Thorny oyster (Spondylus varians). This filter feeder is a bivalve mollusc and, like true oysters, cements itself to rocks. The key characteristic of

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Thorny oyster (Spondylus varians). This filter feeder is a bivalve mollusc and, like true oysters, cements itself to rocks. The key characteristic of this oyster is the ball and socket hinge used to hold the two parts of the shell together, rather than the more common toothed hinge. The thorny oyster has numerous eyes around the edges of its shell and a relatively well-developed nervous system. Photographed in Malaysia.

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Size: 5200px × 3457px
Photo credit: © GEORGETTE DOUWMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, animal, asia, biological, biology, bivalve, eyes, family, fauna, feeder, filter, filter-feeder, immobile, invertebrate, invertebrates, life, malaysia, malaysian, marine, mollusc, mollusca, nature, ocean, oyster, receptors, sea, sedentary, sensory, sessile, shell, shelled, shells, single, south-east, southeast, spiny, spondylidae, spondylus, thorny, underwater, varius, water, wildlife, zoological, zoology