Unio pictorum


Unio pictorum, the painter's mussel, is a species of medium-sized freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Unionidae, the river mussels.
This species lives in Europe. It is called the "painter's mussel" because the shell was historically used as a conveniently sized and shaped receptacle for holding artist's paint.

Distribution

The native distribution of this species is Europe and Siberia.
Biotope: water bodies and slower streams.