Parco Regionale Veneto del Delta del Po

Belonging to the Mytilidae family, the mussel is a mollusk covered by two symmetrical valves with an elongated oval shape of a black or a purplish black on the outside and mother-of-pearl inside, measuring about 6-8 cm in length. The animal inside is turgid, of an intense yellow colour for females and whitish for males, with a delicate smell and taste that recall intensely the salt waters. The typical shape of M. Galloprovincialis is characterised by an elongated shell with the same number of valves, a pointed dorsal part and a rounded ventral one. The margins are partially parallel. The mussel must reach large dimensions: specimens of more than 10 cm in length are quite frequent. Their maximum length is 11 cm.