Habitat

The date mussel (Lithophaga lithophaga) is a protected bivalve living inside carbonate rocks. Illegal harvesting of this species, conducted by breaking the rocks where the bivalves grow, causes the habitat destruction and the desertification of shallow rocky reefs.

Colletti A., Savinelli B., Di Muzio G., Rizzo L.,Tamburello L., Fraschetti S., Musco L., Danovaro R. (2020). The date mussel Lithophaga lithophaga: the multiple impacts of its illegal harvesting. Science of The Total Environment, 744, 140866