The most exclusive fabric in the world is made from threads of Pen Shells!

Описание: Join me on a beach combing foray in Florida near Tampa Bay at Honeymoon Island State park and discover the amazing biology of Pen Shells. Family: Pinnadae. Scientific name Atrina rigida. These bivalve molluscs thrive in shallow water and grass beds filter feeding algae and nutritious particulates from the water. As they do they filter as much as 40 gallons of water per hour, clarifying local bodies of water. As mollusks that remain stationary in the sand by extending byssal threads as anchors, they in turn provide many other organisms an attachment point in shifting sand, thereby increasing biodiversity. In the mediterranean, the largest pen shell in the world, Pinnas nobilis, was collect for centuries in order to harvest the byssal threads to make a fabric that was woven finer than silk. This fabric was soft, luxurious, and warm. The strong threads are 3x finer than human hair.

Pen Shell Attributions

Giant Pen shell in the sand
Hectonichus, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Giant pen shell
Doruk Aygün, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Nacreous pen shell photos:
James St. John, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

James St. John, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Seagrass:
Milorad Mikota, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Milorad Mikota, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Florida sea grass bed
See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Byssal cloth Glove
John Hill, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Pinus nobilis on table showing byssal threads as well
John Hill, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Fingers pulling byssul threads
John Hill, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons