Bivalves · Pectinida · Pectinidae

Variegated Scallop

Mimachlamys varia

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

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

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

OceanOmnivore Colonial Ocean Mollusc

8countries 22parks 47dive sites1same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt anchors to the rock with byssal threads and can swim by clapping its valves if attacked.
Like the rest of the scallops, it has dozens of blue eyes along the edge of the mantle, using a mirror of guanine crystals rather than a conventional lens to form the image.
Like all scallops, it has dozens of eyes with lens and retina along the edge of the mantle, able to form an image with a concave mirror of guanine crystals rather than a lens.
It can swim by clapping its valves and expelling jets of water, although as an adult it spends most of its time attached by its byssus.
It changes sex several times over its life: it matures as a male and alternates thereafter.
The larvae prefer to settle on vertical or sloping surfaces in low light.
In France and Spain it is landed alongside the queen scallop, although Europe's main commercial scallops are other species.