Perna canaliculus

New Zealand green-lipped mussel
Close-up of the green lip of this mussel species
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia
Order: Mytilida
Family: Mytilidae
Genus: Perna
Species:
P. canaliculus
Binomial name
Perna canaliculus
(Gmelin, 1791)
Synonyms
  • Mytilus canaliculatus Gray, 1843
  • Mytilus canaliculus Gmelin, 1791 (original combination)
  • Mytilus durus Lightfoot, 1786
  • Mytilus latus Dillwyn, 1817
  • Mytilus tasmanicus Tenison-Woods, 1876

Perna canaliculus, the New Zealand green-lipped mussel, also known as the New Zealand mussel, the greenshell mussel, kuku, and kutai, is a bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae (the true mussels). P. canaliculus has economic importance as a cultivated species in New Zealand.