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31 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
3,195 Views
9 Pages

Detection of Haplosporidium pinnae from Pinna nobilis Faeces

  • Raquel Lopez-Nuñez,
  • Emilio Cortés Melendreras,
  • Francisca Giménez Casalduero,
  • Patricia Prado,
  • Federico Lopez-Moya and
  • Luis Vicente Lopez-Llorca

17 February 2022

Pinna nobilis (Linnaeus, 1758) is the largest bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean. It is distributed in a wide range of coastal environments, including estuaries. Pinna nobilis has recently become a critically endangered species (with almost 100% mo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
3,766 Views
14 Pages

Reduced Antioxidant Response of the Fan Mussel Pinna nobilis Related to the Presence of Haplosporidium pinnae

  • Antonio Box,
  • Xavier Capó,
  • Silvia Tejada,
  • Gaetano Catanese,
  • Amalia Grau,
  • Salud Deudero,
  • Antoni Sureda and
  • José María Valencia

11 November 2020

The endemic fan mussel (Pinna nobilis) in the Mediterranean Sea is at high risk of disappearance due to massive mortality events. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antioxidant response of P. nobilis collected in the Balearic Islands (Western M...

  • Article
  • Open Access
39 Citations
4,488 Views
15 Pages

The Implication of Vibrio Bacteria in the Winter Mortalities of the Critically Endangered Pinna nobilis

  • Athanasios Lattos,
  • Konstantina Bitchava,
  • Ioannis A. Giantsis,
  • John A. Theodorou,
  • Costas Batargias and
  • Basile Michaelidis

Pinna nobilis populations, constituting the largest bivalve mollusk endemic to the Mediterranean, is characterized as critically endangered, threatened by extinction. Among the various factors proposed as etiological agents are the Haplosporidium pin...

  • Article
  • Open Access
20 Citations
3,323 Views
17 Pages

Pathophysiological Responses of Pinna nobilis Individuals Enlightens the Etiology of Mass Mortality Situation in the Mediterranean Populations

  • Athanasios Lattos,
  • Konstantinos Feidantsis,
  • Ioannis Georgoulis,
  • Ioannis A. Giantsis,
  • Dimitrios Karagiannis,
  • John A. Theodorou,
  • Alexandra Staikou and
  • Basile Michaelidis

22 October 2021

Due to the rapid decrease of Pinna nobilis populations during the previous decades, this bivalve species, endemic in the Mediterranean Sea, is characterized as ‘critically endangered’. In addition to human pressures, various pathogen infections have...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
4 Citations
2,908 Views
9 Pages

Haplosporidium pinnae Detection from the Faeces of Pinna nobilis: A Quick and Noninvasive Tool to Monitor the Presence of Pathogen in Early-Stage or during Fan Mussel Mass Mortalities

  • Chiara Manfrin,
  • Saul Ciriaco,
  • Marco Segarich,
  • Andrea Aiello,
  • Fiorella Florian,
  • Massimo Avian,
  • Antonio Terlizzi,
  • Piero G. Giulianini,
  • Maurizio Spoto and
  • Alberto Pallavicini

24 March 2023

Due to the increasing mass mortality of Pinna nobilis, mainly caused by the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae along the Mediterranean Sea, it is necessary to develop rapid and effective methods to detect the pathogen. The present study describes the de...

  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
4,047 Views
21 Pages

Gut Symbiotic Microbial Communities in the IUCN Critically Endangered Pinna nobilis Suffering from Mass Mortalities, Revealed by 16S rRNA Amplicon NGS

  • Athanasios Lattos,
  • Ioannis A. Giantsis,
  • Dimitrios Karagiannis,
  • John A. Theodorou and
  • Basile Michaelidis

29 November 2020

Mass mortality events due to disease outbreaks have recently affected almost every healthy population of fan mussel, Pinna nobilis in Mediterranean Sea. The devastating mortality of the species has turned the interest of the research towards the caus...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
2,029 Views
14 Pages

Mortalities of Pinna nobilis populations set at risk the survival of the species from many Mediterranean coastline habitats. In many cases, both Haplosporidium pinnae and Mycobacterium spp. are implicated in mass mortalities of P. nobilis populations...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,091 Views
10 Pages

8 November 2023

The critically endangered bivalve species, the pen shell Pinna nobilis, has been suffering from an epidemic disease in the Mediterranean Sea, and its populations have totally disappeared in many areas across the basin. The Sea of Marmara’s popu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,011 Views
12 Pages

