Scientific Name: Lamellidens marginalis (Lamarck, 1819)
English Name: Freshwater mussel
Local/Bangla Name: ঝিনুক (jhinuk)
Bivalve : Lamellidens marginalis - Freshwater mussel - ঝিনুক (jhinuk)

Photo: Ivan N. Bolotov et al, 2022

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Unionida
Family: Unionidae
Description:
The shell is oblong-ovate, thin, and exceptionally smooth. The posterior side is broad with a round angular shape, and the wing is very narrow. The dorsal margin exhibits a slight curve, while the anterior side is short and narrow, and the ventral margin is slightly contracted in the middle. The hinge is external, featuring two cardinals in the right valve and one feebly developed cardinal plus two curved lateral teeth in the left valve. The umbones, located in front of the hinge, are slightly inflated, and characteristic markings or impressions of scars on the inner surface indicate the attachment points of adductor and retractor muscles, as well as the pallial line near each end. The periostracum is blackish-brown and shiny, with a light brown border along the ventral margin. The exterior is brown with a lighter border along the margin, while the interior appears slightly white to pinkish. On average, the shell measures about 78 mm in length, 41 mm in height, and 26 mm in thickness. The mussel’s life cycle involves a parasitic glochidium that encysts on fish gills and fins. Eventually, the larva weakens the cyst, releasing the juvenile, which sinks to the bottom and assumes its adult form.
Habitat & Distribution in Bangladesh:
Ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. Abundant in waters containing lime, as this is necessary for the production of their shell. It lives nearly buried in mud or sand bottom, with only the posterior tips of the shell valves exposed. May also occur wedged in between rocks and stones, with the valves slightly spread and the two siphons exposed. Widely distributed in the freshwater habitats of Bangladesh.
Environment:
freshwater
DNA Barcodes from Bangladesh
GenBank Accession Number:
COI: Not Found  
Other DNA Barcodes & Nucleutide Sequences
Global IUCN conservation status:
Other Information