Dear David
I believe Posidonia is a type of seagrass
Geoff


>From: David Kirsh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Protected Mediterranean Species
>Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 18:20:44 -0700
>
>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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