Discovery of the Salamander Mussel (Simpsonaias ambigua) and Spectaclecase (Cumberlandia monodonta) in the Buffalo River, Tennessee

Gerald R. Dinkins^1,*, David A. Foltz^2,3, and Bernie R. Swiney⁴

¹McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Tennessee, 1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. ²Edge Engineering and Science, 4270 Ivy Pointe Boulevard., Suite 110, Cincinnati, OH 45245. ³West Virginia University, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 265063. ⁴Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (retired), 112 Cross Avenue, Dayton, TN 37321. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 25, Issue 1 (2026): N10-N16

First published early online: 12 March 2026

Abstract
Simpsonaias ambigua (Salamander Mussel) occurs in medium creeks to large rivers and is restricted to waterbodies that support a population of its only known host, Necturus maculosus (Common Mudpuppy). Prior to this study, the only record of the Salamander Mussel in the Tennessee River drainage was from the Duck River. Cumberlandia monodonta (Spectaclecase) is a federally endangered species that in Tennessee was last collected alive in the Duck River in the early 2000s and in the lower Tennessee River in 1998. In 2025, while diving in a deep pool of the lower Buffalo River, Humphreys County, TN, we discovered a robust population of the Salamander Mussel and 1 live Spectaclecase. Future surveys using diving equipment while targeting habitat identified in our study are recommended to assess the status of both species in the Buffalo River and elsewhere.

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