Atlantic Wing Oyster

Pteria colymbus

Wing Oysters like other bi-valves are filter feeders and like to hang around on Sea Plumes and other gorgonians like Sea Fans. Their natural color is dark cinnamon brown to almost dark chocolate brown but their shells are lined with rows and troughs of rough little spikes and easily become overgrown by other organisms like hydroids, tunicates and algae.  Most of these specimens were found  in less than ten feet of water.