Pecten jacobaeus
Left and right half-shell ( Pecten jacobaeus )
The Mediterranean scallop ( Pecten jacobaeus ) is a clam from the family of scallops ( Pectinidae ). It is, just like the Great Atlantic scallop ( Pecten maximus), also called " scallop ". Possibly, the two types are identical.
Features
The Mediterranean scallop is up to 140 mm long. The two housing halves have different shapes. The left flap ( in the living animal above) is flat and even slightly curved inward, the right door, however, is curved in the adult animal about 2.5 cm to the outside. The housing has ribs 14 to 16 (radial wrinkles) that have a species-specific, more or less rectangular cross section. The flat housing half is uniformly brownish- reddish, the domed lid white. The case exterior is rough and filled with concentric and very fine Schüppchenreihen. The main ribs of the right valve wear on the outside of each still 4 finer ribs. The inside of the case is smooth like porcelain. At the edge of the mantle sit tentacles, between which there are a total of 60 blue, millimeter-sized lens eyes. By sudden closing the two flaps of the case they can swim away ten feet away in case of danger.
Distribution and occurrence
It has its area of distribution in the Mediterranean and on the south coast of the Iberian Peninsula and lives on soft bottoms.