Perna perna, the brown mussel, is an economically important mussel, a bivalvemollusc belonging to the familyMytilidae. It is harvested as a food source but is also known to harbor toxins and cause damage to marine structures. It is native to the waters of Africa, Europe, and South America and was introduced in the waters of North America.[1]
Description
Perna perna is usually 90 mm long although it can reach sizes of up to 120 mm. The mussel is easily recognized by its brown color but its identifying characteristic is the "divided posterior retractor mussel scar". Its pitted resillal ridge also differentiates the mussel from other bivalves.
Similar species include the European mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and the black mussel, Choromytilus meridionalis. The European mussel is similar in shape and color to the brown mussel and shares its native habitat on the south-western coast of Africa.[2] The European mussel is also more resistant to human disturbance such as use for baits and consumption.[3] It is out-competing the brown mussel as it is more resistant to certain parasites. The black mussel has similar shape and size although it lacks the distinguishable pitted resillal ridge.
[2]
The brown mussel can also be mistaken for the more famous greenish-brown species Perna viridis, as their color and shell shape can change depending on environmental conditions.[4]
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
Right valve
Left valve
Perna perna var. picta
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
Right valve
Left valve
Perna perna var. elongata
Right and left valve of the same specimen:
The brown mussel naturally colonizes rocky shores but can also attach to submerged man-made objects such as navigation buoys, petroleum platforms and shipwrecks.[1] The adult brown mussel can tolerate a temperature range of 10 to 30 °C and a salinity range of about 15 to 50 ppt.[2] Its colonization of the hard strata improves that surface's marine ecology. The colonization increases surface area, encouraging other marine organisms such as limpets, polychaetes, barnacles, snails and algae to settle there as well.[1]
The mussel utilizes external fertilization during the spawning season between May and October although this is also reported to occur in December. The two sexes release eggs and sperm to the water during spawning to produce veliger larvae. Fifteen hours after fertilization the larvae have well-developed hinge teeth. Ten to twelve days after fertilization the larvae undergo metamorphosis where byssal threads are secreted. The larvae then settle on rocky surfaces.
Perna perna is harvested as a food source in Africa and South America. The bivalve is considered for cultivation as it can grow quickly to the commercial size of 60 to 80 mm in just 6 or 7 months. It is also well-suited to tropical and subtropical regions. However, the mussel can harbor saxitoxin from consumed dinoflagellates. Its consumption has caused outbreaks of paralytic shellfish poisoning in Venezuela.[2]
The brown mussel is known to aggregate in such large amounts that it is able to sink navigational buoys. It also coexists with the Asian green mussel in fouling water pipes and marine equipment. It is less resistant to chlorination than Perna viridis and thus easier to control. However, it is recommended that the concentration of chlorine used for chlorination be above the tolerance level of Perna viridis, the tougher of the two biofouling mussels.[1]
^Abada-Boudjema, Yamina-Madiha; Jean-Claude Dauvin (1995). "Recruitment and Life Span of Two Natural Mussel Populations Perna Perna(Linnaeus) and Mytilus Galloprovincialis (Lamarck) from the Algerian Coast". Journal of Molluscan Studies. 61 (4): 467–481. doi:10.1093/mollus/61.4.467.
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Ardovini, R.; Cossignani, T. (2004). West African seashells (including Azores, Madeira and Canary Is.) = Conchiglie dell'Africa Occidentale (includes Azzorre, Madeira e Canarie). English-Italian edition. L'Informatore Piceno: Ancona, Italy. ISBN88-86070-11-X. 319 pp.
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Turgeon, D. D., W. G. Lyons, P. Mikkelsen, G. Rosenberg, and F. Moretzsohn. 2009. Bivalvia (Mollusca) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 711–744 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press,
Huber M. (2010) Compendium of bivalves. A full-color guide to 3,300 of the world’s marine bivalves. A status on Bivalvia after 250 years of research. Hackenheim: ConchBooks. 901 pp., 1 CD-ROM
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