Welcome!
Welcome to the website of all things Thorny Oyster! Here you can find everything you've ever wanted to know about the Atlantic Thorny Oyster: from Digestion to DNA, this page explores the vast and engrossing organism that is the Thorny Oyster! Everything that makes up the Spondylus Americanus has been separated into four main categories that you'll see to the upper left: Ecology, Physiology, Reproduction, and Evolution. I invite you to lose yourself in the world of these curious creatures. Enjoy!
Spondylus fun facts:
- The Atlantic Thorny oyster's spiny shell protects it from predators. [1]
- It is a sessile animal- meaning it never moves. In fact, it cements itself directly to rocks. [2]
- It is a filter feeder, it uses the water currents to deliver its food. [3]
- Its spikes grow at a very rapid rate (in relation to their size): about 1 mm per day. [4]
- This species is unusual in that it has a ball-and-socket hinge connecting the two halves of its shell, rather than the more common toothed hinge. [5]