- Pinna nobilis
Taxobox
name = "Pinna nobilis"
image_caption = "Pinna nobilis": shell and byssus
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Mollusca
classis =Bivalvia
ordo =Pterioida
familia =Pinnidae
genus = "Pinna "
species = "P. nobilis"
binomial = "Pinna nobilis"
binomial_authority =Linnaeus , 1758
synonyms = "Pinna gigas" Chemnitz"Pinna nobilis",
common name the "noble pen shell" is aspecies of pen shell, a large marinebivalve mollusk in the familyPinnidae , the pen shells.This species is well-known as the origin of
sea silk , made from thebyssus of the animal.This species is endemic to the
Mediterranean Sea . It lives offshore down to a depths of 20 meters.The shell of this species can grow as large as 60 cm (24 inches) or even larger. The sculpture is quite variable. Like all pen shells it is relatively fragile.
References
* R. Tucker Abbott & S. Peter Dance, 1982, “Compendium of seashells: a color guide to more than 4,200 of the world’s marine shells” E.P. Dutton Inc., New York. ISBN: 0-525-93269-0
External links
[http://www.eumed.net/malakos/Images/Pinna%20nobilis.jpg] Image of two shells
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