Fan Mussel (Pinna nobilis L.) Spat Collection, Monitoring of Early Growth and Conservation Implications by Deploying Conventional Aquaculture Methodology

  • John A. Theodorou,
  • Efthimios Spinos,
  • Alexis Ramfos,
  • Ioannis E. Tsamadias,
  • Vlasoula Bekiari,
  • Maria Kamilari,
  • Maria-Myrto Ntouni,
  • Dimitrios Tsotsios,
  • Konstantinos Feidantsis and
  • Athanasios Lattos
  • + 2 authors

15 November 2024

Pinna nobilis, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, has been experiencing a gradual population decline over recent decades due to anthropogenic pressures on its ecosystems. However, since 2016, its populations have suffered significant reductions becaus...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,180 Views
12 Pages

25 February 2025

The noble pen shell (Pinna nobilis) is a key bivalve species found in the Mediterranean that has suffered dramatic declines due to mass mortality events (MMEs) caused by pathogens like Haplosporidium pinnae. This study looks at the historical populat...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,660 Views
12 Pages

18 September 2022

A non-invasive laser fiber-optic method based on infrared sensors for heart rate (Hr) recording was applied to assess the physiological condition of Pinna nobilis. During 2017, the specimens of P. nobilis were sampled at three sites within the Boka K...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,540 Views
14 Pages

11 May 2024

The research included 120 specimens of Pinna nobilis cultivated at a commercial park for oyster (Ostrea edulis) and black mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) cultivation. Research was carried out from 2012 to 2016, prior to the start of the mass extin...

  • Feature Paper
  • Review
  • Open Access
1 Citations
2,025 Views
20 Pages

Pinna nobilis, the Vanishing Giant: A Comprehensive Review on the Decline of a Mediterranean Icon

  • Ilenia Azzena,
  • Chiara Locci,
  • Noemi Pascale,
  • Ilaria Deplano,
  • Riccardo Senigaglia,
  • Fabio Scarpa,
  • Marco Casu and
  • Daria Sanna

11 July 2025

This review addresses the critical conservation challenges faced by Pinna nobilis, the noble pen shell, a keystone umbrella species in Mediterranean marine ecosystems. Since 2016, the species has experienced catastrophic population declines due to ma...

  • Article
  • Open Access
52 Citations
6,502 Views
16 Pages

Multiple Non-Species-Specific Pathogens Possibly Triggered the Mass Mortality in Pinna nobilis

  • Fabio Scarpa,
  • Daria Sanna,
  • Ilenia Azzena,
  • Davide Mugetti,
  • Francesco Cerruti,
  • Sepideh Hosseini,
  • Piero Cossu,
  • Stefania Pinna,
  • Daniele Grech and
  • David Cabana
  • + 13 authors

13 October 2020

The fan mussel, Pinna nobilis, represents the largest bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2016, dramatic mass mortality of this species has been observed in several areas. The first surveys suggested that Haplosporidium pinnae (currently...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
8,737 Views
20 Pages

Fouling Community on Pinna nobilis Larval Collectors in the Adriatic—Impact of Invasive Species

  • Tatjana Bakran-Petricioli,
  • Dajana Kujundžić,
  • Martina Naranđa,
  • Donat Petricioli,
  • Lucija Petricioli and
  • Silvija Kipson

In the last few years, the endemic Mediterranean bivalve Pinna nobilis has been exposed to dramatic mortality in its entire area, which could lead to the extinction of the species. Throughout the Mediterranean, a lot of effort is being put into findi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
841 Views
25 Pages

Chasing Pinna nobilis Survivors: Current Status in Spanish Open Coastal Waters

  • Francesco Maresca,
  • Elvira Álvarez,
  • Lara Zafra,
  • Iris E. Hendriks,
  • Gaetano Catanese,
  • Raul González,
  • José Rafael García-March and
  • Maite Vázquez-Luis

23 October 2025

The largest and endemic bivalve of the Mediterranean Sea, Pinna nobilis, is on the brink of extinction after a mass mortality event (MME) that has affected its populations since autumn 2016. Since then, different actions have been performed to improv...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
2,725 Views
13 Pages

Haplosporidium pinnae Parasite Detection in Seawater Samples

  • Irene Moro-Martínez,
  • Maite Vázquez-Luis,
  • José Rafael García-March,
  • Patricia Prado,
  • Milena Mičić and
  • Gaetano Catanese

In this study, we investigated the presence of the parasite Haplosporidium pinnae, which is a pathogen for the bivalve Pinna nobilis, in water samples from different environments. Fifteen mantle samples of P. nobilis infected by H. pinnae were used t...

