Croatia 2024-Europa - Underwater Fauna & Flora - Set of 2 (MNH)
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$5.00 USD
The Noble Pen Shell (Pinna nobilis) is an endemic species of the Mediterranean, the largest bivalve in the Mediterranean Sea and among the largest bivalves in the world. It usually grows between 30 and 50 cm but can reach lengths of up to 120 cm and live to be around fifty years old. It lives in sandy bottoms and seagrass meadows, from the surface up to about sixty meters in depth. It uses the rear pointed end of the shell to bury itself partially into the sediment and attach to it using numerous so-called byssal threads. The other end is fan-shaped, ranging from light brown to reddish color. The two shells are identical and the pen shell opens them only about a centimeter to filter the sea water and collect plankton and organic particles from it. It can filter hundreds of liters of sea on a daily basis. If it feels threatened, it will close its shells tightly. The little crab (Nepinnotheres pinnotheres), which often lives inside it, can also warn it of danger.