Limnoperna fortunei, the golden mussel, is a medium-sized fresh water bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the true mussels. The native range of the species is China, but it has accidentally introduced to South America where it has become an invasive species. It is considered to be an ecosystem engineer because it alters the nature of the sediment at the bottom of lakes and dramatically changes the associated invertebrate communities.