Wildlife
Scallops are fan-shaped bivalves with a pleasing geometric shape, and they are found in all the world's oceans. Most are free-living, active swimmers using jet propulsion to move, but some attach to structures and others bury themselves in the sand using an extensible foot.
Scallops have up to 100 eyes around the edge of their mantles. These respond to light and dark allowing them to detect changing patterns of light and motion and thus moving objects. Scallops feed on plankton using a filter mechanism and are themselves predated upon by starfish, crabs, lobsters and fish.
Did you know?
The word "scallop" is derived from the old French "escalope" meaning "shell".
Scientific name: Pectinidae
Rank: Family
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Great escape
When clamming up won't work, scallops have a nifty way of escaping danger.
When clamming up won't work, scallops have a nifty way of escaping danger.
Coping with currents
Brittlestars and bivalves have ways to cope with strong currents.
Brittlestars and bivalves have ways to cope with strong currents.
Flowing fresh
Salmon and scallop farms rely on strong currents to keep them clean.
Salmon and scallop farms rely on strong currents to keep them clean.
The Scallops can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Australia, Europe, Mediterranean, North America, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Scallops distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Sea bedDiscover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The Pectinidae (from Latin pecten meaning comb), common name "scallops", are a family of saltwater bivalve mollusks. They are hermaphrodite, and the male gonads mature first. There are numerous species of various sizes in all of the oceans, and a number species are of commercial importance. Some pectinidae live attached by means of a filament they secrete, others are simply recumbent, but a form of jet-propulsion created by repeatedly clapping their valves closed can propel them swiftly but erratically through the water when they sense the presence of a predator such as a starfish.
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