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 Mussel Taxonomy, for us, refers to a concern for unionoid diversity, especially at the species level and below. We are examining the products of microevolution. We also have another series of web pages devoted to freshwater mussel evolution above the species level — macroevolution. The real distinction between these two sides of the same coin is in our approaches. Our taxonomic studies deal in revisionary works, pulling together the vast literature and specimen records hidden away in the world's museums to make predictive statements about the nature of actual diversity in a clade or area.
Our evolutionary studies are based on phylogenetic analyses and a concern for sister-relationships and synapomorphies. The interface between these two approaches — taxonomy and evolution — is at the genus level. To be able to even attach the correct binomial combination of a genus and species to a biological lineages, we have to make some hypotheses about the evolutionary relationships of that species.
 To manage all the taxonomic data associated with the Unionoida, we have had to engage in a fair bit of databasing. The MUSSEL Project Database (MUSSELpdb) is our tool for storing, managing, studying and serving information about freshwater mussel nomenclature, previous taxonomic opinions, specimen records and locality data. Our local development is in FileMaker Pro, but portions of our dataset are available on this web site via PHP and MySQL.
Only portions of our database are available now because our effort is still a work in progress. There are a lot of mussels, they have had a long history of alpha-taxonomy, species are deposited in collections all over the world, additional field sampling is necessary, and we have only been at this for a few years (our collaboration was initiated in 2002). We periodically update the Scoreboard to report some key statistics of our progress.
 By the end of this project, all of our data will be available on-line; however, at this point, we do not yet have a single, integrated database of freshwater mussel global diveristy and taxonomy to serve to the public. However, as portions have been worked up to states of proper presentation, we have made available certain projects. The Projects Page makes available certain portions of our database: the Simpson-Haas Index and ZAMBONGO: Freshwater Mussels of the Congo & Zambezi Rivers. For a complete list of all currently recognized (i.e., valid) freshwater mussel species, visit Unionoida cum Grano Salis.
 
As we have proceeded over the past few years, one lesson in particular has been repeatedly emphasized: the taxonomy of freshwater mussels is really messed up. New names have accumulated far faster than the actual rate of species discovery. For some mollusks, diversity estimates are unstable because they have not been adequately sampled — many new species still remain to be described. For the Unionoida, the problem is getting a handle on all that has already been described! Freshwater mussels have been way over-named!
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