5% of the profits support Endangered & Threatened Species.
Meet Lampsilis bracteata, more lovingly referred to as Texas Fatmucket...
©Juliet Whitsett |Social: @juliet_whitsett_art
COLOR PALETTE SAMPLED FROM IMAGES OF THE TEXAS FATMUCKET:
SPECIES INFO:
"The Texas fatmucket is only found in Hill Country Rivers in Central Texas and nowhere else on Earth! Mussel’s burrow into the stream bed and filter feed on river water, earning the nickname “Livers of the Rivers”. In the spring, female Texas fatmuckets “fish” for host fish using a small minnow like lure to attract a host fish close enough. Immature tiny mussels, called glochidia, must spend a few weeks attached to fish gills where they draw nutrients before falling to the stream bed and growing into adults. Don’t worry, the fish won’t even know they are there."
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I actually found some fascinating information our about this species on the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Facebook page.
"It is a medium-sized freshwater mussel native to the Colorado and Guadalupe River Basins in Texas. This mussel's young must spend a portion of their lives as fish parasites, so the adult uses a “fishing lure” to attract its host fish. When a fish tries to eat the "lure", the adult sprays it in the face with blood-sucking larval young!"
For those who are concerned, no harm apparently comes to the fish...
"Once common in many hill country tributaries to the Colorado River, they have suffered range wide declines in the Colorado Basin and occur in small pockets of stable habitat in the uppermost section of the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, TX."
Thanking the scientists and advocates for learning more about & protecting these threatened species. We'd miss them if they were gone.
WATCH: *Here is a video of a female Lampsilis bracteata (Texas fatmucket) in Charles Randklev’s lab at A&M actively displaying its mantle- lure.
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:
*Personal Communication with Charles R. Randklev Charles.Randklev@ag.tamu.edu Monday, March 1, 2021 8:50 AM
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