Species profile
Quagga Mussel
Dreissena bugensis
At a glance
Quagga Mussel (Dreissena bugensis) is an IUCN Least Concern bivalve mollusk regulated in 7 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
The strictest bag limit is 5 (Missouri); the most generous is 25 (Texas).
Confirmed by 2,058 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Native to the Ponto-Caspian region of Eastern Europe, quagga mussels were first detected in Lake Erie in 1989.
- A single adult filters up to 1 liter of water per day, removing phytoplankton that native species depend on.
- Unlike zebra mussels, quagga mussels can colonize soft lake-bottom sediment and survive depths exceeding 100 meters.
- Named for the extinct quagga — a zebra relative — because of the mussel's faint striped shell pattern.
- It spreads mainly by boat; a single drop of bilge water can carry microscopic veliger larvae.
Where Quagga Mussel are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Quagga Mussel
Background
The quagga mussel, scientific name Dreissena bugensis, and also known as Dreissena rostriformis bugensis, is a species (or subspecies) of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Dreissenidae.
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Quagga Mussel article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other clams/oysters/mussels on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.