Not EvaluatedGreat Scallop
Pecten maximus
Bivalves · Pectinida · Pectinidae
Mimachlamys varia
It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria.
A small scallop with ribbed valves in highly variable colours, which lives attached by its byssus to rocks and shells, though it can let go and swim by clapping its valves if a predator threatens. It filters phytoplankton and is prized in the kitchens of Galicia and the Cantabrian coast.
Size
3 cm – 6 cm
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Unknown
Sources consulted: Linneo (1758); Wellcome Sanger Institute, Darwin Tree of Life (2024); Marine Life Information Network; ScienceDirect (Hughes 1989); Science Advances, How colonial animals evolve; Wikipedia, Zooid
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented — showing 20 of 69.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Variegated Scallop — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about variegated scallop.
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The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.
