Shell · Genus
Spondylus
Thorny oysters
Thorny oysters (Spondylus) are bivalves cemented to the reef and covered in long spines, in red, orange and purple; Spondylus americanus and the Pacific Spondylus princeps are the showpieces, and a specimen with all spines intact and no encrustation is hard to obtain. Diver-collected, cleaned Spondylus are moderately expensive. They are unrelated to true oysters despite the name.
| Habitat | Cemented to rock and coral, shallow tropical water |
|---|---|
| Regions | Indo-Pacific, Caribbean, Eastern Pacific, Mediterranean |
| Family | Spondylidae |
| Authority (WoRMS) | Linnaeus, 1758· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Status (WoRMS) | accepted· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Extinct (WoRMS) | no· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Classification (WoRMS) | Animalia › Mollusca › Bivalvia › Pectinida › Spondylidae· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
CITES and protection
Not CITES-listed; Spondylus was ceremonial currency in Andean cultures and Ecuador regulates harvest.
Care (Byne's disease)
The spines trap salt and dirt; clean before storage.
Photographs
Elsewhere
- WoRMS AphiaID: 138518
- Wikidata: Q649156
- WoRMS / MolluscaBase record
- Wikipedia: Spondylus
- CITES Appendices
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Spondylus" (Shell family). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/shells/spondylus. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-spondylus,
title = {Spondylus},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/shells/spondylus}},
year = {2026},
note = {Shell family article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, worms, wikidata, commons, smithsonian. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.