Description: This mussel has a relatively smooth shell with smooth growth lines, little erosion, and no major radiating ridges.
Because of their detritus and plankton feeding, their abundance, and their availability to predators, Pacific Blue Mussels comprise a significant component of local food webs. The periostracum is a smooth, shiny black (or sometimes brown-- photo) and without hairs.
Pacific blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) are common residents of intertidal habitats in protected waters of the North Pacific, serving as a conduit of primary production to a wide range of nearshore consumers including predatory invertebrates, sea ducks, shorebirds, … Pacific blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) are common residents of intertidal habitats in protected waters of the North Pacific, serving as a conduit of primary production to a wide range of nearshore consumers including predatory invertebrates, sea ducks, shorebirds, … M. galloprovincialis, also known as the Mediterranean blue mussel, is native to the Mediterranean coast and the Black and Adriatic Seas. Blue Mussels spawn in spring in Puget Sound. Average Ratings: 4 The shell is longer than high and the umbones are at the pointed anterior end. Because they are grown on ropes rather than in a beach, our Whidbey Island Pacific Blue mussels (Mytilus trossulus) are generally free of sand or grit. The eggs develop rapidly and hatch into veliger larvae in a few days. U.S. farmed blue mussels are a smart seafood choice because they are sustainably grown and harvested under U.S. state and federal regulations. Before the mussels are harvested, each batch is tested and certified-safe by the State of Washington. It has spread to locations around the globe through ballast water and through its use in aquaculture. It is listed by the Global Invasive Species Database as one of the 100 world's worst invaders.