Mediterranean Mussel

This animal grows up to 140 mm in length. It is a smooth-shelled mussel with a slightly broader base than that of the black mussel (Choromytilus meridionalis), with which it is often confused in South Africa. Its shell is blue-violet or black, but may shade to light brown.

In Europe, Mytilus galloprovincialis is found in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and on the Atlantic coasts, in Portugal, north to France and the British Isles and Norway. Recently this species has also been found in the European Arctic including northern Norway and Svalbard.

In the northern Pacific the species is found along the coast of California, where it was introduced from Europe by human activity in the early 20th century, and also in the Puget Sound region of Washington state, where it has been subject to aquaculture. It is also present as an invasive species on the Asian coast throughout Japan, including Ryukyu Islands, as well as in North Korea and around Vladivostok in Russia.

The Mediterranean mussel is a filter feeder. It is rare subtidally, which is an alternate means of distinguishing it from the black mussel in South Africa.

Mussels are generally considered as a bioindicators of the whole ecosystem in which they live. The immune system of bivalve molluscs is often chosen as a target parameter to evaluate the welfare of the species and of their surrounding environment.

In the Adriatic Sea, Chamelea gallina and Mytilus galloprovincialis share similar variations of the cytotoxic activity during the year. The exertions by the hemolymph of the species are considered a useful biomarker of the immune activity and therefore of the health of mussels.