[4] This is the only surviving member of the genus Cumberlandia, an ancient lineage of freshwater mussels with fossils known as far back as the Early Cretaceous (125 million years ago).

[4] Adult C. monodonta will bury themselves under the river's substrate and filter feed, with a diet consisting of algae, bacteria, and dissolved organic material.

They are most commonly found in aggregated clumps within mild water, between large rocks and wedged into firm mud.

[4] A map of C. monodonta's historical and present range can be found on its IUCN Red List web page.

[4] The effects of impoundments and channelization still pose an imminent threat to C. monodonta because they result in altered sedimentation patterns.

Coal, oil, and gas mining threaten C. monodonta by increasing siltation in streams, modifying hydrology patterns, and altering water quality.

[4] While point source discharges within C. monodonta’s range have decreased due to the Clean Water Act, there is no information on the sensitivity of the mussel to various common industrial and municipal contaminants.

Thus, a lack of adequate data and research prevents existing regulations, such as the Clean Water Act, from being used effectively.

This leaves individual populations highly susceptible to eradication due to a single catastrophic event, such as a chemical contaminant spill.

The exchange of genetic material between populations is also limited due to C. monodonta’s distribution, which can result in inbreeding and decreased fitness in the species’ offspring.

[4] Cumberlandia monodonta will have trouble adjusting its range in response to climate change due to the fragmentation of freshwater drainage systems and their lack of overall flexibility as a sessile creature.

Modeled under two predicted climate scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5), scientists found that the genetic diversity and population connectivity would be significantly reduced because of the loss of suitable habitat.

[1] On March 13, 2012, The United States Fish and Wildlife Services officially declared the species as endangered due to its declining populations.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has created bio-reserves along two stream systems that contain populations of C. monodonta in Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky.

Various State public lands and wildlife refuges span portions of C. monodonta’s range, safeguarding the populations from further habitat degradation.

[13] Keeping track of this data is important for scientists and others involved in C. monodonta conservation, because understanding historical and current population sizes can help them predict future changes.