Mytilus (genus) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mytilus Temporal range: Jurassic–Recent 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, 1798

Mytilus mussel in California, showing the byssus threads

Mytilus is a common genus of medium to large-sized marine mussels. They are bivalve molluscs of the family Mytilidae. Mussels are edible, and are used in various stews and soups. In life, they are attached to the substrate (rocks etc) by byssus threads.

Species

Species within the genus Mytilus include:

• 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
• Mytilus californianus Conrad, 1837 – California mussel
• Mytilus coruscus Gould, 1861

Human use

Mytilus mussels are widely used as food. In California they were eaten by coastal Native American people for almost 12,000 years.

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

Mytilus edulis shells on the beach