Asian green mussel
Perna viridis
- Usual depth0–265 m
- Water temperature16–30 °C
- Best monthsOctober and November
- How commonOccasional
About this species
Perna viridis, known as the Asian green mussel, is an economically important species of mussel, a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae, or the "true mussels". It is harvested for food, but can harbor toxins and cause damage to submerged structures such as drainage pipes. It is native to the Asia-Pacific region, but has been introduced in the Caribbean, and in the waters around Japan, North America, and South America.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Perna viridis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 18 records
- February: 33 records
- March: 12 records
- April: 15 records
- May: 21 records
- June: 13 records
- July: 31 records
- August: 25 records
- September: 20 records
- October: 51 records
- November: 57 records
- December: 21 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–265 m · Deepest record: 287 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Asian green mussel, Green mussel, Green-lipped mussel, green-lipped mussel, green mussel
Names in 9 more languages
- German
- Asiatische grüne Miesmuschel, Grüne Miesmuschel
- Spanish
- Mejillón verde
- Filipino
- Tahong
- French
- moule verte asiatique
- Indonesian
- Kerang Hijau
- Japanese
- ミドリイガイ, ムールガイ
- Korean
- 초록담치
- Thai
- หอยแมลงภู่
- Simplified Chinese
- 孔雀蛤, 綠殼菜蛤, 綠殼菜蛤 (翡翠貽貝 青口), 青口
Other scientific names: Mytilus opalus, Mytilus smaragdinus, Mytilus viridis
Similar species
- Asian date mussel
Arcuatula senhousia
- New Zealand Ribbed Mussel
Aulacomya maoriana
- Ledge mussel
Septifer bilocularis
- Beddome’s Pearly-Mussel
Amygdalum striatum
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).
- 593 open-data records from 1758 to 2025.
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