Blue mussel
The blue mussel, Mylius edulis, is a type of shellfish known for its blue shell.
They live off the east coast of North America from Canada to North Carolina. They are eaten, after cooking, and can be steamed or smoked. Each filters between 10-15 gallons of water per day. At one point, Canadians who ate blue mussels from off Prince Edward Island became sick, experiencing short term amnesia from amnesic shellfish poisoning.[1]
The blue mussel is one example of rapid, short-term evolution. As the result of the Asian shore crab eating the blue mussel, they developed a thicker shell. Researchers were able to use a distinct population of blue mussels that did not have the Asian shore crab as a predator as a control that did not have the corresponding change in shell thickness. Because the control group was not naturally selected to have a thicker shell thickness, they did not evolve.[2]
