Sea silk. An extremely fine, rare and valuable fabric produced from the long silky filaments or byssus excreted by several mollusks (particularly Pinna nobilis L.) by which they attach themselves to the sea bed. The term byssus (sometimes byssal thread, or byssus thread) denotes strong threads secreted by mussels to attach to rocks and large, generally heavy objects in the intertidal zone. ...

It was produced in the Mediterranean region from the large bivalve mollusk, Pinna nobilis, until early in the 20th century. The shell, which is sometimes almost a metre long, adheres itself to rocks with a tuft of very strong thin fibres, pointed end down, in the intertidal zone. These byssus or filaments (which can be up to 6 cm long) are then spun and, when treated with lemon juice, turn a beautiful golden colour which never fades. The cloth produced from these filaments can be woven even finer than silk and is extremely light and warm, but attracts moths which eat it. It was said that a pair of women's gloves could fit into half a walnut shell and a pair of stockings in a snuffbox. The mollusk is also sought for its flesh and occasionally has pearls of fair quality. The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... Orders Subclass Protobranchia Solemyoida Nuculoida Subclass Pteriomorphia - oysters Arcoida Mytiloida Pterioida Subclass Paleoheterodonta - mussels Trigoinoida Unionoida Subclass Heterodonta - clams, zebra mussels Veneroida Myoida Subclass Anomalosdesmata Pholadomyoida Animals of the Class Bivalvia are known as bivalves because they typically have two-part shells, with both parts being more or less symmetrical. ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... It has been suggested that Intertidal ecology, Foreshore and Littoral be merged into this article or section. ... // CM, cM, Cm or cm may stand for: CM Apollo Command/Service Module (command module is one half) Cameroon, ISO and FIPS country code category management Catholic Memorial center of mass Championship Manager, a series of association football computer games Chelmsford British post code region CM Chessmaster Chief Minister of... Binomial name Citrus × limon (L.) Burm. ... Species See text The walnuts (genus Juglans) are plants in the walnut family Juglandaceae. ... An empty cardboard box Boxes are highly variable receptacles. ...

The cloth was always very rare and sought after; and was often reserved for royalty. It is probably the same as the "sea wool" mentioned in Diocletian's Price Edicts of 301CE. Constantine the Great is said to have sent cloaks made of "sea wool" as presents to four Asian kings. The cloak of a Roman Centurion, the raiment of the Egyptian King Tutankhamun, and the golden fleece sought by Jason and the Argonauts have been reputed to have been spun from byssal threads. Events September 3 - The republic of San Marino is established (traditional date). ... CE is an abbreviation which can have the following meanings: Capillary electrophoresis the CE mark is a stylized CE placed on products to signify conformance with European Union regulations. ... Constantine. ... Coat can refer to any one of the following: The fur coat of a mammal. ... i rule:Forum Romanum panorama 2. ... Centurion can mean: A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army. ... A portrait of the young Tutankhamun by Winifred Brunton. ... Jason returns with the golden Fleece on an Apulian red-figure calyx krater, ca. ... Jason and the Argonauts may refer to: the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts Jason and the Argonauts (film), a 1963 film with animation by Ray Harryhausen Jason and the Argonauts (TV movie), a TV movie made in 2000 This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated...

Unfortunately, in recent years, Pinna nobilis has become threatened with extinction, partly due to overfishing and, partly, due to the decline in seagrass fields, pollution, and so on. As it has declined so dramatically, the once small but vibrant sea silk industry has almost disappeared.

It is of scientific interest what enables byssal threads to adhere so strongly to surfaces, for byssal threads have a powerful glue. An adhesive is a compound that adheres or bonds two items together. ...

References

• McKinley, Daniel L. 1988. "Pinna and Her Silken Beard: A Foray Into Historical Misappropriations". Ars Textrina: A Journal of Textiles and Costumes, Vol. Twenty-nine, June, 1998, Winnipeg, Canada. Pp. 9-223.
• Maeder, Felicitas 2002. "The project Sea-silk – Rediscovering an Ancient Textile Material." Archaeological Textiles Newsletter, Number 35, Autumn 2002, pp. 8-11.
• Maeder, Felicitas, Hänggi, Ambros and Wunderlin, Dominik, Eds. 2004. Bisso marino : Fili d’oro dal fondo del mare – Muschelseide : Goldene Fäden vom Meeresgrund. Naturhistoriches Museum and Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland. (In Italian and German).

External links

General:

• A photo
• Another photo
• History of Sea Byssus cloth
• How to spin a byssus cloth

Definitions:

• Webster's defines byssus
• American Heritage Dictionary defines byssus
• WorldReference.com on the word byssus

Scientific:

• Science News on Marine Superglue
• Byssus Facts