Wavyrayed Lampmussel

Description:

This is a female freshwater mussel. She is gravid (has fertilized eggs) and has a lure that looks like a fish. The host fish species comes to investigate and then POOF, the fish gets a face full of glochidia (fertilized eggs) which then latch on to the fish's gills and ride there as a parasite for a few weeks before transforming into tiny juvenile mussels and dropping off in to the river substrate.