#4636 · 🐌 snails, slugs & other molluscs
Swan Mussel
🇳🇱 Zwanenmossel ·Anodonta cygnea
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © michael-sonniks · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Alexander Mrkvicka · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. © Oscar Hopgood · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Michel Frisch · CC BY 4.0
- 5. © Michel Frisch · CC BY 4.0
- 6. © Michel Frisch · CC BY 4.0
- 7. © Мирослав Харьков · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. © gailhampshire · CC BY 4.0
- 9. © M. van Dijk · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. © Martin Rader · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The swan mussel , Anodonta cygnea , is a large species of freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusc in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 46 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 2,019 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Swan Mussel
- Nederlands
- Zwanenmossel
- scientific name
- Anodonta cygnea
- class
- Bivalvia
- order
- Unionida
- family
- Unionidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 46
- sightings in Europe
- 1,192
- sightings worldwide
- 2,019
- GBIF records in NL
- 3,783
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Unionidae
#4621 📷 9Swollen River-mussel
🇳🇱 Bolle stroommossel
Unio tumidus
LC 👀 73 in NL
#4631 📷 8Painter's Mussel
🇳🇱 Schildersmossel
Unio pictorum
LC 👀 54 in NL
#4642 📷 10Duck Mussel
🇳🇱 Vijvermossel
Anodonta anatina
LC 👀 41 in NL
#4707 📷 9Chinese Pond Mussel
🇳🇱 Chinese Zwanenmossel
Sinanodonta woodiana
LC 👀 11 in NL
#4822 📷 8Giant Floater
Pyganodon grandis
LC 🌍 9.9k seen
#4823 📷 7Eastern Elliptio
Elliptio complanata
LC 🌍 9.6k seen
#4837 📷 10Fatmucket
Lampsilis siliquoidea
LC 🌍 7.5k seen
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 151517, Wikidata Q777865, GBIF 4374774, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.