Spondylidae: Spondylus tenellus Reeve, 1856 (‘slender thorny-oyster’)

Synonym(s): tenellus Reeve, 1856 regillus Iredale, 1929.

Typical shell-length 100 mm. Most beached shells lack the long spines present on the shells of living animals. Lives subtidally and offshore in crevices amongst rocks and seaweed. Native. Endemic to southeastern and southwestern Australia (QLD, NSW, TAS, VIC, SA and WA). In Tasmanian waters, this species is largely confined to the N coast and Bass Strait islands.