Spondylus americanus has a shell that can reach approximately 18 centimeters (about 7 inches). The shell is usually decorated with spiny projections that can reach 5 cm (2 inches) in some cases. The shell can be white, pink, red, yellow, or purple, or combinations of these colors.
Thorny Oysters live attached to hard underwater structures such as rocks and submerged man-made structures including shipwrecks. The shell is usually covered with all sorts of organisms such as algae, sponges, worms, sponges, and other marine invertebrates. The species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Florida, south to the Caribbean and Brazil. This particular specimen was found affixed to an offshore oil platform off Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico.
