Synonyms: Pleurobema coccineum, Pleurobema rubrum

Distribution: This species is known from the entire upper Mississippi River drainage. The eastern extent of its range is bounded by western New York and Iowa and Kansas to the west.  Occurs as far north as the Mississippi River up to St. Anthony Falls and in the Great Lakes drainages in Wisconsin and Michigan. Found as far south as Alabama and Arkansas. Also occurs in tributaries of the St. Lawrence River drainage in Canada. In Oklahoma, this species is known from the Caney, Verdigris, Neosho and Illinois Rivers in the northeast and the Kiamichi and Little River systems in the southeast. Recent phylogenetic studies have suggested that the closely related species P. rubrum shows little to no genetic differentiation with P. sintoxia across most parts of the range (Inoue et al. 2018), which has let to P. rubrum being synonymized under P. sintoxia (Johnson et al. 2023).

Life History and Ecology: Occurs mainly in medium-sized rivers on firm substrate of coarse gravel and sand. Known to attract host fishes with a conglutinate, with reported hosts including several minnow species. Equilibrium life history strategy.

Special Status: none

Shell Description: click here for shell description

Literature cited:

Inoue, K., Hayes, D. M., Harris, J. L., Johnson, N. A., Morrison, C. L., Eackles, M. S., ... & Randklev, C. R. (2018). The Pleurobemini (Bivalvia: Unionida) revisited: molecular species delineation using a mitochondrial DNA gene reveals multiple conspecifics and undescribed species. Invertebrate Systematics, 32(3), 689-702.

Johnson, N. A., Henderson, A. R., Jones, J. W., Beaver, C. E., Ahlstedt, S. A., Dinkins, G. R., ... & Smith, C. H. (2023). Glacial vicariance and secondary contact shape demographic histories in a freshwater mussel species complex. Journal of Heredity, esad075.