Mytilus (genus)

Mytilus Temporal range: Jurassic–Present PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Mytilus edulis in the intertidal zone in Cornwall, England
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Subclass:	Pteriomorphia
Order:	Mytiloida
Family:	Mytilidae
Genus:	Mytilus Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text.

Mytilus edulis shells washed up on the beach

Mytilus is a cosmopolitan genus of medium to large-sized edible, mainly saltwater mussels, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae.

Mytilus mussel in California, showing the byssus threads

Species

Species within the genus Mytilus include:

• Mytilus californianus Conrad, 1837 - California mussel
• Mytilus coruscus Gould, 1861
• the Mytilus edulis complex:
  • Mytilus edulis Linnaeus, 1758 - blue mussel, edible blue mussel
    • Mytilus edulis platensis d'Orbigny, 1846 = Mytilus chilensis (Hupé, 1854) - Chilean mussel (controversial)
  • Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 - Mediterranean mussel
  • Mytilus trossulus Gould, 1850 - foolish mussel

Human use

Mytilus mussels are widely exploited as food and used in mariculture. For instance, in California, they have been consumed by coastal Native American people for almost 12 000 years.

References

• J. H McDonald, R. Seed and R.K. Koehn (1991) Allozymes and morphometric characters of three species of Mytilus in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Marine Biology 111: 323-333.