Nelson County, Kentucky

The fanshell is a medium-sized freshwater mussel up to 3.2 inches long. The color of its shell is light green or yellow, mottled with green with green rays on the outside and silvery white on the inside. It inhabits streams with gravely bottoms where it buries itself in the riffles and feeds by filtering food from the water.

Historically, the fanshell was widely distributed in the Ohio, Wabash, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers as well as in larger tributaries in the states of Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Currently, it is believed that the fanshell only reproduces in: the Clinch River, Hancock County, TN and Scott County, VA; the Green River in Edmundson and Hart counties, KY; and the Licking River, in Campbell, Kenton and Pendelton counties, KY. Non-reproducing populations still occur in a few other rivers.

The major factors in the fanshell's decline are: i) alteration of the stream habitat by impoundment; ii) destruction of habitat by sand and gravel mining; and iii) water pollution caused by, among other things, gas exploration and production and coal mining activities.

Mosely, C.J. (ed.), The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species, Beacham Publishing Inc, Washington, DC. pp. 1443-4.