Daily Smart Fact #33: This is My Nightmare

Key Takeaway: Lampsilis Mussels spend their youth living inside of a large-mouth bass.  They get in their by their doting mom, who lures the bass in by pretending to be a darter fish and then…get this…SQUIRTING her babies into the fish’s mouth when it takes a bite.  The babies then clamp onto the mouth until they develop into maturity.  Ever heard of the movie…ALIENS?!

I stumbled upon this video about Lampsilis Mussels – they have a tough life cause, you know, they don’t have legs.  Seems like a big problem since they need to spend a portion of their lifecycle inside the mouth of a large-mouth bass. (Do they have small-mouth bass? Seems kind of rude to point out someone’s unattractive feature as a part of their name.  Like Big Butt Brenda or Small Hands Larry).  Anyway, since these mussels don’t have legs, they get pretty creative in camouflaging themselves as darter fish.  Watch the video, it’s incredible.  These freaking mussels make themselves look like fish!

The moment the bass gets tricked and tries taking a bite, BAM, the mussel literally squirts hundreds of babies into its mouth.  How freaky deaky is that?  Watch the video below and let me know what kind of nightmares you have later tonight…you’re welcome.