The Spiny Oyster - Spondylus sp. (5 Photos)

I found a couple of nice shells in a local antique shop. The one shown below is one of the many Spiny Oyster shells of the Spondylidae family. I have not yet identified it to species although it may be one of the many forms of Spondylus ducalis. These bivalves cement themselves to rocks.

I rarely purchase shells these days as I don't want to support the live collection of these animals. Rather, I only keep "dead collected" specimens. (Those washed up on beaches). However, I will also occasionally buy specimens from old collections or, as in this case, from antique shops. Letting them go to waste would be worse collecting them in the first place. This shell would once have one been part of a large collection as, in the third photo, you can see a collection number, 645, written on the shells surface. Unfortunately, the original collection data, date, locality etc, has been lost.

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