Endangered Species Program

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Endangered Species program is conserving and restoring threatened and endangered species and their ecosystems.

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Spectaclecase

Cumberlandia monodonta

The spectaclecase is a large mussel that can grow to at least 9 inches in length. The shape of the shell is elongated, sometimes curved, and somewhat inflated (hence its name).

Photo by USFWS; Nick Rowse

The spectaclecase is a freshwater mussel found in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River basins. Today, its range includes Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. With few exceptions, spectaclecase populations are highly fragmented and restricted to short stream reaches.

Spectaclecase Recovery Plan Outline (Jan. 2014) - - 18-page PDF: 1MB )

Spectaclecase Fact Sheet (March 2012)

Information about the Sheepnose (the mussel listed as endangered in the same package as the spectaclecase)

Spectaclecase Listed as Endangered

News Release:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Lists Two Freshwater Mussels as Endangered (March 12, 2012)

Federal Register Final Rule: Determination of Endangered Status for the Sheepnose and Spectaclecase Mussels Throughout Their Range

Questions and Answers: Sheepnose and Spectaclecase Mussels Listed as Endangered (March 2012)

Status Assessment Report for the spectaclecase, Cumberlandia monodonta, occurring in the Mississippi River system (September 2002) - - 66-page PDF; 276KB

Midwest Endangered Species Home