Spiny Oyster

Spondylus is a genus of bivalve mollusks, the only genus in the family Spondylidae. As well as being the systematic name, Spondylus is the most often used common name for these animals, though they are also known as Thorny Oysters and Spiny Oysters. Dramatic, warm and exciting colors characterize spiny oyster. Its varying hues of orange and orange-red are gorgeous in rings, pendants, earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

Jewelry collectors know them as extremely beautiful organic gemstones. There are many species of Spondylus, and they vary considerably in appearance, grouped in the same superfamily as the scallops. They are true oysters (family Ostreidae) and cement themselves to rocks, rather than attaching themselves by means of a byssus. Their key characteristic is that the two parts of their shells are hinged together with a ball and socket type of hinge, rather than a toothed hinge, as is more common in other bivalves. Spondylus have multiple eyes around the edges of the shell, and have a relatively well-developed nervous system. Their nervous ganglia are concentrated in the visceral region, with recognizable optic lobes connected to the eyes. Spondylus shell are much sought after by collectors, and there is a lively commercial market in them.

Archaeological evidence shows that people in Neolithic Europe were trading the shells of Spondylus gaederopus to make bangles and other ornaments as long as 5,000 years ago. The shells were harvested from the Aegean Sea and transported far into the center of the continent. In the LBK and Lengyel culture, Spondylus shells from the Aegean Sea were worked into bracelets and belt-buckles.

Spondylus princeps are also found off the coast of Ecuador, and have been important to Andean peoples since pre-Columbian times. In fact, much like in Europe, the Spondylus shells also reached far and wide as pre-Hispanic Ecuadorian peoples traded them with peoples as far north as present-day Mexico, as far south as the central Andes. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped animals and the sea, often depicting spondylus shells in their art.