Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture

Golden Mussel

Scientific Name

Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker, 1857) (CABI)

Common Name

Golden mussel

Native To

China and Southeastern Asia

Date of U.S. Introduction

First observed in U.S. waters in October 2024, with initial detections reported in the California Delta (NAS Database)

Means of Introduction

Likely introduced into California by an ocean-going vessel (Golden Mussel Response Framework)

Impact

Threatens native biodiversity, suffocates and starves out native bivalves and produce macrofouling in water systems (Global Invasive Species Database 2005)

Golden mussel
Image use policy

Golden mussel

Credit

Photo by Gustavo A. Darrigran; Professor of National University of La Plata, Argentina

Source
USGS, NAS Database

Find more images

All Resources

View and Filter All Golden Mussel Resources

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Council or Task Force

  • Fact Sheet: Golden Mussel [PDF, 1.5 MB]

    • Feb 2018

    • Alberta Invasive Species Council (Canada).

    • See also: Fact Sheets for more information about individual invasive species, including those listed as "Prohibited Noxious" and "Noxious" under the Alberta Weed Control Act

Partnership
Federal Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations