Biodiversity & Conservation

Common mussel - Mytilus edulis - General information

Mytilus edulis

Image Keith Hiscock - Clump of mussels. Image width ca 20 cm.
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Distribution map

Mytilus edulis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Mytilus edulis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters Text page icon Refereed by: Prof. R. Seed

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Bivalvia Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Very common all around the coast of the British Isles, with large commercial beds in the Wash, Morecambe Bay, Conway Bay and the estuaries of south-west England, north Wales, and west Scotland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Occurs from the high intertidal to the shallow subtidal attached by fibrous byssus threads to suitable substrata. Found on the rocky shores of open coasts attached to the rock surface and in crevices, and on rocks and piers in sheltered harbours and estuaries, often occurring as dense masses.
Text page icon Description The shell is inequilateral and roughly triangular in outline, however, shell shape varies considerably with environmental conditions. Shell smooth with a sculpturing of concentric lines but no radiating ribs. The ligament is inconspicuous. The shell colour varies, usually purple or blue but sometimes brown. Length varies, specimens usually ranging from 5 -10 cm although some populations never attain more than 2-3 cm, and the largest specimens may reach 15 -20 cm. Mytilus edulis may be confused with the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Harvey Tyler-Walters 2008. Mytilus edulis. Common mussel. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3848>