The Higgins Eye is 3 to 4 inches around. Its shells or valves are an olive-brown with dark rings. The shell inside is a white or pink color. The mussel has 1 foot that can carry it only a couple hundred yards during its 30 year life span. The Higgins Eye is a deep water mussel of fast currents in large rivers.
Mussels are normally prey for muskrats, otters, raccoons, and minks.
The inside of the mussel is for fish bait. The Higgins Eye Pearly Mussel is an endangered species.