*learns new word*
Oh no
Oh no
September 12, 2026 at 6:26 PM
*learns new word*
Oh no
Oh no
Freshwater mussels that imitate prey fish for their parasitic glochidia are biological delights.
These inverts are so far from arthropods that nobody would consider them bugs, but I feel obligated to mention freshwater mussels grow fishing lures so they can inject their parasitic larvae straight into fish gills, which is obviously awesome and metal as hell. 🐟
GIF by @singermccombs.bsky.social
GIF by @singermccombs.bsky.social
September 18, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Freshwater mussels that imitate prey fish for their parasitic glochidia are biological delights.
Amazing evolution in freshwater mussels. Some female mussels present lures (modified mantle tissue that mimic prey such as minnows & crayfish) to attract a potential host fish on which the mussel will spray glochidia larvae.
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agric...
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agric...
May 19, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Amazing evolution in freshwater mussels. Some female mussels present lures (modified mantle tissue that mimic prey such as minnows & crayfish) to attract a potential host fish on which the mussel will spray glochidia larvae.
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agric...
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agric...
Bivalve glochidia are not a whole lot better, all things considered.
September 12, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Bivalve glochidia are not a whole lot better, all things considered.
Gilt darters play an important role in freshwater mussel reproduction, as they're common hosts for the glochidia (larvae) of many species, including threatened and endangered species like the cracking pearlymussel and rabbitsfoot mussel (freshwater mussels have great names) #25DaysofFishmas
December 24, 2024 at 2:38 PM
Gilt darters play an important role in freshwater mussel reproduction, as they're common hosts for the glochidia (larvae) of many species, including threatened and endangered species like the cracking pearlymussel and rabbitsfoot mussel (freshwater mussels have great names) #25DaysofFishmas
The movement of the young stage (Glochidia) upstream by attaching to fish gills is what I find to be one of the coolest facts about these orgasms.
April 25, 2025 at 5:35 PM
The movement of the young stage (Glochidia) upstream by attaching to fish gills is what I find to be one of the coolest facts about these orgasms.
"Pretty Little Glochidia"
https://buff.ly/49FW401
@fx_hash_
368/383 available || 1.01 #TEZ each
#creativecoding #p5js #digitalartist #fxhash #tezart #tezosart
https://buff.ly/49FW401
@fx_hash_
368/383 available || 1.01 #TEZ each
#creativecoding #p5js #digitalartist #fxhash #tezart #tezosart
December 6, 2024 at 10:07 PM
"Pretty Little Glochidia"
https://buff.ly/49FW401
@fx_hash_
368/383 available || 1.01 #TEZ each
#creativecoding #p5js #digitalartist #fxhash #tezart #tezosart
https://buff.ly/49FW401
@fx_hash_
368/383 available || 1.01 #TEZ each
#creativecoding #p5js #digitalartist #fxhash #tezart #tezosart
Response to Ogden Nash's "The Guppy"
Guppies have fry,
Oysters have spat,
Beetles have grubs,
Butterflies have cat
-erpillars,
Bugs have nymphs,
Ribbon worms have pilidia,
Bristle worms have trochophores,
Mussels have glochidia,
Flatworms have cercaria
Snails have—wait, where are ya?
Guppies have fry,
Oysters have spat,
Beetles have grubs,
Butterflies have cat
-erpillars,
Bugs have nymphs,
Ribbon worms have pilidia,
Bristle worms have trochophores,
Mussels have glochidia,
Flatworms have cercaria
Snails have—wait, where are ya?
May 18, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Response to Ogden Nash's "The Guppy"
Guppies have fry,
Oysters have spat,
Beetles have grubs,
Butterflies have cat
-erpillars,
Bugs have nymphs,
Ribbon worms have pilidia,
Bristle worms have trochophores,
Mussels have glochidia,
Flatworms have cercaria
Snails have—wait, where are ya?
Guppies have fry,
Oysters have spat,
Beetles have grubs,
Butterflies have cat
-erpillars,
Bugs have nymphs,
Ribbon worms have pilidia,
Bristle worms have trochophores,
Mussels have glochidia,
Flatworms have cercaria
Snails have—wait, where are ya?
As we prepare for the 2015 drop-off of glochidia from our fish at the @marineinst.bsky.social hatchery in Furnace, @philkeena.bsky.social , Darija and I headed across the Irish Sea to visit the Freshwatwr Pearl Mussel hatcheries in Wales and England …..🧵
April 4, 2025 at 6:32 AM
As we prepare for the 2015 drop-off of glochidia from our fish at the @marineinst.bsky.social hatchery in Furnace, @philkeena.bsky.social , Darija and I headed across the Irish Sea to visit the Freshwatwr Pearl Mussel hatcheries in Wales and England …..🧵
my body would be organized to make parasitic glochidia larvae but for a developmental anomaly so which bathroom am i supposed to use??????
November 20, 2024 at 10:24 PM
my body would be organized to make parasitic glochidia larvae but for a developmental anomaly so which bathroom am i supposed to use??????
