The Foot Shell

Genus PEDUM, Brug.

Shell wedge-shaped, thin, nearly smooth, flattened, slightly curved; right valve convex and deeply notched for passage of the byssus. A single species is known.

The Thorny-oyster Foot Shell (P. Spondyloideum, Gmel.) has an outline somewhat suggesting the human foot. The animal between these flat valves must be very thin. It was first described as an oyster, and it long enjoyed a reputation for rarity. It is found most abundantly in the Red Sea where it is partially buried in coral reefs. Colour, brownish red in indistinct concentric bands on a paler ground. Length, 3 inches.