[4][5] Faint, green, broken, chevron-shaped rays are sometimes seen lining the shell and serve as a useful identification feature if present; but are commoner and brighter on young specimens.
[5] The shells of individuals from Shoal Creek also appear to be relatively thin and compressed, compared to heavy and thick in specimens from other rivers.
[9][10] Although populations have persisted in these states, this mussel's range is declining,[9] and probably no longer lives in the Elk basin, being restricted to the remaining four.
[1] Collections of relic shells from the Verdigris, Neosho, Spring and Big Caney Rivers in Oklahoma indicate that the mussel is now extirpated from these waters.
[1] This species’ typical habitat has been described as relatively shallow, fast flowing water with fine to intermediate gravel substratum.
[11] However, broad-scale habitat use appears to vary for this mussel; and live specimens have been collected from both sand-gravel bars and bedrock fissures.
In the Spring River where water currents are faster than in many other Kansas waters, the Neosho mucket occurs in high densities in the fast flow, and dominates over other freshwater mussel species;[17] whereas in Shoal Creek[9] and also the Oklahoma portion of the Illinois River,[7][19] it has been often found in backwater areas out of the strongest currents where it is less dominant than most heterospecifics.
In the Illinois River in Oklahoma, specimens found in silty backwaters have been observed to be large, darkly stained, and with algal growth on their shells.
Contrastly, individuals found in fast flowing water over rock or gravel were smaller, lighter-coloured and more likely to show the green rays often present in this species’ shell.
[9] However, this may be because juveniles in their first few years usually bury themselves completely below the river bed surface, therefore rendering them difficult to detect and in turn leading to underestimates of recruitment in populations.
[5] This stands in contrast to other lampsilines which begin producing eggs in fall, brood them over winter after fertilization, and release larvae the following spring or summer.
[23] Reduction in breeding duration in this mussel to last for only one season is probably adaptive due to minimizing potential risk of exposure of eggs and larvae on the gills during brooding to microbial predators and bacteria.
[17] Because of the foot anchoring adaptation to unstable habitats typical of the Spring River Basin, and the colourful mantle lure which would be effective in attracting host fishes in the clear waters, the Neosho mucket is hypothesised to have evolved in the Spring River or other Ozarkian streams; rather than in the western part of the range where the waters are generally slower and more turbid.
[1] Distribution of this species’ relic shells throughout Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas indicates that the Neosho mucket was once more widespread throughout these basins than presently.
[19] Meanwhile, in the Arkansas portion of the Illinois River, there was a recorded 53% decline in the number of designated survey sites inhabited by the Neosho between 1998 and 2008.
[28] This suggests that populations in the Verdigris have long been sparse; and if the Neosho mucket is generally a naturally rare species despite evidence from relic shells of a previously larger overall geographic range, this may explain its apparent vulnerability to local extirpation.
[13] However, further research into the population status and extent of potential threats for the Neosho mucket is required to make conservation measures to protect this species more effective.
[13] The Neosho mucket has been a popular choice of freshwater mussel for captive propagation in population restoration projects because of this mussel's large body size, relatively fast growth rate, large numbers of glochidia produced, and the fact that the suitable host fish largemouth bass is also commonly propagated in fish hatcheries.
[10] Captive juveniles were also found to have survived 16 months after their release into native habitats in the Fall and Verdigris Rivers in Kansas.