Is False Spike, Quadrula mitchelli (Bivalvia: Unionidae), Extinct? First Account of a Very Recently Deceased Individual in Over Thirty Years

Abstract A recent survey of the San Saba River in San Saba County, Texas, has yielded the first record in >30 years of a very recently deceased individual (i.e., with tissue present within the shell) of the unionid mussel Quadrula mitchelli (false spike). This very recently dead individual suggests that living populations of Q. mitchelli might still exist in the San Saba River. Our results provide evidence that surveys in remote areas may help to locate populations of rare species of unionid mussels.