Margaritifera auricularia
| Spengler's freshwater mussel | |
|---|---|
| A shell of Spengler's freshwater mussel collected by Fritz Haas in Spain | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Bivalvia |
| Order: | Unionida |
| Family: | Margaritiferidae |
| Genus: | Margaritifera |
| Species: | M. auricularia |
| Binomial name | |
| Margaritifera auricularia (Spengler, 1793) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Unio auricularius Spengler, 1793 | |
Margaritifera auricularia is a species of European freshwater mussel, an aquatic bivalve mollusk in the family Margaritiferidae, the freshwater pearl mussels. Formerly found throughout western and central Europe, the species is now critically endangered and is one of the rarest invertebrates worldwide, being confined to a few rivers in Spain and France. M. auricularia is commonly known as Spengler's freshwater mussel in honour of Lorenz Spengler, who first described this species.