MUSSELp
 
MUSSELpdb
 
 
Taxonomy
 
 
Geography
 
 
 

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!

Search the database pages:

Bivalvia | Unionoida | Etherioidea | Iridinidae | Iridininae

genus Mutela Scopoli, 1777: synonymy
     14 Recent valid species (22 total species)

Mutela Scopoli, 1777
Adanson, 1757. Hist. Nat. Sénégal, Coquillages: 234 [as ‘le mutel’]. [pre-linnaean]
Scopoli, 1777. Intro. His. Nat., etc.: 397, no. 83.
Type species: Mytilus dubius Gmelin, 1791 (monotypy) = Mutela dubia

Scapha Humphrey, 1797
Humphrey, 1797. Mus. Col.: 59.

Iridina Lamarck, 1819
Lamarck, 1819. Hist. Natur. Anim. sans Vert. 6: 88.
(renamed Eufira Gistl, 1848)
Type species: Iridina exotica Lamarck, 1819 (monotypy) = Mutela dubia

Platiris Lea, 1838
Lea, 1838. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 6 [O. 2]: 118, 141.
Lea, 1838. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 10, 33.
Lea, 1852. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 54.
(renamed Platyiris Agassiz, 1846)
Type species: Iridina exotica Lamarck, 1819 (sub. desig. by Pilsbry & Bequaert, 1927: 439) = Mutela dubia

Spatha Lea, 1838
Lea, 1838. Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. 6 [O. 2]: 118, 141.
Lea, 1838. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 10, 33.
Lea, 1852. Synopsis Fam. Naiades: 55.
Type species: Iridina nilotica Cailliaud, 1823 (monotypy) = Mutela dubia

Calliscapha Swainson, 1840
Swainson, 1840. Treat. Malacol.: 380.
Type species: Iridina nilotica Cailliaud, 1823 (monotypy) = Mutela dubia

Platyiris Agassiz, 1846
Agassiz, 1846. Nomencl. Zool. Index Univ.: 295.
(new name for Platiris Lea, 1838)

Eufira Gistl, 1848
Gistl, 1848. Naturgesch. Thierreich Höhere Schulen: 173.
(new name for Iridina Lamarck, 1819)

Purpurina Herrmannsen, 1852
Deshayes, 1826. Nouv. Bull. Sci. 1826: 61 [as ‘Purpurine’].
Férussac, 1826. Bull. Sci. Nat. et Géol. 9: 249 [as ‘Purpurine’].
Herrmannsen, 1852. Ind. Gener. Malacol. 2: 116.
(homonym of d’Orbigny, 1850 [Gastro.])
Type species: Anodonta purpurea Deshayes, 1826 (sub. desig. by Herrmannsen, 1852: 116) = Mutela dubia

Euphira Mörch, 1853
‘Gistel’ of Authors.
Mörch, 1853. Cat. Conch. Yoldi 2: 28.
Adams & Adams, 1857. Gen. Rec. Moll. 2(31-32): 506.
Paetel, 1875. Fam. Gatt. Moll.: 79.
Westerlund, 1902. Rad. Jugoslav. Akad. 150: 137.
(error for Eufira Gistl, 1848)

Mutelina Bourguignat, 1886
Bourguignat, 1886. Esp. Nouv. et Genres Nouv. Lac Oukékérewe et Tanganika: 11.
Type species: Mutela subdiaphana Bourguignat, 1886 (monotypy) = Mutela bourguignati

Pseudomutela Simpson, 1900
Simpson, 1900. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 22: 905.
Simpson, 1914. Descr. Cat. Naiades: 1362.
(intro'd as sub-gen. of Mutela Scopoli, 1777)
Type species: Mycetopus plicatus Sowerby, 1868 (orig. desig.) = Mutela dubia

Callioscapha Modell, 1964
Modell, 1964. Arch. Moll. 93: 85.
(error for Calliscapha Swainson, 1840)

Platyris Haas, 1969
‘Agassiz’ of Authors.
Haas, 1969. Das Tierreich 88: 598.
Haas, 1969. Treatise on Invert. Paleo: N464.
(error for Platyiris Agassiz, 1846)

Pteromutela Starobogatov, 1970
Starobogatov, 1970. Fauna Moll. Continent.: 75, 288.
(intro'd as sub-gen. of Mutela Scopoli, 1777)
Type species: Mutela hargeri E.A. Smith, 1908 (orig. desig.) = Mutela hargeri

Nilotica Agassiz, 1845
‘(Sow.)’ Agassiz, 1845. Nom. Syst. Gen. Moll.: 58. [nomen nudum]
‘(Sow.)’ Agassiz, 1846. Nomencl. Zool. Index Univ.: 249.
(intro'd as syn. of Iridina Lamarck, 1819)

Iridella Conrad, 1853
Conrad, 1853. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 6: 267. [nomen nudum]

Utela Moore, 1898
Moore, 1898. Quart. Jour. Micro. Sci. 41: 168.
(error for Mutela Scopoli, 1777)

Taxonomic History (since 1900)

Mutela (s.s.)Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1904), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Leloup (1950), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
Mutela (Pseudomutela)Simpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914)
MutelaSimpson (1900), Pallary (1903), E.A. Smith (1904), E.A. Smith (1908), Pallary (1909), ... Wu et al. (2023), Wu et al. (2024), Galal-Khallaf et al. (2024), Dai et al. (2025), Chen et al. (2025)
PseudospathaSimpson (1900), Kobelt (1910), Simpson (1914), Haas (1969)
Mutela (Mutelina)Kobelt (1904)
MutelinaGermain (1907), Pallary (1909), Pallary (1924)
ChelidonopsisGermain (1908), Simpson (1914)
Mutela (Chelidonopsis)Kobelt (1910), Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Haas (1969)
Pleiodon (Cameronia)Simpson (1914)
PseudomutelaPallary (1924)
Iridina (s.s.)Pilsbry & Bequaert (1927), Thiele (1934), Haas (1969), Haas (1969)
IridinaModell (1942), Graf (2000), Van Damme & Pickford (2010)
Mutela (Pteromutela)Starobogatov (1970)
PteromutelaVan Damme & Pickford (2010)

 
NSF icon MUSSEL icon
"Making the world a better place, one mollusk at a time."