Beachcombers Field Guide - Department Of Fisheries Western ...

Scallop
Mollusca – Bivalvia
There are many types
of scallops and some are very
colourful. True scallops and saucer
scallops spend most of their time on the
ocean fl oor, but are strong swimmers. They
swim by expelling jets of water – forceably
closing their two shell valves and then
opening them quickly to take in more water.
Fan scallops are generally attached to
hard surfaces or seagrasses
by tough fl exible
threads called a
byssus.
Did you know?
Scallops generally have many
small eyes arranged around the
edge of the mantle lobes that
line the shell valves.