Ancient shellfish used for purple dye vanishes from eastern Med

Red-mouthed rock shell was one of main sources of Tyrian purple and study blames its collapse on rising sea temperaturesThe shellfish that was one of the main sources of Tyrian purple – one of the most storied and valuable trading products in the ancient world – has disappeared from the eastern Mediterranean coast, amid warnings of an ongoing multi-species collapse blamed on global rises in sea temperatures.Described by Aristotle and Pliny among other ancient writers, Tyrian purple o