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In the small port of the Special Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Dr. Martin Horvat, a few days ago, an informative panel was ceremoniously put up about the stoned stone - Pholas dactylus - which can only be found in the whole of Rovinj at the specified location.
The act of placing a panel with basic information about this protected bivalve is a kind of conclusion of a project carried out by the Italian High School Rovinj - Rovigno, in cooperation with the Eugen Kumičić Vocational School Rovinj - Rovigno, the Rovinj Sea Research Center of the Ruđer Bošković Institute, the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Areas of Nature in the area of the County of Istria - Natura Histrica and in the City of Rovinj - Rovigno.
Gravel removal
The aim of the project called 'Presence of the flounder Pholas dactylus in the coastal area of Rovinj' was, along with the education of students, to inform and sensitize the local community and to preserve and expand the habitat by mechanical removal of gravel in order to increase the available clay substrate for the reception of flounder larvae of new generations.
"Today, the importance of such projects is emphasized with the aim of preserving biodiversity and the environment in general, and especially with the aim of education and ecological awareness of the young generation", said the director of Rovinj's Italian secondary school, Ines Venier. Along with the project coordinator, professor Daniel Suman, she then thanked all the project partners.
Fruitful cooperation
Both expressed the hope that such projects will continue in the future, in cooperation and synergy between schools and other institutions. The Mayor of the City of Rovinj - Rovigno praised the project and expressed his satisfaction that schools in the city are cooperating with scientific researchers on such commendable initiatives that fit into the City's development strategy.
The project was co-financed by INA-Industrija nafte dd, through the 'Green Belt' program, which supports projects for the protection and revitalization of terrestrial and marine habitats - ecosystems, with the aim of protecting biological diversity and raising environmental awareness among young generations.
It reaches up to 12 cm in length
The kamotočac belongs to the Pholadidae family, the burrowing bivalves. It is an elongated oval shell with the front end of the shell in the shape of a finger, wide open. The entire outer surface of the rough shell is covered with concentric stripes and ribs with teeth. It is whitish-yellow on the outside, and whitish on the inside.
The maximum length of the shell reaches up to 12 centimeters, and the weight up to 40 grams, but it usually weighs around 20 grams. This shell feeds on plankton and organic floating particles and lays eggs for reproduction. It is characteristic of kamotočca, popularly known as kamenočca, that it secretes mucus that sparkles at night.
By turning the shell, it drills long corridors in soft stone, mud, peat, loam and even wood, and parallel to its growth, the corridors become wider.
Foreign names for the common piddock are: Common piddock (English), Meerdattel (German), Dattolo di mare, Folade (Italian), Pholade commune (French), Dactylo (Greek), Almeja brava, Barrena (Spanish).
Photo: City of Rovinj
Source: City of Rovinj