You might wonder how the glochidia (babies) of freshwater mussels attach to the host fish to ride upstream. Surely it is some sort of convoluted process. Sometimes yes, but for some species, they literally use their shells as little binder clips, locking on and holding for dear life! (155)
August 7, 2025 at 3:04 AM
You might wonder how the glochidia (babies) of freshwater mussels attach to the host fish to ride upstream. Surely it is some sort of convoluted process. Sometimes yes, but for some species, they literally use their shells as little binder clips, locking on and holding for dear life! (155)
Many freshwater mussels develop elaborate lures, such as this plain pocketbook, which has evolved a flap of mantle tissue w/ fake eyespot that it waves around like a fish in distress. A fish takes a bite and gets a gillful of glochidia, which get a free ride upstream! (153) youtu.be/ejDgrNAhC8Y?...
Plain Pocketbook Freshwater Mussel Displaying Lure - Manchester University Environmental Studies
YouTube video by Manchester University
youtu.be
August 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Many freshwater mussels develop elaborate lures, such as this plain pocketbook, which has evolved a flap of mantle tissue w/ fake eyespot that it waves around like a fish in distress. A fish takes a bite and gets a gillful of glochidia, which get a free ride upstream! (153) youtu.be/ejDgrNAhC8Y?...
Just wow! Amazing photo from #ThomaszWilk of an #endangered thick shelled river mussel #UnioCrassus spurting (nice!) to allow their larvae (glochidia) to find a #fish host
#WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear #nhm_wpy
www.instagram.com/tomaszwilkph...
www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/...
#WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear #nhm_wpy
www.instagram.com/tomaszwilkph...
www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/...
Spitting out Water Babies | Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Natural History Museum
Tomasz Wilk (Poland) notices fountains of water-borne larvae being squirted from the shallows by a thick-shelled river mussel.
www.nhm.ac.uk
January 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Just wow! Amazing photo from #ThomaszWilk of an #endangered thick shelled river mussel #UnioCrassus spurting (nice!) to allow their larvae (glochidia) to find a #fish host
#WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear #nhm_wpy
www.instagram.com/tomaszwilkph...
www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/...
#WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear #nhm_wpy
www.instagram.com/tomaszwilkph...
www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/...
I think I might pick the western ridged mussel (Gonidea angulata). Freshwater mussels are really amazing invertebrates and a key part of freshwater ecosystems.
February 27, 2025 at 5:16 AM
I think I might pick the western ridged mussel (Gonidea angulata). Freshwater mussels are really amazing invertebrates and a key part of freshwater ecosystems.
I knew but I never dared. How do you make sure glochidia are removed?
March 5, 2026 at 7:34 AM
I knew but I never dared. How do you make sure glochidia are removed?
This is awesome. Many mussels are incredible fish mimics because they need to be attacked for their parasitic larvae to attach to fish gills. Corey is going to be infecting largemouth bass with blood sucking glochidia until the mussels mature and can be restocked. The most goth hatchery ever. 🐟🌏
Wading into the bsky world with an update on my lab. My university's comms team did a nice write-up on our new project on native mussels. We're propagating unionids as the first baby step toward a reintroduction program in the Niagara River watershed. Really fun departure from my usual fishy focus!
Can freshwater mussels clean the Niagara River?
UB scientists are investigating if the water and sediment quality of the upper river can support these organisms that naturally filter out contaminants.
www.buffalo.edu
November 8, 2023 at 5:53 PM
This is awesome. Many mussels are incredible fish mimics because they need to be attacked for their parasitic larvae to attach to fish gills. Corey is going to be infecting largemouth bass with blood sucking glochidia until the mussels mature and can be restocked. The most goth hatchery ever. 🐟🌏
It is with great pleasure that we are sharing some #FreshwaterPearlMussel fascination this Microscope Monday 🔬 with fab new images of early stage #glochidia released from one of our female broodstock mussels.
Find out more about the FBA Freshwater Pearl Mussel Ark:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
Find out more about the FBA Freshwater Pearl Mussel Ark:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
July 14, 2025 at 4:10 PM
It is with great pleasure that we are sharing some #FreshwaterPearlMussel fascination this Microscope Monday 🔬 with fab new images of early stage #glochidia released from one of our female broodstock mussels.
Find out more about the FBA Freshwater Pearl Mussel Ark:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
Find out more about the FBA Freshwater Pearl Mussel Ark:
www.fba.org.uk/freshwater-p...
Less neutral than you'd expect — stranger. Ziuganov (2005) suggests glochidia switch off a senescence programme in my host salmon; infected fish lived longer. And glochidia-carrying trout outlived clean controls through a Flavobacterium outbreak. What if it's reciprocity?
May 21, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Less neutral than you'd expect — stranger. Ziuganov (2005) suggests glochidia switch off a senescence programme in my host salmon; infected fish lived longer. And glochidia-carrying trout outlived clean controls through a Flavobacterium outbreak. What if it's reciprocity?
Just need to wiggle that siphon, let 'em get close, maybe take a nibble ... then ... BOOM GLOCHIDIA!!!
