Mytilus edulis

Where The Waves Take Me

Common Mussel Mytilus edulis, August 2017, Shanklin Beach, Isle of White, England.

11/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Bivalves, Coast, Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Seashells, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Beach, Coast, Common Mussel, Common Mussel Mytilus edulis, Macro, Macro Photography, Mytilus edulis, Nature, Nature Photography, Ocean, Photography, Sea, Seashells, Seashore, Shanklin Beach, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 10 Comments

Sitting Pretty

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Photograph of Common Mussel (Mytilus edulis) taken April 2013, Llandudno, Wales. Camera Nikon Coolpix P500. © Pete Hillman 2013.

01/1701/17 by Peter Hillman Categories: Animals, Animals (Invertebrates), Bivalves, Coast, Macro Photography, Molluscs, Nature Photography, Photography, Seashells, Wildlife PhotographyTags: Beach, Coast, Common Mussel, Llandudno, Macro, Macro Photography, Mytilus edulis, Nature, Nature Photography, Ocean, Sea, Seashells, Seashore, Wales, Wildlife, Wildlife Photography 2 Comments

Also called the ‘Blue Mussel’, the shells are dark brown, blue-black, or purple in colour. Shell length up to 10cm.

It is found middle to lower shore, and attaches itself to rocks via byssus threads. It will also find crevices in the rocks, or attach themselves to manmade structures like piers and harbour walls. They can form large beds up to 6 layers thick and covering many square kilometres. Mussels are filter feeders of plankton, pumping large amounts of water through their bodies to extract the food.

Very common and widespread all around the British coast.

This is an edible marine mussel which has been harvested by humans for centuries. They are a rich source of protein, and are very important to the marine life ecosystem.