Mediterranean Mussel

• It is on the IUCN list of the 100 most damaging invasive alien species in the world for its ability to displace native mussels wherever it has been introduced.
• The byssus threads stick underwater to almost any surface and have inspired the design of surgical adhesives.
• Its beds create a three-dimensional microhabitat that shelters dozens of species of small invertebrates.
• It is the basis of farmed mussels in Spain, above all in the Galician rías, where it is grown on rafts of hanging ropes.
• It attaches to the rock with its byssus, a bundle of protein filaments that it secretes over and over and that lets it detach and reposition itself.
• Outside the Mediterranean it is one of the most successful marine invaders in the world. In South Africa it displaced the native species of rocky shores and is cited as an example of permanent-dominance invasion.
• It hybridises with the common mussel, Mytilus edulis, wherever the two meet, which makes identifying populations very difficult.
• Like every filter-feeding bivalve, it accumulates red tide toxins and heavy metals, which is why it is used in water quality monitoring programmes.

Habitat and environment

Rocks, breakwaters and culture rafts in the intertidal and shallow subtidal

Sexual maturity

1 year

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Mytilus galloprovincialis