Updated Distribution for Two Freshwater Mussel Species of Conservation Concern in Oklahoma

Hunter M. Torolski^1,*, James M. Long², Robert C. Lonsinger², and Lindsey A. Bruckerhoff³

¹Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078. ²US Geological Survey, Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Stillwater, OK 74078. ³Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 23, Issue 3 (2024): N44–N49

First published early online: 1 September 2024

Abstract
Qualitative and quantitative sampling efforts in the Verdigris River, OK (upstream of Lake Oologah), yielded new distributional records of 2 freshwater mussel species of conservation need: Cyprogenia aberti (Western Fanshell) and Ptychobranchus occidentalis (Ouachita Kidneyshell). The Ouachita Kidneyshell has not been documented alive during a scientific survey in the Oklahoma portion of the Verdigris River in nearly 100 years. Our observations extend the known distribution for the Western Fanshell further downstream into Oklahoma by ~36 river km. These findings indicate an expansion in the known range and potential improvement in the populations of 2 imperiled mussel species, contrary to the prevailing global trend of mussel population decline.

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