| When mussels are born, they are
larvae. Hairy cilia help the mussels to swim. On the second day
of its life the mussel has a tiny yellow shell. When the mussel
grows, it loses its cilia. The mussel floats for a month trying
to find a place to settle. A bubble of air inside its body keeps
it floating. The mussel is only 1/15 inch long when it settles
to the bottom of the ocean. A normal male mussel is three inches
long, but it can grow to be five inches long. |
| In the mating season the female mussel squirts
millions of eggs into the water. As the male passes, he sends
out many sperms. Few of the mussels grow up because most of them
are eaten. |
| When mussels are young, they attach
to the sea floor with strong threads called byssus. Byssus are
rope-like strands that tie the mussel to the ocean floor. Byssus
have little tiny tips on them with a substance that is like plastic
cement. It is almost impossible to pull the mussel off the rock,
but sometimes these threads break and the mussel has to grow
new byssus and attach to the rock again. Mussels spend most of
their lives in one spot. |
| Cilia is hair-like
strands that cover the mussel's body. The cilia take the water
to the gills and the mussel gets oxygen from the water. The cilia
also take the plankton to its mouth. |
| The mussel filters fifteen gallons of water in
one day. They filter two to three quarts of water an hour. They
live in the mid and low tide zones. |
|
| Diet |
plankton |
| Size |
up to 5 inches (13 cm) |
| Color |
yellow when young, dark blue when older |
| Life Cycle |
larva, floating yellow shell, then mature adults attached
to rock |
| Predators |
starfish |
| Neat Facts |
spends most of its life in one spot |
| Types |
California mussel, Blue mussel |
| Relatives |
abalone, nudibranchs, sea hares, octopi, squid, scallops,
oysters, clams, chitons, snails, limpets |
|
