| Spondylus gaederopus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Mediterranean, Red Sea.
Cemented to various hard substrates, from shallow water down to circa 50m deep; more common between 5 and 15m.
Upper: form “foliosa” Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1888. NW. Italy. 51mm without spines. — Lower: form “inermis” Bucquoy, Dautzenberg & Dollfus, 1888. SE. Spain. 75mm. |
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| 4m deep, attached to rock on the slope of pebbles, southern shore of Korfos Bay, north of Epidavros, Argolida, NE. Peloponnese, Greece. 77mm. |
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| 25m deep, on rocks, Gallipoli, Lecce, Puglia, S. Italy. 65mm. |
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| Specimen in Martini, Chemnitz & al.: Neues systematisches Conchylien-Cabinet 7Bd., Nürnberg 1784, via BHL. |
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Young specimen nested in a hollow, at about 15m deep, in the gulf, off Juan-les-Pins, Alpes-Maritimes, SE. France. Original picture provided by S. Omnès for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |
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| Above and below: specimens from southern Aegean, in natural conditions. 9m deep, on rocks, southern coast of Astypalaia island, Dodekanisa, S. Aegean. 77-78mm. |
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| 90mm. An Episcomitra cornicula lived in the hair. |
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The strong sculpture made of spines, ribs and scales, which adorns most of the members of this genus allows them to hide in plain sight with the help of the intense camouflage offered by the epibionts. – Above: Platja de Garbet, northern shore, in shallow water; Colera, Girona, Catalunya, NE. Spain. Original picture provided by eduardmarques for iNaturalist. |
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| The shell in G. S. Poli: Testacea utriusque siciliae…, vol. IV, Parma 1791-1796, plate XXI via BHL. |
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| Upper valve of an unlucky juvenile from Georgioúpoli, east of Chaniá, NW. Crete. 2,8mm. |
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| Lefka Beach, Vivári Bay, east of Náfplio, Argolis, SE. Peloponnese, S. Greece. Original picture provided by M. G. Rutherford for iNaturalist – (CC BY-NC). |
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Eastern variant, very spiny and delicate.
20m deep, attached to rock, off Ashkelon, W. Israel. 72mm. |
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Variant “albidus” Monterosato, or “albina” Bucq., Dautz. & Dollfus, from Évvia island, W. Aegean. 8m deep. 107mm. Original picture provided by I. Mulero (ES).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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10m deep, Čiovo island, Split-Dalmatia Comitat, S. Croatia. 70mm. Original pictures provided by N. Lete (HR).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |
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A cluster from Kálymnos island, Dodecanese, E. Aegean. 85-89mm. Original pictures provided by L. Magliaro (IT).
– (CC BY-NC-SA) – |