One of the most popular bivalves of the Mediterranean sea is Callista chione. This shell is a small scale fisheries target because of its nice flavor. Also octopus and gastropods admire its flavor as you can see on an older post (10/11/2009). After being eaten the shell usually becomes an ornament for flowerpots, walls and lamps. You may know from trees and fishes that the period of time that the animal or plant has slow growth rate is printed on the body of the fish or the trunk of the tree. Something similar happens with those dark thin stripes on the valves of the C.chione shell. Also the slow growth period is from July to October in reverse with trees and fishes that this period is usually the winter. The reproduction cycle starts after the second year and lasts for about one year! Also an adult can live up to 17 year. The species of the photograph should be about 4 years old and has unburied itself, because it usually lives inside the sand. In Greece we call this shell ‘gialisteri’ ( Γυαλιστερή) and this means shiny one.
Sources:
- Population dynamics of the venerid bivalve Callista chione (L.) in a coastal area of the eastern Mediterranean (Angelina Metaxatos 2004)
- Shell growth in Tivela stultorum (Mawe, 1823) and Callista chione (Linnaeus, 1758) (Bivalvia): annual periodicity, latitudinal differences, and diminution with age (Clarence A. Hall, Jr., Wayne A. Dollase and Charles E. Corbató at 1973)
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