From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pinna is a cosmopolitan genus of bivalve molluscs characterized by elongated, wedge-shaped shells which most commonly stand point-first in the sea bottom in which they live, anchored by net of byssus threads. It is distinguished from its sibling genus Atrina by the presence of a sulcus dividing the nacreous region of the valves, and the positioning of the adductor scar on the dorsal side of shells.
The type species is P. rudis; the best known is P. nobilis, a Mediterranean species historically important as the principal source of sea silk. The genus is ancient and is represented in Cretaceous fossils.
[edit] References
- Packard, Earl; Jones, David L. (Sept. 1965). "Cretaceous Pelecypods of the Genus Pinna from the West Coast of North America". Journal of Paleontology 39 (1): 910–915.
- Glossary. Man and Mollusc. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
