#4585 · 🐌 snails, slugs & other molluscs
Blue Mussel
🇳🇱 Mossel ·Mytilus edulis
🐌 Snails, slugs & other molluscs 📍 in the Netherlands
7 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The blue mussel ( Mytilus edulis ), also known as the common mussel , is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the mussels. Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a large range, empty shells are commonly found on beaches around the world.
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 253 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #17 most seen of the snails, slugs & other molluscs in NL.
- 14,524 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Blue Mussel
- Nederlands
- Mossel
- scientific name
- Mytilus edulis
- class
- Bivalvia
- order
- Mytilida
- family
- Mytilidae
- sightings in NL
- 253
- sightings in Europe
- 3,977
- sightings worldwide
- 14,524
- GBIF records in NL
- 45,919
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
relatives· Mytilidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 117650, Wikidata Q27855, GBIF 8288896, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.