Hi,

The 'giant mussels' at the Costa Concordia site in the Mediterranean are
Pen shells (Pinna nobilis L., 1758). See the youtube movie about the
rescue here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHdcHrdTF8Q

Pen shells are indeed endangered in the Mediterranean due to pollution
and overfishing.

Sincerely, Erick
.

On 09/07/2013 03:33 PM, Steve Rosenthal wrote:
> 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.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> [log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
> To leave this list, click on the following web link:
> http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
> Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
> click leave the list.
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------