Mollusca · mollusks

Atlantic sea scallop

Placopecten magellanicus

Pectinidae · scallopsIUCN: Not evaluated
Atlantic sea scallop
Photo: Dann Blackwood, USGS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A large scallop fished from the Mid-Atlantic to Georges Bank.

Fun factIt has a row of tiny eyes along the edge of its mantle that sense shadows and movement.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic
Depth zone
Continental shelf
Diet
Plankton (filter feeder)
Size
Shell up to 20 cm

Classification

Mollusca › Bivalvia › Pectinidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Protostomia protostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening usually becomes the mouth
    • Main nerve cord runs along the belly (ventral)
    • Includes mollusks, worms, and arthropods
  4. Clade Spiralia mollusks, worms & kin
    • Embryos usually divide in a spiral pattern (spiral cleavage)
    • Many have a swimming larva with a band of cilia (trochophore)
    • Includes mollusks and segmented worms
  5. Phylum Mollusca mollusks
    • Soft body with a muscular foot and a fold of tissue (mantle) that makes the shell
    • Most have a rasping, tongue-like ribbon of teeth (radula)
    • Includes snails, clams, octopuses, and chitons
  6. Class Bivalvia clams, oysters & kin
    • Body enclosed in two hinged shells (valves)
    • No head and no radula
    • Most filter food from water with large gills
  7. Subclass Pteriomorphia oysters, scallops & mussels
    • Often attach to surfaces with threads (byssus) or cement
    • Includes oysters, scallops, mussels, and pearl oysters
  8. Family Pectinidae scallops
    • Scallops: fan-shaped shells with 'ears' at the hinge
    • Many swim by clapping their shells
    • Rows of small eyes along the mantle
  9. Genus Placopecten
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  10. Species Placopecten magellanicus Atlantic sea scallop

Closest relatives in the guide