Dear fellow nobilis owners,
What is a posidonia field?
I received a single large valve of P. nobilis from a friend of my family
when I visited Italy in 1974.
David Kirsh
Durham, NC
> From: jan neefs <[log in to unmask]>
> Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 23:33:08 +0200
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Protected Mediterranean Species
>
> Hello you all ,
> Last year we had a holiday in Menorca , that is one of the Spanish Balearic
> Islands . there I saw for the first time ever in a posidonia field some
> 30-40 ! living species of the Pinna nobilis in 3-5mtr deep water , some
> 100/150 meters off beach, but near rocks , and above these rocks there were
> appartments , restaurants etc. Did you know , that inside these wonderfull
> "mussels" there lives some lobster like creature as a sort of parasite ?
> Does anyone know if this occurs in other Pinna species too ?
> I must confess I took 3 with me for my own collection .One was very small ,
> some 10 cm with very long spines . I know it was illegal to take them home
> with me , but I simply could not resist these shells to leave them lying
> dead . I simply know , that if I didn't took them , somebody else certainly
> will .These specimens will be looked after very good , and are a good memory
> for the best holiday ever I had over there .That doesn't justify my actually
> taking them , but I will never sell these beauties , or exchange them , for
> they are very precious to me . If I was very greedy I could take them all
> for there was no checking at the airport at all .Despite of the fact I took
> three sp. home I think I have a good common sense of letting the other
> species rest .
> What would you do in my situation as a shell-collector?letting them , or
> take one or two?
>
> I wrote this just to let you all know how I felt , and still feel about this
> protection of endangered species .
> The Cypraea's are the very same , but I will not take every species I 'll
> encounter , just take for my own collection .
>
> until another time , Jan Neefs
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Rafael María Puertas Rey <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2001 10:32 PM
> Subject: Protected Mediterranean Species
>
>
>> Dear Michael and all,
>>
>> The first Pinna nobilis I saw in my life was an item
>> 'standing' near an anphora in a garden of a housing
>> scheme in La Manga, Murcia (Spain). Of course, it had
>> been brought there by divers.
>>
>> I remember thinking at once: "there must be more
>> somewhere near here". I looked for Posidonia fields,
>> and after a couple of days I found one -1.5 m deep. I
>> could count at least forty items of 'nobilis'. Nearly
>> half of the population was dead, but remained empty in
>> their living position.
>>
>> Three years after that I came back (2000). They had
>> built four new blocks close to the beach: I could only
>> observe a couple of living animals; anyhow, the empty
>> shells where still there, standing like 'living
>> deads'... (the secret about the sumerged "graveyard"
>> had been preserved). This gave me the main arguments
>> for considering pollution the actual reason for their
>> disappearance.
>>
>> Nevertheless, I agree with you. If divers had learnt
>> of the population existence, the situation would have
>> been even worse. I guess this is because some divers
>> do not collect, though; they simply spoil.
>>
>> On the other hand, in case you summed up all the
>> people in Málaga and Murcia in real want of a Pinna
>> 'nobilis' for a serious collection (not to leave it
>> 'decorating' in the grass, or to show your friends the
>> 'giant mussel' you have fished), the result won't be
>> much over sixty? seventy? people...
>>
>> Obviously, in my first mail I was talking about the
>> little impact exerted by reasonable, sensible
>> collectors with a deep sense of responsability, as I
>> think most of us are.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Fali.
>>
>> Rafael María Puertas Rey.
>>
>>
>>
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