A SYNTHESIS AND REVIEW OF THE EXPANDING RANGE OF THE ASIAN FRESH-WATER MUSSEL ANODONTA-WOODIANA (LEA, 1834) (BIVALVIA, UNIONIDAE)

The freshwater mussel Anodonta woodiana is native to eastern Asia. In recent years, it was discovered in fish hatcheries in Romania, Hungary , France, and several Indonesian islands. It also was collected in the wild in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica. These occurrences are believed to be the result of the incidental introduction of exotic fis hes imported for food, as foraging fishes, or for mosquito control, wh ich bore parasitic glochidia of the mussel. These hosts are grass, com mon, bighead, and silver carp; Nile tilapia; and mosquitofish. Because these fishes are imported throughout the world, Anodonta woodiana may eventually be found in additional countries. It has the potential to escape and compete with native freshwater mussels wherever it is intro duced.