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Pinna nobilis or rudis
The pen shell is the largest bivalve. Pinna nobilis is an endangered mollusc and lives only in the Mediterranean. I'm not sure if this is Pinna rudis or Pinna nobilis but I think it is nobilis because it has many smaller ribs.
I found this in the sand on the beach at the Gulf of Kallonis on Lesbos island in Greece.
Spotted on Apr 11, 2022
Submitted on Apr 16, 2022
2 Comments
In the Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain), the largest salty coastal lagoon in Europe (131 km2), Pinna nobilis has been preserved away from the bacteria that threaten it, due to its separation from the waters of the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow arm of land. But unfortunately this lagoon has been attacked by contamination from toxic discharges from intensive agriculture that has recently surrounded the lagoon and for this reason most of the population of all the marine species it contains are dying.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/9/5/922
My spotting Pinna nobilis in Mar Menor: https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/73...
My spotting Pinna nobilis in Mediterranean sea:
https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/92...
Great spotting Sophia, and welcome to Project Noah. You've given a good description and habitat comments. I look forward to more spottings from your sectionof the world.