Mussel Shell Inventory - Tennessee River Watershed
A map of mussel shells located and inventoried by the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful crew during cleanups throughout the entire 7-state Tennessee River watershed.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful has a unique opportunity in that we are one of few groups traveling into remote coves as we host river cleanups (and scout for litter sites for those cleanups) throughout the entire 7-state Tennessee River watershed. Using this controlled documentation (ensuring no duplicates), we work with freshwater mussel scientists at the University of Tennessee Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences to identify and inventory the mussel shells discovered.
Freshwater mussels inventoried since january 2025
BANKCLIMBER
(Plectomerus dombeyanus)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Kentucky Lake
WABASH PIGTOE
(Fusconaia flava)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Kentucky Lake
PIMPLEBACK
(Plethobasus cooperianus)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Fort Loudoun Lake, Kentucky Lake (live specimen found)
YELLOW SANDSHELL
(Lampsilis teres)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Kentucky Lake
PINK HEELSPLITTER
(Potamilus alatus)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Fort Loudoun Lake
GIANT FLOATER
(Pyganodon grandis)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Chickamauga Lake
French Broad River: Douglas Lake
EBONYSHELL
(Fusconaia ebena)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Kentucky Lake
FLAT FLOATER
(Utterbackiana suborbiculata)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Pickwick Lake
FRAGILE PAPERSHELL
(Potamilus fragilis)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Tennessee River: Pickwick Lake
THREERIDGE
(Amblema plicata)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
French Broad River
ELEPHANTEAR
(Elliptio crassidens)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
French Broad River
POCKETBOOK
(Lampsilis ovata)
Locations Found by KTnRB crew:
Clinch River: Melton Hill Lake