The northern riffleshell (Epioblasma torulosa rangiana) is a subspecies of freshwater mussel, an aquaticbivalvemollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. This mussel is endangered and federally protected.[3][4] It was proposed as a species, Epioblasma rangiana, by Williams et al. (2017).[5]
This mussel was formerly found widely in the Ohio River basin, but now the population is fragmented into only three viable groups.[citation needed]
This river mussel needs gravel river beds and swift-flowing, well-oxygenated water. The reduction in range seems to be principally due to impoundment, the silting up of rivers due to agriculture, mining and tree cutting and competition from zebra mussels.[6]
