Roger Steeb, USA
Info
Pinna carnea Gmelin, 1791
The name pen shell comes from the shape of the shell and the way in which the pointed end of the shell is stuck in the sand, in the rubble, between algae, aquatic plants and corals.
Penshells are sessile, i.e. they cannot leave the settlement site they have occupied on their own because they attach themselves to the ground with their byssus throughout their life.
Penshells are filter feeders that feed exclusively on plankton and therefore require waters with sufficient movement and a continuous inflow of plankton.
The large mussel is often parasitized by copepods (Pseudomyicola spinosus (Raffaele & Monticelli, 1885). Its predators include the shrimp Tozeuma carolinense, the pufferfish Sphoeroides spengleri and the crab Pilumnus pannosus,
Synonymised names:
Pinna (Pinna) carnea Gmelin, 1791 · alternate representation
Pinna degenera Link, 1807 · unaccepted
Pinna flabellum Lamarck, 1819 · unaccepted
Pinna pernula Röding, 1798 · unaccepted
Pinna varicosa Lamarck, 1819 · unaccepted
The name pen shell comes from the shape of the shell and the way in which the pointed end of the shell is stuck in the sand, in the rubble, between algae, aquatic plants and corals.
Penshells are sessile, i.e. they cannot leave the settlement site they have occupied on their own because they attach themselves to the ground with their byssus throughout their life.
Penshells are filter feeders that feed exclusively on plankton and therefore require waters with sufficient movement and a continuous inflow of plankton.
The large mussel is often parasitized by copepods (Pseudomyicola spinosus (Raffaele & Monticelli, 1885). Its predators include the shrimp Tozeuma carolinense, the pufferfish Sphoeroides spengleri and the crab Pilumnus pannosus,
Synonymised names:
Pinna (Pinna) carnea Gmelin, 1791 · alternate representation
Pinna degenera Link, 1807 · unaccepted
Pinna flabellum Lamarck, 1819 · unaccepted
Pinna pernula Röding, 1798 · unaccepted
Pinna varicosa Lamarck, 1819 · unaccepted
