Spondylus gaederopus

Spondylus gaederopus Temporal range: 15.97–Present Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
A shell of Spondylus gaederopus from Sicily, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Pectinida
Family:	Spondylidae
Genus:	Spondylus
Species:	S. gaederopus
Binomial name
Spondylus gaederopus Linnaeus, 1758

Spondylus gaederopus is a species of marine bivalve mollusc, a thorny oyster in the family Spondylidae. This species is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. S. gaederopus has low fecundity as they lay up to 404 858 ± 248 014 female eggs per season starting at the age of 3. Additionally, they live to be up to 18 years old.

Description

Spondylus gaederopus attaches itself to the substrate with its lower valve, which is usually white, while the upper valve is usually purple. Specimens that are all white, or all purple do, however, exist.

Uses

The mollusc is edible, and is consumed in Sardinia.

External links

• Sea Life Base Pictures of the live animal, and of the cleaned shell

Pernet, F., Malet, N., Pastoureaud, A., Vaquer, A., Quéré, C., & Dubroca, L. (2012). Marine diatoms sustain growth of bivalves in a mediterranean lagoon. Journal of Sea Research, 68, 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seares.2011.11.004

This page was last edited on 15 March 2023, at 16:22