The European wing oyster Pteria hirundo (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mollusca: Pteriidae): a known species with an unknown life mode

Abstract

The European wing oyster Pteria hirundo is studied in terms of autecology: habitat, age and growth, substrate and associated fauna, relationships, and distribution and abundance in the North Aegean Sea of Greece by means of extensive collection, photography, biometry, and application of von Bertalanffy growth equation (VBGE), logistic 3P Prediction Model, and linear regression analysis on morphometric parameters. Results, such as the variety of sessile corals, hydrozoa, bivalves and sea urchins that the species uses as substrate, and its epibiotic polychaetes and bryozoa, are presented and discussed.