zebra mussel

zebra mussel

n.

A small freshwater mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) with a usually striped shell, native to Eurasia but widely established since the late 1980s in the Great Lakes and other North American waterways.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

zebra mussel - inch long mollusk imported accidentally from Europe; clogs utility inlet pipes and feeds on edible freshwater mussels Dreissena polymorpha freshwater clam, freshwater mussel - bivalve mollusk abundant in rivers of central United States Dreissena, genus Dreissena - zebra mussels