---
title: "What the sources say about the Great Scallop | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "37 claims from the Great Scallop profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Great Scallop (*Pecten maximus*)

> 37 claims from the Great Scallop profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Great Scallop](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/great-scallop/)

## Great scallop (Pecten maximus). MarLIN, the Marine Life Information Network.

https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1398

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Edges its mantle with tiny blue-green eyes | N umerous tiny eyes are embedded among the bases of the sensory tentacles around the edge of the mantle (note: tagline) |
| swims by clapping its shell | Pecten maximus is capable of swimming by rapidly clapping the valves (note: tagline) |
| Clean firm sand and gravel | Prefers areas of clean firm sand, fine or sandy gravel (note: stats.habitat) |
| 10 to 110 m | Depth range 10-110 m (note: stats.habitat) |
| on the European Atlantic coast | occurs along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway, south to the Iberian peninsula (note: stats.habitat) |
| Seston, including phytoplankton, particulate organic matter and bacteria | Seston including phytoplankton, especially single celled algae, particulate organic matter (POM), bacteria and other micro-organisms (note: stats.diet) |
| Numerous tiny eyes around the mantle edge, and a swim powered by clapping its valves | N umerous tiny eyes are embedded among the bases of the sensory tentacles around the edge of the mantle (note: stats.superpower; swim claim below) |
| Not Evaluated | Great scallop ( Pecten maximus ) (note: stats.conservationStatus. No Red List assessment: the prefetch found no category in GBIF's copy of the Red List and no Crossref assessment DOI for Pecten maximus, and the Red List was not searched by hand beyond that. MarLIN is cited for the species name only. Precedent llama, domestic-cat.) |
| carries numerous tiny eyes, set among the bases of the sensory tentacles around the edge of its mantle | N umerous tiny eyes are embedded among the bases of the sensory tentacles around the edge of the mantle |
| They are blue-green and no more than about 1.5 mm across | The eyes are blue-green in colour and no more than ca 1.5 mm in diameter |
| they have a highly specialized retina | have a highly specialized retina |
| A shadow or a movement can make the scallop swim, orient itself, or shut its shell. | scallops will swim, orient themselves or close their shell in response to shadows or movement |
| It swims by rapidly clapping its valves, which pushes water out on either side of the hinge so that the curved edge of the shell leads the way. | capable of swimming by rapidly clapping the valves and expelling the water on either side of the dorsal hinge so that the scallop moves with the curved edge of the shell foremost |
| Swimming is mostly saved for escapes. | Swimming is generally limited to escape reactions. |
| extracts from two starfish that eat molluscs set off a full swimming response, while starfish that are not predators only caused a short jump or a closed shell | Full swimming response was initiated only by extracts of Asterias rubens and Astropecten irregularis which prey on molluscs, while limited jumping or valve-closing responses were induced by non-predatory starfish |
| Normally the scallop lies in a shallow hollow in the seabed. | Pecten maximus normally lies recessed into slight hollows (recesses) in the seabed |
| strong shell closures squirt water from inside the shell, and the jets blow sediment away | Recessing is achieved through a series of powerful adductions (valve closures) where water is ejected from the mantle cavity and lifts the shell at an angle to the seabed so that subsequent water jets blow a hollow into the sediment |
| The shell grows up to 15 cm long | Pecten maximus grows up to 15 cm long |
| specimens of up to 21 cm have been recorded, though that is exceptional | Specimens of up to 21 cm have been recorded, although this is exceptional |
| Scallops caught for sale are usually 10 to 16 cm. | the size range of scallops caught commercially is usually between 10 and 16 cm |
| Each year adds a growth ring to the shell, and these rings are used to age scallops | Scallop shells bear distinct and concentric annual growth rings. The shells also bear numerous regularly occurring concentric striae 0.1-0.3 mm apart which are also used to age the scallops |
| A great scallop can live 11 to 20 years | Life span 11-20 years |
| One author puts the maximum age at about 22 years. | Minchin (2003) states that the maximum age for Pecten maximus is about 22 years. |
| It lives along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway south to the Iberian peninsula, and has also been reported off West Africa, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Madeira. | occurs along the European Atlantic coast from northern Norway, south to the Iberian peninsula and has also been reported off West Africa, the Azores, Canary Islands and Madeira |
| It lies at 10 to 110 m, on clean firm sand or fine gravel. | Depth range 10-110 m |
| on clean firm sand or fine gravel | Prefers areas of clean firm sand, fine or sandy gravel |
| A great scallop is an active suspension feeder | Characteristic feeding method Active suspension feeder |
| including phytoplankton, especially single-celled algae, plus bacteria and other microbes | Seston including phytoplankton, especially single celled algae, particulate organic matter (POM), bacteria and other micro-organisms |
| MarLIN lists a life span of 11 to 20 years | Life span 11-20 years (note: FAQ; the 22-year maximum is claim 32) |
| the maximum age at about 22 years | Minchin (2003) states that the maximum age for Pecten maximus is about 22 years. |
| MarLIN gives a depth range of 10 to 110 m, on sea floors of clean sand and gravel. | Depth range 10-110 m (note: FAQ) |
| It claps its valves to push water out beside its hinge, but MarLIN says swimming is generally limited to escape reactions. | Swimming is generally limited to escape reactions. (note: FAQ; clapping claim above) |
| A great scallop swims by rapidly clapping its two shell valves, which pushes water out beside the hinge | capable of swimming by rapidly clapping the valves and expelling the water on either side of the dorsal hinge so that the scallop moves with the curved edge of the shell foremost (note: vibe.reason) |

## Kenny et al. (2020). The gene-rich genome of the scallop Pecten maximus. GigaScience.

https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaa037

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Shellfish can pile up algal neurotoxins this way. | Some shellfish (e.g., scallops, P. maximus ; mussels, Mytilus edulis ; cockles, Cerastoderma edule ; razor clams, Siliqua patula ), fish (e.g., anchovy, Engraulis mordax ; European sardine, Sardina pilchardus ; and Pacific halibut, Hippoglossus stenolepis ), and crabs (e.g., Cancer magister ) accumulate algal neurotoxins by filtration of phytoplankton or by ingestion of contaminated organisms |
| The genome paper calls the scallop resistant to saxitoxin and domoic acid, two such toxins. | the means by which this species is resistant to neurotoxins such as saxitoxin (STX) and domoic acid (DA). DA and STX are potent neurotoxins produced by certain species of phytoplankton |
| It is fished commercially across its range, most heavily around France and the United Kingdom. | It is commercially fished across its range, most heavily around France and the United Kingdom |
| The same paper called it the most valuable single-species fishery in the English Channel, with about 35,000 tonnes landed internationally in 2016. | is the most valuable single-species fishery in the English Channel with ∼35,000 tonnes of international landings reported in 2016 |