No 15 - Altamaha Arcmussel

"Hi y’all. I’m Johnny, I was named after the famous Johnny Cash- my momma really liked him so it made sense that I was named after him. I know y’all surprised to hear me talk. Is it cause I’m a mussel or cause of my accent? I’m sorry if it offends- but I’m no redneck. I just grew up here in Georgia so I got this accent.

I bet this is the longest time anyone has had a good look at me. Did y’all think I was a pebble- maybe a rock? I wish I was a rock sometimes… It’s a disguise see. I’m really a shell. A- a heart-shaped shell. So I keep it quiet that I’m soft, soft and smooth on the inside. Some people would see me as weak- they might eat me. It’s sad that I gotta keep my real identity so quiet as my inside is much more attractive than my exterior. It’s silky like water and white like a dream. But I gotta work hard at coming across as hard and tough to stay alive. As a man I gotta compete with them homo-sapiens’ men that wear them flannel shirts and grow beards to look tough. But the truth is I’m actually… kinda, sensitive.

It’s a shame that sensitive has bad connotations. Its not really masculine… but that is just a stereotype. It’s a darn shame. Y’all can see how it be hard. When I say ‘sensitive’ what I mean is that I’m sensitive to changes. Who likes change? I’m not good with them changes. 

There’s been generations of Altmaha Arcmussels that have lived in rivers here in Georgia. I myself have lived in Georgia since I was little. Like other little larvas I attached myself to one of these fishes here. You become part of them, they form a little coat over you and when the time’s right you hop off- kinda like a bus. Why I- I remember my drop off. I was little but ambitious, I took a deep breath and jumped off the fish’s gill onto the riverbed! Landed with a thump. I was only a youngan- I was all excited and scared at the same time- and I needn’t have been scared really. I’ve been here ever since never wondering far. But I didn’t know that then- the unknown got a way of seeming so scary.

But things are changing. I can’t deny that. It’s not going to be this way for much longer... I should be tougher. Bad water, loud noise and the shaking from the all the tractors passing by sure do make it tough for us mussels.

You know what the funny thing is? I’m a mussel with no muscle… now how do you get your head round that? I don’t know- I just don’t know.

Sorry I been talking an awful lot, you people must be thirsty just listening to me! 

Thank you kind folks for your time." 

Red List: Altamaha Arcmussel is an "Endangered" species

ARKive: Pictures of Altamaha Arcmussel