The Higgins’ eye pearlymussel is native to the Mississippi River and some of its northern tributaries. It is usually found in areas of swift current and buries itself in mud-gravel bottoms in water up to 15 feet deep with only the edge of its shell and its feeding siphons exposed.

Higgins’ eye populations are in immediate danger of being eliminated in the Upper Mississippi River. One of the strategies to save the species is the propagation of the Higgins’ eye at Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin.

For the article go to:  https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/nfhs/imperiled_species.html

Article Credit to Genoa National Fish Hatchery

Photo Credit: Gary L. Wege, USFWS