Environment ministry names freshwater clam as October's endangered species

South Korea's environment ministry said Thursday it has selected the Korean freshwater mussel, an endangered species found only on the Korean Peninsula, as its endangered wildlife of the month for October.

The species, Aculamprotula coreana, has not been recorded in the Han River since a 1987 collection and is presumed extinct there. It is now confirmed only in parts of the Geum River and Seomjin River basins. In 2014, the National Institute of Ecology found the country's largest habitat in the Cheonnae wetland on the upper Geum River in South Chungcheong Province.

The ministry attributed the designation to the pressures on its survival: habitat loss from river development, indiscriminate collection and bycatch, and a decline in the host fish species its larvae depend on. Its larvae attach to the fins of host fish and develop as parasites before dropping to the riverbed to live as young clams. Females carry larvae in brood pouches inside their outer gills from around October and release them into the water by April of the following year.

Collecting other freshwater shellfish can sweep up the mussel as bycatch, and the ministry said harvesters need to know its physical features to avoid taking it. Under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, capturing, collecting, damaging or killing a Class I endangered species without a permit carries up to five years in prison or a fine of between 5 million won ($3,688) and 50 million won ($36,881).

The species is a medium- to large-sized freshwater bivalve, measuring about 9.1 centimeters long, 7.4 centimeters high and 4.5 centimeters wide. It has a thick, hard, nearly round shell with concentric growth lines and bumpy knobs on the upper part, yellow-brown outside and pearly inside. It lives mainly in places with good water quality, fast-flowing water and a riverbed of mixed sand and gravel, and adults filter plankton and organic matter through their gills.

Detailed information on the mussel and other endangered species is available on the websites of the National Institute of Biological Resources and the National Institute of Ecology.