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variable spike

Elliptio icterina (Conrad, 1834)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Elliptio icterina (Conrad, 1834)
Name authority
(Conrad, 1834)
Common name
variable spike
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Bivalvia
Genus
Elliptio
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumMollusca
  4. classBivalvia Linnaeus, 1758
  5. subclassAutobranchia Grobben, 1894
  6. infraclassHeteroconchia J. E. Gray, 1854
  7. subterclassPalaeoheterodonta Newell, 1965
  8. subfamilyAmbleminae Rafinesque, 1820
  9. tribePleurobemini Hannibal, 1912
  10. genusElliptio Rafinesque, 1819
  11. speciesElliptio icterina (Conrad, 1834)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Elliptio. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Southern lanceElliptio ahenea (I. Lea, 1843)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
box spikeElliptio cistellaeformis (I. Lea, 1863)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Eastern ElliptioElliptio complanata ([Lightfoot], 1786)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Carolina slabshellElliptio congaraea (I. Lea, 1831)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Satilla elephantearElliptio downiei (I. Lea, 1858)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
pod lanceElliptio folliculata (I. Lea, 1838)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
brother spikeElliptio fraterna (I. Lea, 1852)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
gulf slabshellElliptio fumata (I. Lea, 1857)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Florida spikeElliptio jayensis (I. Lea, 1838)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Cape Fear spikeElliptio marsupiobesa Fuller, 1972BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
St. Johns elephantearElliptio monroensis (I. Lea, 1843)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
hidden spikeElliptio occulta (I. Lea, 1843)BivalviaMolluscaAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Elliptio barrattii (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym
Elliptio cylindracea Frierson, 1927 Frierson, 1927synonym
Elliptio hepatica (I. Lea, 1859) (I. Lea, 1859)synonym
Elliptio livingstonensis (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Elliptio lucidus (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Elliptio micans (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Elliptio ocmulgeensis (I. Lea, 1861) (I. Lea, 1861)synonym
Elliptio similis (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) aequatus (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) limatulus (Conrad, 1849) (Conrad, 1849)synonym
Margaron (Unio) lucidus (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Elliptio complanatus icterinus (Conrad, 1834) (Conrad, 1834)synonym
Elliptio complanatus livingstonensis (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Elliptio complanatus ocmulgeensis (I. Lea, 1861) (I. Lea, 1861)synonym
Elliptio violaceus icterinus (Conrad, 1834) (Conrad, 1834)synonym
Elliptio violaceus ocmulgeensis (I. Lea, 1861) (I. Lea, 1861)synonym
Anodonta lucida (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Margaron (Unio) barrattii (I. Lea, 1853) (I. Lea, 1853)synonym
Unio barrattii I. Lea, 1852 I. Lea, 1852synonym
Unio (Elliptio) micans I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio (Elliptio) livingstonensis I. Lea, 1863 I. Lea, 1863synonym
Unio (Elliptio) icterinus Conrad, 1834 Conrad, 1834synonym
Unio (Elliptio) ocmulgeensis I. Lea, 1861 I. Lea, 1861synonym
Unio obnubilus I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio hastatus I. Lea, 1874 I. Lea, 1874synonym
Unio geddingsianus I. Lea, 1840 I. Lea, 1840synonym
Elliptio conferta (I. Lea, 1834) (I. Lea, 1834)synonym
Margarita (Unio) confertus (I. Lea, 1834) (I. Lea, 1834)synonym
Margaron (Unio) confertus (I. Lea, 1834) (I. Lea, 1834)synonym
Margaron (Unio) lugubris (I. Lea, 1838) (I. Lea, 1838)synonym
Unio (Elliptio) confertus I. Lea, 1834 I. Lea, 1834synonym
Unio confertus I. Lea, 1834 I. Lea, 1834synonym
Unio oblatus C. T. Simpson, 1914 C. T. Simpson, 1914synonym
Unio (Elliptio) tuomeyi I. Lea, 1852 I. Lea, 1852synonym
Unio ochmulgensis synonym
Elliptio violaceus tuomeyi (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym
Elliptio obnubilus (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Elliptio raveneli (Conrad, 1834) (Conrad, 1834)synonym
Elliptio viridicatus (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) livingstonensis (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Margaron (Unio) micans (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) obnubilus (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) ocmulgéensis (I. Lea, 1861) (I. Lea, 1861)synonym
Margaron (Unio) similis (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Unio ochmulgensis dominus De Gregorio, 1914 De Gregorio, 1914synonym
Margaron (Unio) viridicatus (I. Lea, 1857) (I. Lea, 1857)synonym
Margaron (Unio) whiteianus (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym
Unio aequatus I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio ablatus I. Lea, 1863 I. Lea, 1863synonym
Unio (Elliptio) obnubilus I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio (Elliptio) oblatus I. Lea, 1863 I. Lea, 1863synonym
Unio whiteianus I. Lea, 1852 I. Lea, 1852synonym
Unio viridicatus I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio opacus I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio ocmulgeensis I. Lea, 1861 I. Lea, 1861synonym
Unio radiolus I. Lea, 1871 I. Lea, 1871synonym
Unio icterinus Conrad, 1834 Conrad, 1834synonym
Unio micans I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857synonym
Unio limatulus Conrad, 1849 Conrad, 1849synonym
Unio livingstonensis I. Lea, 1863 I. Lea, 1863synonym
Unio lucidus I. Lea, 1863 I. Lea, 1863synonym
Unio similis I. Lea, 1857 I. Lea, 1857ambiguous synonym
Unio cuspidatus I. Lea, 1872 I. Lea, 1872synonym
Elliptio violaceus livingstonensis (I. Lea, 1863) (I. Lea, 1863)synonym
Unio lugubris I. Lea, 1838 I. Lea, 1838ambiguous synonym
Margaron (Unio) oblatus (C. T. Simpson, 1914) (C. T. Simpson, 1914)synonym
Elliptio cylindraceus Frierson, 1927 Frierson, 1927synonym
Elliptio geddingsianus (I. Lea, 1840) (I. Lea, 1840)synonym
Elliptio lugubris (I. Lea, 1838) (I. Lea, 1838)synonym
Elliptio tuomeyi (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym
Margarita (Unio) lugubris I. Lea, 1836 I. Lea, 1836synonym
Margarita (Unio) watereensis I. Lea, 1836 I. Lea, 1836synonym
Margarita watereensis I. Lea, 1836 I. Lea, 1836synonym
Margaron (Unio) geddingsianus (I. Lea, 1840) (I. Lea, 1840)synonym
Margaron (Unio) hepaticus (I. Lea, 1859) (I. Lea, 1859)synonym
Margaron (Unio) tuomeyi (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym
Margaron (Unio) watereensis (I. Lea, 1836) (I. Lea, 1836)synonym
Unio tuomeyi I. Lea, 1852 I. Lea, 1852synonym
Unio hepaticus I. Lea, 1859 I. Lea, 1859synonym
Unio raveneli Conrad, 1834 Conrad, 1834synonym
Elliptio complanatus tuomeyi (I. Lea, 1852) (I. Lea, 1852)synonym

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.molluscabase.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=857278 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:39BK9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.