicata — Pallary (1909) — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) plicata — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) nilotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia nilotica — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999) | |
Iridina angustata Sowerby, 1868
Sowerby, 1868. Conch. Icon. 16: pl. 2, sp. 5.
Mutela (s.s.) angustata — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela nilotica var. angustata — Pallary (1909) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Simpson (1914), Haas (1969) Mutela nilotica — Haas (1929) Mutela dubia var. angustata — Franc (1949) — Lévèque (1967) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998) Mutela dubia nilotica — Ibrahim 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) plicata — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela nilotica — Pallary (1903) Mutela plicata — Pallary (1909), Pallary (1909) Pseudomutela plicata — Pallary (1924) Mutela (s.s.) plicata — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia nilotica — Daget (1998) | |
Mutela elongata Morgan, 1897 ‘Sowerby’ Morgan, 1897. Recherch. origin. Egypte II: 99. (reference to Iridina elongata G.B. Sowerby, 1821)
Mutela dubia nilotica — Daget (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. emini — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) emini — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela dubia var. emini — Franc (1949) Mutela (s.s.) nilotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia emini — Mandahl-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.) chevalieri — Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), IUCN (2010), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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. curta — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. curta — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (1998) Mutela dubia nilotica — Ibrahim 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. ponderosa — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. ponderosa — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (1998) | |
Pliodon (Cameronia) hardeleti Germain, 1906 Germain, 1906. Bull. Mus. Nation. Hist. Natur. 12: 57, fig. 2.
Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeleti — Simpson (1914) Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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) tchadiensis — Simpson (1914) Iridina (s.s.) tchadiensis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) — Lévèque (1967) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-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. molli — Simpson (1914) Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti var. molli — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) — Lévèque (1967) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (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 falemeensis — Germain (1907) Mutela (s.s.) falemeensis — Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela rostrata — Van Damme (1984), Mandahl-Barth (1988), Ibrahim et al. (1999) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (1998) Mutela dubia — Graf & 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 frasi — Germain (1907) Mutela (s.s.) mabilli var. frasi — Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela rostrata — Van Damme (1984) Mutela dubia dubia — Daget (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 dubia — Daget (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 singularis — Pallary (1924) Mutela (s.s.) singularis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) nilotica — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia nilotica — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999), Graf & Cummings (2007) Mutela singularis — Ibrahim 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.) garambae — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela nilotica — Haas (1929) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia — Van Damme (1984), Graf & Cummings (2011) Mutela dubia garambae — Mandahl-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 praetenuis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela nilotica — Haas (1929) Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Haas (1969) Mutela dubia garambae — Mandahl-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 dubia — Daget (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.) dubia — Pilsbry & 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 dubia — Daget (1998) | |
Taxonomic History (since 1900)Mutela (s.s.) dubia — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969), Haas (1969) Mutela (s.s.) exotica — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) nilotica — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969) Mutela (s.s.) angustata — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (Pseudomutela) plicata — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) nilotica var. emini — Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914) Mutela nilotica — Pallary (1903), Pallary (1909), Haas (1929), Graf (2000) Mutela exotica — E.A. Smith (1904) Mutela (Mutelina) nilotica — Kobelt (1904) Mutelina falemeensis — Germain (1907) Mutelina mabillei [sic] variété frasi — Germain (1907) Mutela plicata — Pallary (1909), Pallary (1909) Mutela nilotica var. angustata — Pallary (1909) Mutela (s.s.) exotica var. elongata — Kobelt (1910) Mutela (s.s.) chevalieri — Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) — Simpson (1914), Lévèque (1967), Haas (1969) Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. curta — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) dubia var. ponderosa — Simpson (1914) Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeleti — Simpson (1914) Pleiodon (Cameronia) tchadiensis — Simpson (1914) Pleiodon (Cameronia) hardeleti var. molli — Simpson (1914) Mutela (s.s.) falemeensis — Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) mabilli var. frasi — Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Pseudomutela plicata — Pallary (1924) Mutelina singularis — Pallary (1924) Iridina (s.s.) exotica — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Thiele (1934), Haas (1969), Haas (1969) Mutela (s.s.) oudnoei — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) plicata — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) emini — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. curta — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) angustata var. ponderosa — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Iridina (s.s.) tchadiensis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Iridina (s.s.) hardeleti var. molli — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) singularis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) garambae — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela (s.s.) garambae praetenuis — Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927) Mutela dubia — Thiele (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 exotica — Modell (1942), Graf (2000) Mutela dubia var. exotica — Franc (1949) Mutela dubia var. angustata — Franc (1949) Mutela dubia var. emini — Franc (1949) Mutela dubius — Lévèque (1967), Kenmuir (1980) Mutela rostrata — Van Damme (1984), Mandahl-Barth (1988), Ibrahim et al. (1999) Mutela dubia dubia — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007) Mutela dubia nilotica — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Ibrahim et al. (1999), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010) Mutela dubia emini — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010) Mutela dubia garambae — Mandahl-Barth (1988), Daget (1998), Graf & Cummings (2007), IUCN (2010) Mutela singularis — Ibrahim et al. (1999)
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