Need help on research report!!?

Question

At school we are doing a research paper on mussels that you eat and find in the water! I need some help! Please answer the questions below!! If you can't answer them then can you tell me some web. sites that might help me! I need all the help I can get!!!

What are mussels used for?
What do mussels look like?
What does mussels do to help us?
Is their anything unique about mussels?

Thank you!! I would really like your help!!

Answer 1

Why are you on yahoo asking for answers on your homework? Google mussels and read about them. Better yet go to the local library and crack open a book on mussels.

Answer 2

The mussel's external shell is composed of two halves that protect it from predators and desiccation. Protruding from a valve is an enlarged structure called the umbo, which indicates the dorsal surface of the mussel.
Mussels as food
Marine mussels are a popular seafood item, especially in Belgium and the Netherlands, where they are consumed with french fries ("moules frites"). In Italy they are a popular dish, often mixed with other sea food, or eaten with pasta. In Turkey; mussels are either covered with flour and fried on shishs ('midye tava') or filled with rice and served cold ('midye dolma'). Mussels are usually comsumed with alcohol (mostly with 'raki' or beer).


Cooked mussels can be orange, or of a pale yellow.
Mussels can be smoked, boiled or steamed. The Éclade des Moules is a mussel bake popular along the beaches of the Bay of Biscay. As for all shellfish, mussels should be alive just before they are cooked because they quickly become toxic after they die. A simple criterion is that live mussels, when in the air, are tightly shut; open mussels are dead and should be discarded. Also closed mussel shells that are unusually heavy should be discarded as well. They usually contain only mud and can be tested by slightly moving the two shells away from each other. The mussel shells open by themselves when cooked.

Belgians properly serve up these steamy delights, keeping them cold and cooking fresh. They are cooked with fresh herbs and vegetables such as garlic, parsley, leeks, celery, and occasionally tomatoes, and prepared with butter, white wine, and/or cream. One kilo can be enjoyed per person. Dished out steaming hot in a sizable crock, they are best indulged with Frites/Frieten and a hardy Belgian beer. A large empty bowl is set out for the leftover shells. Months with an “R” in their name (September through April) are regarded as the “in” season for the crustaceans.[1]


Mussel poisoning due to toxic planktonic organisms is a potential danger along some coastlines. For instance, mussels should be avoided along the west coast of the United States during the warmer months. This is usually caused by dinoflagellates creating elevated levels of toxins in the water that do not harm the mussels, but if consumed by humans can bring on illness. Usually the United States government monitors the levels of toxins throughout the year at fishing sites. See Red Tide.

Freshwater mussels are generally unpalatable, though the native peoples in North America utilized them extensively.

Mussels and clams are not the same. Clams cannot make pearls, but mussels can. Mussel larvae, called glochidia (glow-kid-ee-ah), are parasitic and spend time with a host animal, usually fish. Clams do not have a parasitic stage. Minnesota has only a few tiny species of clams but has nearly 50 species of mussels. Mussels in Minnesota vary from the size of a fingernail to the size of a small dinner plate

Answer 3

Mussels is a living creature that lives in the sea.... I do not know the word in English to describe its species, but it is the SOFT ONE LIKE OCTOPUS....No skeleton...

It looks like "Dates"

It could be eaten...Medication could be taken out of it....it can be used as a bait for catching Fish for instance....

It is unique in its camouflage...and the way it eats its prey...it has Strong muscles....

Answer 4

Mussels are fairly small and are black and sort of oval in shape. They are delicious! Used a lot in Italian cuisine. That's about all I can offer you, try wikkipedia.

Answer 5

Shauna is right. You have no business on yahoo answers trying to find answers to your homeworl that can easily be found if you de an internet search or go to the library.

Answer 6

www.wikipedia.org should have most of the answers.

And this one might help too:
http://www.nps.gov/archive/miss/features/mussels/aboutmussel.html

Good luck!