mpared to the brownish appearance of other related mussels. The presence of a byssal organ and byssal threads, common to the order, is present in M. Californianus, which attaches the mussel to its substrate, although they are much stronger in the california mussel than the other Mytilus species. The presence of an anterior adductor muscle, a posterior adductor muscle along with a pitted resilial ridge and hindge teeth, help to differenciate between the genera Mytilus and other related genera. California mussels are known to produce pearls, both blister and loose pearls, the latter of which appear as projections of the inner lining of the shell.M. Californianus are suspension feeders, are considered to be scavengers, and collect anything in the plankton that is small enough to digest. Digestion is intracellular. They eat a variety of organisms, such as dinoflagellates, organic particles, small diatoms, zoospores, minute ova and spermatoza, algae, and detritus. Growth rates are related to the abundance of dinoflagellates. Mytilus Californianus feed on food particles drawn through a inhalent aperture by cilary action are caught on sheets of mucus and are carried along the sides of the palps to the mouth. Some particles are injested, but others, if excessive, are discharged from the mantle cavity as pseudofeces. DistributionM. Californianus is present throughout much of the west coast of North America extending from the coasts of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to Northern Mexico. This distribution is limited primarily by freezing temperatures in the north to high water temperatures in the south. Exposed rocky intertidal zones on the coast are the primary habitat of M. Californianus . However, dominant in areas where it has gained foothole, M. Californianus will not readily colonize bare rock, but rather attach itself to other mussels. Wave exposed coasts rather than sheltered bays are preferred by M. Californianus. The most likely reason ...
