Brook Floater (Alasmidonta varicosa)

Description	-Shell: 70 mm long, 40 mm high and 30 mm wide -Periostracum*: yellowish, greenish, brownish or blackish, and (in most specimens) extensively rayed -Nacre**: bluish white with olive or pinkish suffusions
Distribution	-Atlantic coastal drainage from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to North Carolina -Designated "threatened" in the U.S.A.
Ecology	-Usually found in rapids or riffles on rocky or gravel substrates and in sandy shoals -Abundant in small rivers and creeks

Source: Clark Arthur H. 1981. The Freshwater Molluscs of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences/ National Museums of Canada

*Periostracum: the outer parchment-like layer of a mollusc shell
**Nacre: the pearly inner layer characteristic of some mollusc shells

Brook Floater in the Petitcodiac River Watershed

• Not common
• Locally abundant in sand patches, wich are rare in the tributaries