Carole's post of earlier today reminded me...a few days ago David Kirsh had
the following post..

"My previous post on this apparently didn't go through (at least I
>didn't get it).
>
>I picked up a 200mm curved Mytilid on a sandbar in the Phuket Sea,
>Thailand, which was never identified despite attempts by Kevin
>Lamprell and others on this list 12 years ago. It has smoothish
>periostracum and a nacreous interior. Kevin felt this was possibly a
>Septifer.
>
>Ideas, bivalve people?
>
>David Kirsh
>Durham, NC"

David- i think your shell is most likely Perna virdis, and a big one at
that. I have one i got in phuket in 2002 that is about 150mm. The only
other I-P mussel i know that gets near that size is the broader/hairier
(periostracum-wise) Stavelia horrida/subdistorta.  I would have thought
Kevin Lamprell would have steered you that way, though i dont think viridis
is found in Australia so maybe it didnt occur to him for that reason.

In related news I found the following interesting item all over the
internet apparently in connection with the term "giant mussels"!  and
associated with the capsize of that italian cruise ship awhile ago, the one
where the Captain brought the ship too close to shore.

Check out the articles or videos online to see what the "Giant Mussels"
really are!!!

TRY googling  YOU TUBE COSTA CONCORDIA GIANT MUSSELS....

Back in January, a cruise ship named Costa Concordia capsized off the coast
of Italy, and workers are still trying to extract it from the sand.

Only recently, as many as 200 giant mussels were found to be hiding under
the capsized cruise ship, and researchers are now doing their best in
rescuing them before the wreck removal process harms them in any way.

Apparently, giant mussels used to be a common sight in the past, yet over-
hunting and changes in their environment caused their population to shrink
to a considerable extent.

“First we monitored the mussels, counted them, checked their population and
measured them.”

“Then we took them one by one, delicately removing them from the seabed, as
delicately as possible since the tip is their most vulnerable part,”
explains marine biologist Andrea Belluscio.

Once the ship is removed, the giant mussels will be brought back to their
original habitat.

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