quagga mussel

noun

plural quagga mussels

: a small, freshwater, lamellibranch mollusk (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis synonym Dreissena rostriformis) native to the Dnieper river and its tributaries that has been introduced into the Great Lakes and other waterways where it colonizes and clogs water intake pipes, competes with native fish for food, and disrupts food webs by consuming phytoplankton

The mussel-coated debris is unmistakable evidence of an event occurring silently and largely out of sight—the colonization of the Colorado River by the quagga mussel, a fingernail-size Eurasian bivalve with an astonishing sex drive and a nasty reputation for causing economic and ecological havoc.

John Collins Rudolf

Less than four years after that reassuring report, quagga mussels have gone from a rare find on the bottom of Lake Michigan to its dominant invasive mussel. Along the way, they have done what many invasion biologists thought would be impossible: They have nearly annihilated Lake Michigan's zebra mussel population.

Dan Egan

Word History

Etymology

after zebra mussel, the quagga mussel being less markedly striped, and hence comparable to the quagga in relation to the zebra

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above

单词	quagga mussel
释义	quagga mussel noun plural quagga mussels : a small, freshwater, lamellibranch mollusk (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis synonym Dreissena rostriformis) native to the Dnieper river and its tributaries that has been introduced into the Great Lakes and other waterways where it colonizes and clogs water intake pipes, competes with native fish for food, and disrupts food webs by consuming phytoplankton The mussel-coated debris is unmistakable evidence of an event occurring silently and largely out of sight—the colonization of the Colorado River by the quagga mussel, a fingernail-size Eurasian bivalve with an astonishing sex drive and a nasty reputation for causing economic and ecological havoc. John Collins Rudolf Less than four years after that reassuring report, quagga mussels have gone from a rare find on the bottom of Lake Michigan to its dominant invasive mussel. Along the way, they have done what many invasion biologists thought would be impossible: They have nearly annihilated Lake Michigan's zebra mussel population. Dan Egan Word History Etymology after zebra mussel, the quagga mussel being less markedly striped, and hence comparable to the quagga in relation to the zebra First Known Use 1991, in the meaning defined above
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