Triangle Floater

Habitat

The Triangle Floater inhabits small streams to large rivers and lakes. It is typically found in areas with slower moving current, and a stable substrate composition of coarse gravel and sand.

Distribution

The Triangle Floater is widely distributed throughout Virginia, with populations occurring in the Chowan, James, Potomac, Rappahannock, Roanoke, and York River basins.

Life History

Freshwater mussels have a very unique life cycle. Parasitic larvae, called glochidia, develop in the gills of the female mussel. Once mature, the glochidia are expelled from the gills of the mussel and must attach to the gills of a suitable host fish, where they complete their transformation into a juvenile mussel. They then detach from the fish and begin their free-living existence on the river bottom.

Some freshwater mussels are host-specialists, meaning that metamorphosis can only occur on a limited number of closely related fish species, while others are host-generalists, with the ability to complete their life cycle using many different species. The Triangle Floater uses a wide variety of fish hosts including Common Shiner (Luxilus cornutus), Eastern Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae), Largemouth Bass (Micropterus nigricans), Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus), Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus), and White Sucker (Catostomus commersoni).

Conservation

Both the Virginia Fisheries and Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Center (VFAWC) and Virginia Tech’s Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center (FMCC) have propagated this species to augment populations throughout the Potomac River basin. Additionally, routine monitoring of Triangle Floater at release sites helps determine the success of these efforts and guide future management decisions.