Kingdom Animalia Order Unionoida Genus Plethobasus Higher classification Plethobasus | Phylum Mollusca Family Unionidae Scientific name Plethobasus cicatricosus Rank Species | |
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Similar Cyclonaias tuberculata, Orange‑footed pimpleback mussel, Rough pigtoe pearly mu, Epioblasma, Pink mucket | ||
The white warty-back pearly mussel or white wartyback, scientific name Plethobasus cicatricosus, is a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. Once widely distributed in the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee River systems in the United States, it is now probably limited to the Tennessee River. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
This mussel is yellow-green or yellow-brown in color. The nacre is white and partly iridescent. There is a row of tubercles on one edge of the shell.
The white wartyback lived in the main arteries of big rivers. It was distributed through Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia. It has now been extirpated from all of these states except for Tennessee and Alabama, where it likely remains in the main flow of the Tennessee River. No live specimens have been collected in over 30 years.
The white wartyback will likely be reintroduced to the French Broad River and the Holston River in Tennessee.