Asian date mussel, Asian mussel, Bag mussel
Arcuatula senhousia, commonly known as the Asian date mussel, Asian mussel or bag mussel, is a small saltwater mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk species in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Other common names for this species include: the Japanese mussel, Senhouse's mussel, the green mussel (a name also applied to Perna viridis ), and the green bagmussel. It is harvested for human consumption in China.
This mussel is native to the Pacific Ocean from Siberia to Singapore, but it has also been accidentally introduced and become an invasive species in numerous other areas worldwide. It can live in the intertidal or shallow subtidal zones. In California the species has been recorded in densities of up to 150,000 individuals per square meter. It grows quickly and lives only about 2 years. It prefers soft substrates and surrounds its shell in a dense mass of byssus.
One of several negative impacts of this invasive species is that it has a detrimental effect on eelgrass.
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starts withThis species is differentiated from other mussels by its relatively small size and inflated shape, as well as by the greenish colour of its outer periostracal layer. The shell has radiating reddish lines on its posterior surfaces, small internal teeth on the dorsal edge posterior to the ligament, and small ribs anterior to the umbones. It can grow up to 30 millimetres (1+1⁄8 in) in length. It is also known for its relatively fast growth and has a maximum lifetime of about two years.
Arcuatula senhousia is native to the Pacific Ocean, inhabiting coastal areas from Siberia and the Kuril Islands south to Singapore. The mussel has become an invasive species in California, the Mediterranean, Australia, and New Zealand. It was introduced to the Western coast of the United States sometime in the early 20th century with shipments of Japanese oysters. In 1983, large specimens of the species were collected in the Swan River estuary in Western Australia. The mussel has been present in the Waitematā Harbour of Auckland since the 1970s, becoming established by 1984. Specimens have also been reported at Tamar estuary in Tasmania. Invasion of the aforementioned locales is thought to have been achieved in a variety of manners: the mussels were transported on the hulls of ships, in water-intake chambers and the ducts of ships, as planktonic larvae carried in the ballast water of bulk-cargo vessels, in association with intentionally introduced oysters, and by Lessepsian migration through the Suez Canal.
The Asian date mussel is generally found in sheltered mud or other soft substrates up to twenty metres below the surface of the water. In China and Japan, where it is native, the mussels are found in intertidal zones with densities up to 2500 individuals per square metre. In Australia, as an invasive species, they are found from 0.5 to 4 metres (1+1⁄2 to 13 feet) below the surface of the water in slightly higher densities.
Along the Western coast of North America, however, the species generally reaches densities of 5000 to 10,000 individuals per square metre and has been recorded at densities of up to 150,000 individuals per square metre in Mission Bay in San Diego, California, USA. The mussel is most abundant in the summer and early autumn. In the Swan River estuary in Western Australia, the mussel population has a high mortality rate in the late autumn and early winter. This may be the result of a decrease in water salinity from increased rainfall.
Arcuatula senhousia uses byssal threads to form a sort of cocoon around itself. The cocoon may be necessary for protection due to the relatively thin shells of the species, as well as to assist in the stabilization of the individuals within the sediment. The cocoons of the individuals can intertwine to form a mat that tends to trap other shells, sediment, algae, and detritus on its surface.
