Max Size: 9cm (4 inches)
Habitat: Rocks, piles, other shell-building organisms
Diet: Plankton
Fun Facts:
- Mussels are semi-sessile organisms, meaning they can detach and reattach to surfaces such as rocks and pilings to better position themselves during changes in tides; they do this with hair-like, adhesive strands called byssal threads
- Ribbed mussels can be distinguished from blue mussels by the texture of their shell. The shell is characterized by a series of ridges, or ribs, which is where this species gets its name
- Male and female ribbed mussels can be distinguished by the color of their mantle, males tend to be yellowish while females are brown
- The ribs on a ribbed mussel can be used to determine the age of the individual