5% of the profits support Endangered & Threatened Species.
The False Spike, is a rare central- and west-Texas endemic unionid mussel species that is considered state threatened and is under review for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
©Juliet Whitsett |Social: @juliet_whitsett_art
COLOR PALETTE SAMPLED FROM IMAGES OF THE FALSE SPIKE:
SPECIES INFO:
According to the federal register:
"The false spike is a medium-sized freshwater mussel (to 5.2 in (132 mm)) with a yellow-green to brown or black elongate shell, sometimes with greenish rays...
False spike was once considered common wherever it was found; however, beginning in the early 1970s, the species began to be regarded as rare throughout its range... It was considered to be extinct until 2011, when the discovery of seven live false spike in the Guadalupe River, near Gonzales, Texas, was the first report of living individuals in nearly four decades...
... (T)he patchy distribution of false spike could be related to host fish relationships; that is, because their host fish have a small home range, limited dispersal ability, and are sensitive to human impacts, distribution of false spike could be limited by access to, and movement of, host fish.
IMAGE:
Clinton & Charles Robertson, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
RANGE:
Currently, the false spike occurs in four populations: In the Little River and some tributaries (Brazos River basin), the lower San Saba and Llano Rivers (Colorado River basin), and in the lower Guadalupe River (Guadalupe River Basin) (table 7; figure 6). For more information on these populations, see the SSA report. False spike is presumed to have been extirpated from the remainder of its historical range throughout the Brazos, Colorado, and Guadalupe Basins of central Texas (reviewed in Randklev et al. 2017c, pp. 12-13).."
SUPPORT:
Shop this art HERE or gift to theThreatened Texas Series: Venmo @Juliet-Whitsett (Your patronage donation helps spread the word about Texas' Endangered & Threatened Species).
THREATENED TEXAS SERIES:
There are 148 Threatened Species & 74 Threatened Species in Texas. Each palette & species is unique. I have sampled colors from images of actual Texas Threatened Species and created original art inspired by each group. 5% of the profits from this series enthusiastically goes to help Threatened & Endangered Species.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Wonder what you can do to help? One easy thing I have found is to write my US house Rep. and ask them to support The Recovering America's Wildlife Act RAWA Find out more at https://www.txwildlifealliance.org/or if you aren't in Texas, https://ournatureusa.com/
Sources:
https://nri.tamu.edu/media/1113/first_account_of_a...
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/08/...
