APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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Rough pen shell
Pinna rudis
- exterior of valves 1

Rough pen shell
Pinna rudis
- exterior of valves 2

Rough pen shell
Pinna rudis
- posterior spines 1

The 11cm juvenile shell above was found in 3m of water at Ambrizete, Angola, in 2014. Photographed in UK, in private collection, 01.02.16.

The species is included here because it and other fan mussels / pen shells, namely Pinna carnea, are known from flotsam. The species attaches itself by byssal threads to stone or rock etc., so has the potential to attached to flotsam or plastics that are temporarily trapped on the seafloor, or wreckage in the country of origin before drifting across the Atlantic to the UK.

The specimen was purchased for reference and photography, should the need ever arise to identify the species here in the UK. It might be found on flotsam, wood, marine plastics or fishing floats or traps, etc..

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.

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