Occurrence of the little Spectaclecase Villosa lienosa downstream of the Wabash and Ohio River confluence in Illinois

Live and fresh-dead specimens of little spectaclecase, Villosa lienosa (Conrad, 1834), were discovered in the upper Cache River system near Mt. Pleasant, in Union County, Illinois, during the summers of 2009 and 2013 and deposited in the Illinois Natural History Survey Mollusk Collection, Champaign. Although reported from elsewhere in Illinois, these specimens represent a documented range connection for the little spectaclecase between the eastern third of Illinois and the little spectaclecase populations in the bootheel of southeastern Missouri. A reevaluation of the species' status in Illinois is applicable due to the documented range connection and additional records of the little spectaclecase.