The world’s mightiest waterway, the Amazon River, is threatened by the most diminutive of foes — a tiny mussel invading from China. Since hitching its way to South America in the early 1990s, the golden mussel has claimed new territory at alarming speeds, plowing through indigenous flora and fauna as it has spread to waters in five countries. Now, scientists fear the invasive species could make a jump into the Amazon, threatening one of the world’s unique ecological systems. The golden mussel, which commonly grows to no more than an inch in length, is a hardy breeder, reproducing nine months a year by releasing clouds of microscopic larvae that float with the current to new territories.

Barchfield, J. (2015, February 12). Brazil scientists fear golden mussel threat to Amazon River. Manila Bulletin, p. 12.