page_title: Spondylus
section_title: Species
hierarchical_section_title: Spondylus / Species
caption_attribution_description: English: Spondylus valve interiors from the Pliocene of Cyprus.
context_page_description: Spondylus is a genus of bivalve molluscs, the only genus in the family Spondylidae. They are known in English as spiny oysters.
context_section_description: Spondylidae taxonomy has undergone many revisions, mostly due to the fact that identification is traditionally based on the shell only, and this is highly variable. To add to this, while some shallow-water species are extremely common, at least two deep-water ones  are known from a single specimen, while a third (S. gravis) was only rediscovered after 77 years. At least another common species (S. regius) has a different shell when it grows in deep water.
  Spondylus americanus Hermann, 1781 - Atlantic thorny oyster
  Spondylus anacanthus Mawe, 1823 - nude thorny oyster
  †Spondylus aonis d'Orbigny, 1850
  Spondylus asiaticus Chenu, 1844
  Spondylus asperrimus G. B. Sowerby II, 1847
  †Spondylus aucklandicus P. Marshall, 1918
  Spondylus avramsingeri Kovalis, 2010
  Spondylus butleri Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus candidus Lamarck, 1819
  Spondylus clarksoni Lamprell, 1992
  Spondylus concavus Deshayes in Maillard, 1863
  Spondylus crassisquama Lamarck, 1819
  Spondylus croceus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus darwini Jousseaume, 1882
  Spondylus deforgesi Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus depressus Fulton, 1915
  Spondylus eastae Lamprell, 1992
  Spondylus echinatus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus erectospinosus Habe, 1973
  Spondylus exiguus Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus exilis G. B. Sowerby III, 1895
  Spondylus fauroti Jousseaume, 1888
  Spondylus foliaceus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus gaederopus Linnaeus, 1758 - European thorny oyster
  Spondylus gloriandus Melvill & Standen, 1907
  Spondylus gloriosus Dall, Bartsch & Rehder, 1938
  Spondylus gravis Fulton, 1915
  Spondylus groschi Lamprell & Kilburn, 1995
  Spondylus gussonii O. G. Costa, 1830
  Spondylus heidkeae Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus imperialis Chenu, 1844
  Spondylus Lamarckii Chenu, 1845
  Spondylus layardi Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus leucacanthus Broderip, 1833
  Spondylus limbatus G. B. Sowerby II, 1847
  Spondylus linguafelis G. B. Sowerby II, 1847
  Spondylus maestratii Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus marinensis Cossignani & Allary, 2018
  Spondylus mimus Dall, Bartsch & Rehder, 1938
  Spondylus morrisoni Damarco, 2015
  Spondylus multimuricatus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus multisetosus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus nicobaricus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus occidens G. B. Sowerby III, 1903
  Spondylus ocellatus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus orstomi Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus ostreoides E. A. Smith, 1885
  Spondylus pratii Parth, 1990
  Spondylus proneri Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus raoulensis W. R. B. Oliver, 1915
  Spondylus reesianus G. B. Sowerby III, 1903
  Spondylus regius Linnaeus, 1758 - regal thorny oyster
  Spondylus rippingalei Lamprell & Healy, 2001
  Spondylus rubicundus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus senegalensis Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus sinensis Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus spinosus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus squamosus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus tenellus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus tenuis Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus tenuispinosus G. B. Sowerby II, 1847
  Spondylus tenuitas Garrard, 1966
  Spondylus variegatus Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus varius G. B. Sowerby I, 1827
  Spondylus versicolor Schreibers, 1793
  Spondylus victoriae G. B. Sowerby II, 1860
  Spondylus violacescens Lamarck, 1819
  Spondylus virgineus Reeve, 1856
  Spondylus visayensis Poppe & Tagaro, 2010
  Spondylus zonalis Lamarck, 1819
  Spondylus echinus Jousseaume in Lamy, 1927 (taxon inquirendum)
  Spondylus imbricatus Perry, 1811 (nomen dubium)
  Spondylus microlepos Lamarck, 1819 (nomen dubium)
  Spondylus unicolor G. B. Sowerby II, 1847 (nomen dubium)
  See also: Tikod amo, an undescribed species
caption: The interior of two fossil valves of Spondylus from the Pliocene of Cyprus
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "NIKON", "Image Model": "E4500", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2014:08:16 20:12:40", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "236", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "998", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5578", "EXIF ExposureTime": "5/464", "EXIF FNumber": "47/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:12:18 16:03:52", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:12:18 16:03:52", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "14/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "111/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2272", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1515", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "872", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "53", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}