Pinna nobilis

Noble pen shell ( Pinna nobilis)

The Noble or Large pen shell ( Pinna nobilis) also known as the zebra mussel, is the largest occurring in the Mediterranean mussel species.

The noble pen shell lives in coastal sandy meadows on sandy soils in five to ten meters deep. It is up to 90 cm long and can be more than 20 years old. The narrow shell lies upright with the tip in the sediment. With tufts they anchored on the sandy ocean floor. The up to 20 cm long fibers arise from a protein-rich secretion of a gland at the base of the animals, which solidify upon contact with the salty water into solid filaments; they are extremely fine and tear (see linen ). The mussel needed clean water, good lighting and a uniform, light flow to filter plankton from the water.

Overfishing and water pollution, the sooner frequently occurring mussel has become rare. Throughout the European Union and in Croatia it is therefore placed under protection.

Use

From the shimmering golden anchor threads ( byssus ) of the mussel byssus has been made ​​since ancient times, which was popular in the Middle Ages as an extremely valuable material. A shell provides only about 1 to 2 grams Rohbyssus, for one kilograms pure byssus the harvest of up to 4,000 animals was necessary. The byssus is shiny and can be dyed only with difficulty. Probably the craft of mussel silk mill was brought by the Phoenicians in Sardinia. At the medieval royal courts it was estimated that pervaded by shiny gold silk threads mussel products. In modern times, it had its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, after which it died out in practice. Today, the ancient art is hardly dominated.