National Capital Parks-East - Mollusks

Eight extant species of freshwater mussels have been documented from National Capital Parks-East (NACE). All of these occur in the Potomac River along the shoreline of Piscataway National Park. These eight species are the Alewife Floater (Anodonta implicata), the Eastern Elliptio (Ellipitio complanta), the Carolina Lance (Elliptio angustata), the Yellow Lamp Mussel (Lampsilis cariosa), the Eastern Lamp Mussel (Lampsilis radiata), the Tidewater Mucket (Leptodea ochracea), the Eastern Pond Mussel (Ligumia nasuta), and the Eastern Floater (Pyganodon cataracta). The Yellow Lamp Mussel is a Maryland state endangered species and is known in Maryland only from Piscataway Park and one other site. Of these, only two species (the Eastern Floater and the Tidewater Mucket) are know to occur in the Anacostia River portion of NACE, the Tidewater Mucket being known only from a single recent collection. Many species of terrestrial snails and slugs exist at NACE but have not yet been inventoried.