The black mussel has similar shape and size although it lacks the distinguishable pitted resillal ridge.

[2] The brown mussel can also be mistaken for the more famous greenish-brown species Perna viridis, as their color and shell shape can change depending on environmental conditions.

It is accidentally introduced as an invasive species to the coast of Texas via the boat hulls and water ballasts of ships from Venezuela.

The brown mussel naturally colonizes rocky shores but can also attach to submerged man-made objects such as navigation buoys, petroleum platforms and shipwrecks.

The colonization increases surface area, encouraging other marine organisms such as limpets, polychaetes, barnacles, snails and algae to settle there as well.

[1] The mussel utilizes external fertilization during the spawning season between May and October although this is also reported to occur in December.

The brown mussel is a filter feeder and feeds on phytoplankton, zooplankton and suspended organic materials.

On the South American coastline, it provides food for Callinectes danae, Cymatium parthenopeum, Chicoreus brevifrons, Thais haemastoma, and Menippe nodifrons.