About Potomida littoralis (Cuvier, 1798)
Potomida littoralis, first described by Cuvier in 1798, is a species of freshwater bivalve in the Unionidae family. It is sometimes called the black river mussel. This species is native to southwestern Europe (France, Spain, and Portugal) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia). Populations of Potomida found further east to this species are now classified as separate species: P. acarnanica and P. semirugata. Potomida littoralis usually inhabits the middle to lower sections of rivers. It can occasionally also be found in the upper reaches of calcium-rich rivers. In the Iberian Peninsula, gravid females of this species are seen from March to October. All recorded hosts for Potomida littoralis are cyprinids.
