Bay mussel

Mytilus edulis

Molluscs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–15 m
Water temperature6–18 °C
Best monthsAugust and September
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Steven Lamonde, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The blue mussel, also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the only extant family in the order Mytilida, known as "true mussels". Blue mussels are subject to commercial use and intensive aquaculture. A species with a large range, the blue mussel leaves empty shells that are commonly found on beaches around the world.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Blue mussel”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 683 records
February: 832 records
March: 1,581 records
April: 2,494 records
May: 3,233 records
June: 2,206 records
July: 2,635 records
August: 5,821 records
September: 6,093 records
October: 3,022 records
November: 1,840 records
December: 754 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–15 m · Deepest record: 565.8 m

0–10 m: 11,547 records
10–20 m: 2,768 records
20–30 m: 507 records
30–40 m: 166 records
40–50 m: 76 records
50–60 m: 39 records
60–70 m: 27 records
70–80 m: 20 records
80–90 m: 14 records
90–100 m: 10 records
100–110 m: 5 records
110+ m: 55 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 6–18 °C

6–8 °C: 33 records
8–10 °C: 305 records
10–12 °C: 265 records
12–14 °C: 131 records
14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) Henrique Pacheco, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Connor McInerney, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bob Miller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Ian Manning, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jonathan Layman, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Bay mussel, Blue mussel, Common blue mussel, Common mussel, Edible blue mussel, bay mussel, Bay Mussel, blue mussel, Blue Mussel, common blue mussel, Common Blue Mussel, common mussel, Common Mussel, edible blue mussel, Edible Blue Mussel

Names in 3 more languages

German: essbare Miesmuschel, Gemeine Miesmuschel, Miesmuschel
Spanish: mejillón
French: moule comestible, moule commun, moule commune, Moule commune, moule comestible

Other scientific names: Mytilus (Mytilus) edulis, Mytilus abbreviatus, Mytilus angulatus, Mytilus borealis, Mytilus elegans, Mytilus grunerianus, Mytilus minganensis, Mytilus notatus, Mytilus pellucidus, Mytilus petasunculinus, Mytilus retusus, Mytilus solitarius, Mytilus spathulinus, Mytilus subsaxatilis, Mytilus trigonus, Mytilus ungulatus, Mytilus variabilis, Mytilus vulgaris, Perna ungulina

Similar species

Galician mussel
Mytilus galloprovincialis
Australian mussel
Mytilus planulatus
Mytilus coruscus
Asian date mussel
Arcuatula senhousia
New Zealand Ribbed Mussel
Aulacomya maoriana
Austromytilus rostratus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
153,555 open-data records from 1868 to 2025.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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