Southwest Florida Shells

by José H. Leal

Family Mytilidae

Perna viridis

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Green Mussel

Shell size to 90 mm; shell mussel-shaped, ventral margin straight or slightly concave, posterior end rounded. Shell surface smooth except for fine growth lines. Hinge with one or two teeth. Periostracum flaky. Externally brown with green tinges usually concentrated around margins. Internally nacreous, whitish or light-purple. This species has been introduced to the East Coast of the USA, part of the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico from New Zealand.