  • Interesting Images
  • Open Access
13 Citations
3,281 Views
9 Pages

A Tale of Two Sisters: The Southerner Pinna rudis Is Getting North after the Regional Extinction of the Congeneric P. nobilis (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

  • Alice Oprandi,
  • Stefano Aicardi,
  • Annalisa Azzola,
  • Fabio Benelli,
  • Marco Bertolino,
  • Carlo Nike Bianchi,
  • Mariachiara Chiantore,
  • Maria Paola Ferranti,
  • Ilaria Mancini and
  • Andrea Molinari
  • + 2 authors

13 February 2024

In the Mediterranean Sea, the bivalve genus Pinna is represented by two species: the endemic Pinna nobilis and the (sub)tropical Atlantic Pinna rudis. P. rudis is generally less common and mostly restricted to the warmer regions of the western Medite...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,216 Views
29 Pages

Seasonal Macrofaunal Diversity in the Shells of Dead Pinna nobilis Linnaeus, 1758 in Southern Istria

  • Petra Burić,
  • Neven Iveša,
  • Adrian Brajković,
  • Ante Žunec,
  • Iris Matulja,
  • Ines Kovačić,
  • Andrej Jaklin,
  • Gioconda Millotti,
  • Paolo Paliaga and
  • Emina Pustijanac
  • + 2 authors

The shells of dead Pinna nobilis individuals are important habitats in sedimentary coastal ecosystems, yet their ecological role is poorly understood. This study investigated macrofaunal communities associated with 80 P. nobilis shells from Soline Ba...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
4,037 Views
31 Pages

Reconstructing the Evolutionary History of Pinna nobilis: New Genetic Signals from the Past of a Species on the Brink of Extinction

  • Daria Sanna,
  • Ilenia Azzena,
  • Chiara Locci,
  • Pavel Ankon,
  • Petar Kružić,
  • Chiara Manfrin,
  • Alberto Pallavicini,
  • Saul Ciriaco,
  • Marco Segarich and
  • Edoardo Batistini
  • + 2 authors

28 December 2023

Pinna nobilis, commonly known as the noble pen shell, is a marine bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, due to a multifactorial disease that began affecting its populations in 2016, the species is currently facing the threat of ext...

  • Feature Paper
  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
3,885 Views
16 Pages

Noble Pen Shell (Pinna nobilis) Mortalities along the Eastern Adriatic Coast with a Study of the Spreading Velocity

  • Željko Mihaljević,
  • Željko Pavlinec,
  • Ivana Giovanna Zupičić,
  • Dražen Oraić,
  • Aleksandar Popijač,
  • Osvin Pećar,
  • Ivan Sršen,
  • Miroslav Benić,
  • Boris Habrun and
  • Snježana Zrnčić

Noble pen shells (Pinna nobilis) along the Eastern Adriatic coast were affected by mass mortalities similarly to the populations across the Mediterranean basin. Samples of live animals and organs originating from sites on Mljet Island on the south an...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,654 Views
5 Pages

Morphometric Analysis of the Critically Endangered Fan Mussel (Pinna nobilis L.) in Maliakos Gulf (Central Aegean)

  • Ioannis E. Tsamadias,
  • Dimitra D. Rizou,
  • Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos,
  • Athanasios Lattos,
  • Ioannis A. Giantsis,
  • Basile Michaelidis and
  • John A. Theodorou

23 August 2023

In this study, we present the relationships between total length, unburied length, and shell width and between total length and net weight for the critically endangered Pinna nobilis. This is the first transplantation study in which live specimens of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
991 Views
18 Pages

Recruitment and Controlled Growth of Juveniles of the Critically Endangered Fan Mussel Pinna nobilis in the Northern Adriatic

  • Valentina Pitacco,
  • Domen Trkov,
  • Daniela Caracciolo,
  • Saul Ciriaco,
  • Marco Segarich,
  • Edoardo Batistini,
  • Martina Orlando-Bonaca,
  • Lovrenc Lipej,
  • Borut Mavrič and
  • Manja Rogelja
  • + 8 authors

23 September 2025

The fan mussel Pinna nobilis is the largest bivalve species in the Mediterranean Sea and provides numerous ecosystem services. It is classified as critically endangered by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) due to severe mass morta...

