Alan Davidson

Date-Shell

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

date-shell Lithophaga lithophaga, a member of the mussel family, but slimmer than common mussels. It embeds itself in rocks, which makes it difficult to gather, but has a very good flavour and is worth the effort.

Distribution is throughout the Mediterranean. The coast near La Spezia in Italy, and parts of the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia, are places where it is abundant.
The date-shell is not a mechanical borer. It makes its hole in the rock by applying to it an acid secretion whose exact composition is unknown, which softens the rock. Then it scrapes the debris away and repeats the process, until it is completely, or almost completely, encased in the hole. The purpose of this manœuvre is to gain protection against predators. The water lapping into the hole provides nutrients.