Shell elongate, with inflated valves, oblong to rectangular, posterior edge markedly pointed with a well-defined posterior ridge, posterio-dorsal margin sharply angled and dorsal margin anterior to beaks slightly concave, anterior edge rounded, ventral margin flat. Exterior of valves black, interior of valves bluish to bronze. Exterior sculpture of valves with coarse collabral growth lines and traces of very weak wrinkles on posterior end about the middle of the shell. Reaches about 75 mm in length, height/length ratio less than 40%. This species differs from other Hyridella species in having a markedly pointed posterior valve edge.
Hyridella interserta (Iredale, 1934)
Infraclass Heteroconchia
Cohort Palaeoheterodonta
Order Unionida
Superfamily Unionoidea
Family Hyriidae
Subfamily Hyriinae
Genus Hyridella Swainson, 1840
Original name: Rugoshyria interserta Iredale, 1934. In Iredale, T. (1934). The freshwater mussels of Australia. Australian Zoologist 8: 57-78 pls 3-6.
Type locality: Mary River at Kenilworth, north of Brisbane, Queensland.
The last major taxonomic revision of Australian freshwater mussels was by McMichael & Hiscock (1958).
Based on the available molecular results, Walker et al. (2014) pointed out that a reassessment of Australian hyriids is needed and one is now in progress.
Shallow burrower in silty sand/mud in streams and rivers. Suspension feeder. Larvae (glochidia) are presumably brooded in marsupia in the gills of females and, when released, likely become parasitic on fish gills or fins where they presumably undergo metamorphosis before dropping to the sediment as free-living juvenile mussels.
Mary River at Kenilworth, north of Brisbane, Queensland.
The identity of this species needs to be assessed. Only the holotype is known from this locality and, to our knowledge, the species has not been re-collected. McMichael & Hiscock (1958) thought that it might be related to Hyridella depressa.
Iredale, T. (1934). The freshwater mussels of Australia. Australian Zoologist 8: 57-78 pls 3-6.
Iredale, T. (1943). A basic list of the fresh water Mollusca of Australia. Australian Zoologist 10: 188-230.
Lamprell, K. & Healy, J. (1998). Bivalves of Australia, volume 2. Leiden, Backhuys Publishers.
McMichael, D. F. & Hiscock, I. D. (1958). A monograph of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) of the Australian region. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 372-508.
