California Biota Home Page....Animals....Mollusca

Mytilus edulis

The Bay Mussel is a cosmopolitan species that is abundant in temperate waters around the world.  It can be found on rocks, wharf pilings, docks, floats.  In California it is more common in bays and estuaries, and occasionally on the outer coast.  It is also commonly know as either the blue or edible mussel.  This mussel is wedge-shaped and can have a length of 5-10 cm.  Mussels attach themselves to rocks and each other by secreting a thick liquid that forms a thread-like fiber in saltwater that is know as a byssus or byssal threads.