Epioblasma perobliqua (Conrad, 1836)

White catspaw, White cat's paw pearly mussel

Taxonomy & Nomenclature

Synonyms: Unio gibbosus var. perobliquus Conrad, 1836; Dysnomia sulcata perobliqua (Conrad, 1836); Epioblasma obliquata perobliqua (Conrad, 1836); Plagiola perobliqua (Conrad, 1836)

See Graf & Cummings (2025) for a more complete taxonomic history. Elevated to species status by (Williams et al., 2017).

Conservation Status

Extinct (Suckling et al., 2004)

Last record: October 1993 (Suckling et al., 2004)

The last known population inhabited Fish Creek (a tributary of the St. Joseph River), Indiana (NatureServe, 2011). It is unknown whether breeding is occurring in this population, if it is not already extinct (Ibid.).

Distribution & Habityat

Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan & Ohio, USA

Biology & Ecology

Hypodigm

Media

References

Original scientific description:

Conrad, T. A. (1835-1838). Monography of the family Unionidae, or naiades of Lamarck, (fresh water bivalve shells), of North America, illustrated by figures drawn on stone from nature. Philadelphia: Dobson. 1: 1-12, pls 1-5 [1835]; 8: 65-72, pls. 36-40 [1837]; 10: 81-94, pls 46-51 [1838]; 11: 95-102, pls 52-56 [1838].

Other references:

Bogan, Arthur E. (1993). Freshwater bivalve extinctions (Mollusca: Unionoida): A search for causes. American Zoologist 33(6): 599-609. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/33.6.599

Burch, J. B. (1975). Freshwater unionacean clams (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) of North America. Malacological Publications: Hamburg, Michigan. 204 pp.

Cicerello, R. R. and Schuster, G. A. (2003). A guide to the freshwater mussels of Kentucky. Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission Scientific and Technical Series 7: 1-62.

Conrad, T. A. (1836). Monography of the Family Unionidae, or naiades of Lamarck, (fresh water bivalve shells) or North America, illustrated by figures drawn on stone from nature 1(6): 49-56, pls. 26-30. Philadelphia: J. Dobson.

Conrad, T. A. (1837). Monography of the Family Unionidae, or naiades of Lamarck, (fresh water bivalve shells) or North America, illustrated by figures drawn on stone from nature 1(8): 65-72, pls. 36-40. Philadelphia: J. Dobson.

Frierson, L. S. (1927). A Classified and Annotated Checklist of the North American Niades. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press. 111 pp.

Graf, Daniel L. and Cummings, Kevin S. (2021). A ‘big data’ approach to global freshwater mussel diversity (Bivalvia: Unionoida), with an updated checklist of genera and species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 87(1): eyaa034 (36 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyaa034

Graf, Daniel L. and Cummings, Kevin S. (2025). The Freshwater Mussels (Unionoida) of the World (and other less consequential bivalves). MUSSEL Project Web Site, https://www.mussel-project.net/. Accessed 3 July 2025.

Haag, Wendell R. (2009). Past and future patterns of freshwater mussel extinctions in North America during the Holocene, pp. 107-128. In: Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). Holocene Extinctions. Oxford, UK & New York, USA: Oxford University Press. xii + 352 pp.

Haas, F. (1969). Superfamilia Unionacea. Das Tierreich 88: x, 1-663. Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin.

Hopper, G. W., Bucholz, J. R., DuBose, T. P., Fogelman, K. J., Keogh, S. M. et al. (2023). A trait dataset for freshwater mussels of the United States of America. Scientific Data 10: 745 (pp. 1-15). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02635-9

Johnson, R. I. (1978). Systematics and zoogeography of Plagiola (= Dysnomia = Epioblasma), an almost extinct genus of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) from middle North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 148: 239-321.

Lea, Isaac. (1870). A Synopsis of the Family of Naïades. Philadelphia: Henry C. Lea. 184 pp.

MolluscaBase eds. (2025). MolluscaBase. Epioblasma perobliqua (Conrad, 1836). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1048292 on 2025-07-03

Morrison, J. P. E. (1969). The earliest names for North American naiads. American Malacological Union, Inc. Annual Reports (1969): 22-24.

NatureServe. (2011). NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: April 22, 2012).

Parmalee, P. W. and Bogan, Arthur E. (1998). The Freshwater Mussels of Tennessee. Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press. 328 pp.

Simpson, Charles Torrey. (1900). Synopsis of the naiades, or pearly fresh-water mussels. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 22(1205): 501-1044, pl. 18.

Simpson, Charles Torrey. (1914). A descriptive catalogue of the naiades, or pearly fresh-water mussels. Parts I-III. Detroit, Michigan: Bryant Walker. 1540 pp.

Sparks, D., Chaffee, C. and Sobiech, S. (1999). Fish Creek preservation and reservation. Endangered Species Bulletin: January/February 1999. Available at: http://www.nativefish.org/Articles/Fish_Creek.htm

Stansbery, D. H. (1970). American Malacological Union Symposium: Rare and Endangered Mollusks: 2. Eastern Freshwater Mollusks (I) The Mississippi and St. Lawrence Systems. Malacologia 10(1): 9-22.

Suckling, Kieran, Slack, Rhiwena and Nowicki, Brian. (2004). Extinct and the Endangered Species Act. Centre For Biological Diversity. 63 pp.

Turgeon, D. D., Bogan, A. E., Coan, E. V., Emerson, W. K., Lyons, W. G. et al. (1988). Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. American Fisheries Society Special Publication (16). 277 pp.

Turgeon, D. D., Quinn, J. F., Jr., Bogan, A. E., Coan, E. V., Hochberg, F. G., Lyons, W. G., Mikkelsen, P. M., Neves, R. J., Roper, C. F. E., Rosenberg, G., Roth, B., Scheltema, A., Thompson, F. G., Vecchione, M. and Williams, J. D. (1998). Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. 2nd Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 26, Bethesda, Maryland: 526 pp.

USFWS. (1990). Recovery Plan for the White Cat's Paw Pearly Mussle. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Twin Cities, Minnesota.

Watters, G. T. (1994). North American freshwater mussels: Part I. The quick and the dead. American Conchologist 22(2): 4-7.

Watters, G. Thomas, Hoggarth, Michael A. and Stansbery, David H. (2009). The Freshwater Mussels of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. xiv + 421 pp. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv16b77pv

Williams, James D., Bogan, Arthur E., Butler, Robert S., Cummings, Kevin S., Garner, Jeffrey T., Harris, John L., Johnson, Nathan A. and Watters, G. Thomas. (2017). A revised list of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionida) of the United States and Canada. Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation 20: 33-58.

Williams, James D., Bogan, Arthur E. and Garner, Jeffrey T. (2008). Freshwater mussels of Alabama and the Mobile Basin in Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. xv + 908 pp.

Williams, James D., Warren, M. L., Cummings, Kevin S., Harris, J. L. and Neves, R. J. (1993). Conservation status of freshwater mussels of the United States and Canada. Fisheries 18(9): 6-22. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8446(1993)018%3C0006:CSOFMO%3E2.0.CO;2

https://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/7987/epioblasma-perobliqua-white-catspaw

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