Capped Orb Mussel vs Common Kidney-Vetch

Musculium lacustre compared with Anthyllis vulneraria

Key Differences

Capped Orb Mussel is Least Concern while Common Kidney-Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Capped Orb Mussel	Common Kidney-Vetch
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Bivalvia (Bivalvia)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Sphaeriida (Sphaeriida)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Sphaeriidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Musculium	Anthyllis
Species	Musculium lacustre	Anthyllis vulneraria

Conservation Status

Capped Orb Mussel

LC — Least Concern

Common Kidney-Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Capped Orb Mussel	Common Kidney-Vetch
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Capped Orb Mussel

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Capped Orb Mussel

The Capped Orb Mussel (Musculium lacustre) is a species in the genus Musculium. It is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Common Kidney-Vetch

Common Kidney-Vetch (<em>Anthyllis vulneraria</em>) is a flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae, assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat degradation and agricultural intensification across parts of its range. It is widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Asia (Japan), Europe (nine countries), North America (Canada and the United States), and Oceania (Australia), occupying six distinct biome types and occurring within the Indomalayan and Oceanian biogeographic realms. The species typically grows in dry, calcareous grasslands, coastal cliffs, sand dunes, and rocky slopes, often favoring nutrient-poor soils. It is an important larval food plant for certain butterfly species, particularly the Small Blue butterfly in Europe, and contributes to soil fertility through nitrogen fixation via root nodules. Its cheerful yellow, orange, or red flower heads make it a recognizable component of chalk and limestone grassland communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.