May 15, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Just need to wiggle that siphon, let 'em get close, maybe take a nibble ... then ... BOOM GLOCHIDIA!!!
Glochidia (parasitic stage of freshwater mussels) found on fossilized fish!
Fossilized fish up to 16 million years old found in Australia, with last meal still intact | CNN
Paleontologists in Australia discovered a remarkably preserved fish species, revealing its last meal and offering new insights into the region’s historic ecosystem.
edition.cnn.com
April 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Glochidia (parasitic stage of freshwater mussels) found on fossilized fish!
Trichodiniasis and glochidiosis in one 📽️!!
Once the Pearl mussel glochidia have been released from their mother, they have 24 hours of snapping to find a🐟
Heres some footage of encysted glochidia, and Trichodina, a gill parasite 🛸
@KeenaPhilip @MarineInst @NPWSIreland
Once the Pearl mussel glochidia have been released from their mother, they have 24 hours of snapping to find a🐟
Heres some footage of encysted glochidia, and Trichodina, a gill parasite 🛸
@KeenaPhilip @MarineInst @NPWSIreland
November 13, 2024 at 7:54 AM
Trichodiniasis and glochidiosis in one 📽️!!
Once the Pearl mussel glochidia have been released from their mother, they have 24 hours of snapping to find a🐟
Heres some footage of encysted glochidia, and Trichodina, a gill parasite 🛸
@KeenaPhilip @MarineInst @NPWSIreland
Once the Pearl mussel glochidia have been released from their mother, they have 24 hours of snapping to find a🐟
Heres some footage of encysted glochidia, and Trichodina, a gill parasite 🛸
@KeenaPhilip @MarineInst @NPWSIreland
Unfortunate turn of events in the lab led to opportunity for some great photos. These are fatmucket glochidia (native mussel larvae) infested in the gills of a largemouth bass. The rest of their friends are alive and well. Hopefully we'll have a nice crop of juvenile mussels soon!
February 22, 2024 at 4:28 PM
Unfortunate turn of events in the lab led to opportunity for some great photos. These are fatmucket glochidia (native mussel larvae) infested in the gills of a largemouth bass. The rest of their friends are alive and well. Hopefully we'll have a nice crop of juvenile mussels soon!
I try very hard to maintain a pleasant if not sanguine online persona (a holdover from my teaching days) ... but sanguine also means bloodthirsty. I would love the opportunity to discuss this dichotomy with the bastards who invented social media algorithms.
Like glochidia, I don't let go.
Like glochidia, I don't let go.
September 28, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I try very hard to maintain a pleasant if not sanguine online persona (a holdover from my teaching days) ... but sanguine also means bloodthirsty. I would love the opportunity to discuss this dichotomy with the bastards who invented social media algorithms.
Like glochidia, I don't let go.
Like glochidia, I don't let go.
There are marked differences in host utilisation patterns between the invasive mussel Sinanodonta woodiana and native European unionid species, this study found.
#biologicalinvasions #mussels #parasites @czechacademy.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/neob...
#biologicalinvasions #mussels #parasites @czechacademy.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/neob...
Distribution of parasitic larvae of non-native Sinanodonta woodiana on fish hosts across an invasion gradient
The Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana) is a highly invasive freshwater bivalve, recognised for its broad host range and ecological plasticity. Its obligate parasitic larvae (glochidia) must at...
doi.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:35 AM
There are marked differences in host utilisation patterns between the invasive mussel Sinanodonta woodiana and native European unionid species, this study found.
#biologicalinvasions #mussels #parasites @czechacademy.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/neob...
#biologicalinvasions #mussels #parasites @czechacademy.bsky.social
doi.org/10.3897/neob...
タイトル: ヤマメにおける淡水真珠貝（Margaritifera margaritifera）の腱虫寄生が捕食行動と成長に与える影響
要点1: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは、大きな餌を捕食する際に捕食時間が長くなるが、小さな餌では影響がない。
要点2: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは非寄生魚よりも成長率が低く、腱虫が排出されたヤマメの方が成長率が高い。
要点1: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは、大きな餌を捕食する際に捕食時間が長くなるが、小さな餌では影響がない。
要点2: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは非寄生魚よりも成長率が低く、腱虫が排出されたヤマメの方が成長率が高い。
Does glochidia infestation of the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) affect foraging behavior and growth in brown trout (Salmo trutta)?
【Parasitol Res】<AbstractText>Fish serve as hosts to a wide range of parasites, which can affect them in many ways, including th...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
September 17, 2026 at 7:49 PM
タイトル: ヤマメにおける淡水真珠貝（Margaritifera margaritifera）の腱虫寄生が捕食行動と成長に与える影響
要点1: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは、大きな餌を捕食する際に捕食時間が長くなるが、小さな餌では影響がない。
要点2: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは非寄生魚よりも成長率が低く、腱虫が排出されたヤマメの方が成長率が高い。
要点1: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは、大きな餌を捕食する際に捕食時間が長くなるが、小さな餌では影響がない。
要点2: 腱虫寄生のあるヤマメは非寄生魚よりも成長率が低く、腱虫が排出されたヤマメの方が成長率が高い。