Relevant Synonyms Spondylus marisrubri Roeding, 1798 Spondylus aculeatus Schreibers, 1793 Spondylus cf. zonalis Lamarck, 1819 Spondylus cf. linguafelis Sowerby, 1847 Misidentification -  photo : W. Engl

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell equivalve, generally higher than long, irregularly oval. Area of attachment variable. Sculpture of 6-16 strong, raised, principal radial ribs with dense strong, moderately appressed spines of various lengths. In adults the umbonal area is usually worn. Wide, smooth interspaces, with one or two secondary ribs, which bear smaller spines. Inner margin finely crenulate. color : interstices dark brown with white ribs and spines. Internally blue-white with purple red margin. Hinge brown. common size : to 70 mm in height. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Mature specimens of S. spinosus differ from S. groschi in the number of principal ribs (6-16 versus 6-7 in the latter), the shape of spines (large flat appressed versus regular overlapping spatulate spines in the latter) and coloration (white spines in S. spinosus). BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Valve flapping as a reaction to attacks by Muricid gastropods. This antipredatory behaviour is comparable to the swimming escape mechanism shown by living Pectinidae (Mienis, 1994). habitat : attached to rocky sea beds at depths 2-40 m; forms dense and strong populations along with Chama pacifica; the surfaces of their shells providing strongholds for a diverse community of algae and invertebrates.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1993 [1988]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Indo-Pacific, including the Red Sea. Suez Canal (Fouda, 1990). Mediterranean: records first in 1988 off Israel (Mienis et al., 1993a); successively from Iskenderun, Turkey (Engl and Çeviker, 1999); Lebanon (Bitar and Zibrowius, pers. comm.). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Well-established. Off the northern coast of Israel, dense populations of up to 15 specimens per m². Along the Turkish coasts, also stable-reproducing populations, as demonstrated from the many upper valves of juveniles found in shell grit at Iskenderun. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal, possibly by shipping. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS The species is collected by diving and is served in restaurants in Jbail, Lebanon (Zibrowius, pers. comm.).

KEY REFERENCES Fishelson L., 2000. Marine animal assemblages along the littoral of the Israeli Mediterranean seashore: the Red-Mediterranean Seas communities of species. Italian Journal of Zoology, 67(3):393-415. Lamprell K.L., 1998. Recent Spondylus species from the Middle East and adjacent regions, with the description of two new species. Vita Marina, 45(1-2): 41-60. Mienis H.K., 1999c. On the date of arrival of the Lessepsian migrant Spondylus spinosus in the Mediterranean Sea. Of Sea and Shore, 22(2): 71.   Mienis H.K., Galili E. and Rapoport J., 1993a. The spiny oyster, Spondylus spinosus, a well established Indo-Pacific bivalve in the eastern Mediterranean off Israel (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Spondylidae). Zoology in the Middle East, 9: 83-91. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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