  • Interesting Images
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,556 Views
11 Pages

12 June 2024

The bivalve mollusc Pinna nobilis, endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, has been vanishing since 2016 from the whole basin because of an infection by multiple pathogens that caused mass mortality events. In the Eastern Mediterranean, some small populati...

  • Article
  • Open Access
45 Citations
5,045 Views
21 Pages

Epidemiology of Noble Pen Shell (Pinna nobilis L. 1758) Mass Mortality Events in Adriatic Sea Is Characterised with Rapid Spreading and Acute Disease Progression

  • Tomislav Šarić,
  • Ivan Župan,
  • Serena Aceto,
  • Grazia Villari,
  • Dušan Palić,
  • Gionata De Vico and
  • Francesca Carella

23 September 2020

From May to October 2019, multiple mass mortality events (MMEs) of Pinna nobilis were observed along Croatian coastline starting from the south-east and rapidly progressing in north-western direction. Time dynamics of the MMEs closely followed genera...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
3,023 Views
24 Pages

Can the Empty Shells of Pinna nobilis Maintain the Ecological Role of the Species? A Structural and Functional Analysis of the Associated Mollusc Fauna

  • Simona Iannucci,
  • Rocco Auriemma,
  • Alessandra Davanzo,
  • Saul Ciriaco,
  • Marco Segarich and
  • Paola Del Negro

24 August 2023

The endemic Mediterranean bivalve Pinna nobilis is a typical example of an autogenic ecosystem engineer in sedimentary environments, as it modifies the substrate, creates new complex 3D habitats and concentrates various species, thus increasing local...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3,560 Views
21 Pages

From Shell to Sequence: Optimizing DNA Extraction and PCR for Pen Shell Identification

  • Maria Kamilari,
  • Charikleia Papaioannou,
  • Antonios Augustinos,
  • Efthimios Spinos,
  • Ioannis A. Giantsis,
  • Alexios Ramfos,
  • John A. Theodorou and
  • Costas Batargias

13 April 2025

Pinna nobilis, an ecologically significant and critically endangered bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, has been classified as “Critically Endangered” by IUCN due to habitat degradation, climate change, and mass mortality events ca...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
2,283 Views
16 Pages

The Willingness to Assess and Contribute to Pinna-SOS Recovery Actions of Marine Fishers/Farmers and Stakeholders

  • John A. Theodorou,
  • George Katselis,
  • Orestis Anagnopoulos,
  • Nikos Bourdaniotis,
  • Basile Michaelidis and
  • Dimitrios K. Moutopoulos

30 July 2024

The present study aimed to address the issue of pressure on the remaining populations of the critical endangered species, fan mussel, Pinna nobilis, in the Eastern Mediterranean. Marine professional (shell/fish farmers, divers, fishers, administrator...

  • Review
  • Open Access
1,114 Views
22 Pages

Review of Age Estimation Techniques and Growth Models for Shelled Organisms in Marine Animal Forests

  • Ömerhan Dürrani,
  • Çağdaş Can Cengiz,
  • Halyna Gabrielczak,
  • Esra Özcan,
  • Madona Varshanidze,
  • Genuario Belmonte and
  • Kadir Seyhan

2 September 2025

Marine shelled organisms exhibit diverse growth strategies shaped by species-specific traits and environmental conditions that critically influence their ecological roles, particularly within Marine Animal Forests (MAF), which are structurally comple...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
2,939 Views
13 Pages

The current study provides valuable insight into the ecological risks and decline of the bivalve fishery and biodiversity in the Amvrakikos Gulf over the last 50 years through a triangulation of information from in situ surveys and expert judgment, s...

  • Article
  • Open Access
37 Citations
14,648 Views
30 Pages

Autonomous Underwater Monitoring System for Detecting Life on the Seabed by Means of Computer Vision Cloud Services

  • Marouane Salhaoui,
  • J. Carlos Molina-Molina,
  • Antonio Guerrero-González,
  • Mounir Arioua and
  • Francisco J. Ortiz

19 June 2020

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have increasingly played a key role in monitoring the marine environment, studying its physical-chemical parameters for the supervision of endangered species. AUVs now include a power source and an intelligent co...