| Pinna nobilis Linnaeus, 1758 protected |
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Mediterranean.
Suspension feeder, vertically buried in soft sediments, often in Posidonia fields or Cymodocea and Zostera meadows, from shallow water down to circa 50m deep.
Juvenile: Catania, E. Sicily, 50mm. |
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| Growth series from juvenile to subadult, in J. G. Hidalgo: Moluscos marinos de España, Portugal y las Baleares, Madrid 1870, via BHL. |
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Very young: Općina Sali, Dugi Otog, Zadar Comitat, Croatia.
Original picture provided by G. Hoese for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) – |
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| Young: 4m deep, in sand, gravel and mud, Ostriconi bay, Isola Rossa, NW. Corsica. 94mm. |
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| A bit older: Pinna nobilis in L. A. Reeve: Conchologia iconica vol.I, London 1859, via BHL. |
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| Adult. 8m deep, dead in its hole amidst other living Pen shells, buried in mud and gravel, in hollows and crevices, eastern limestone bank between Trachilos and Kissamos, east of Chania, NW. Crete. 295mm. Now in Alton Castle collection. |
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Adult specimen in G. J. Bruguière: Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique vol.II, Paris 1791, via BHL.
In Pinna nobilis, the radial ribs are more numerous than in rudis, and are of about the same width than their interspaces. The radials bear crowded tubular spines, less spatulate than those of rudis, and smaller. |
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Adult. Cap l’Abeille, Banyuls, Eastern Pyrenees, S. France.
Original picture provided by P. Corbrion for iNaturalist.
– (CC BY-NC) – |
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Old adult (650mm) and subadult (on top-left: 152mm).
No more scales on old timers. Ex coll. Annie Bombeke (FR).
As the shell varies a lot while aging, the number of synonyms is rather large: angustana, cornuformis, ensiformis, incurvata, squamosa, vitrea… Numerous also are the named forms: dilatata, nana, pisciformis, rarisquama etc. |
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| Gerontic specimen in H. C. Küster: “Die Familie Malleacea”, Systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet Bd.8:Abt.1, Nürnberg 1891, via BHL. |
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In shallow water, Leucate lagoon, Occitania, S. France.
Original picture provided by A. Bertrand (FR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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| Adult specimen losing its spatulae, in G. Poli: Testacea utriusque Siciliae… t. IV Atlas, Parma 1791-1796, via BHL. |
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Here is Zivka, who lives at 2,2m deep, probably buried in a crevice because the layer of sediment is locally too thin for such a large specimen. Zečevo islet, Vrsi area, north of Zadar, W. Croatia. Original picture provided by Đ. Iglić (HR). – (CC BY-NC-SA) – |