Shell of the Week: The Scorched Mussel

Brachidontes exustus (Linnaeus, 1758) reaches about 25 mm (about one inch). The shell has a

“semi-triangular” outline, with a sculpture of many very fine radial ribs that form minute denticles on the inner edge of the valves. The color is yellowish-brown to dark-brown, with the inner surface a metallic purple mottled with white. Genetic studies in the past have shown that what we consider to be the Scorched Mussel may consist of more than one species.

The Scorched Mussel, Brachidontes exustus, from Sanibel.

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