Scallops

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Scallops have two shells that are hinged together. They have a soft body that is protected by these two shells. The shells close tightly when the scallop thinks there is danger.
When scallops are very young, they are plankton. When they become an inch in size, they sink to the bottom of the ocean. They have a glue-like substance that helps them stick to rocks. Adult scallops eat plankton. They are almost always lying flat, and most of the time they like to be in the shade. The live in the intertidal zone. They usually get to be five inches in size.
Scallops with bright orange mantles are males. Those with brown to green mantles are females. The shell is decorated with many plants and animals. On the edge of the shell there are many little dots that are many simple eyes. When the eyes sense a change of light or danger, a scallop closes its shell.

 
 Diet plankton
 Size up to five inches or more
 Color mantles are orange for males; brown to green for females
 Life Cycle eggs, then plankton, then bivalves that settle on the ocean floor
 Predators humans
 Neat Facts Little dots on the shell are many simple eyes.
 Types rock
 Relatives abalone, nudibranchs, sea hares, octopi, squid, mussels, oysters, clams, chitons, snails, limpets

 Take our Scallop Quiz
  

 
  

To visit other animals click below! 

 Chordates

Echinoderms

 Arthropods

 Mollusks

Cnidarians
sculpins sea star lobster octopus scallop  sea anemone
sea cucumber crab nudibranch abalone  
sea urchin barnacles chiton snail  
  mussel limpet