Mediterranean scallop
| Mediterranean scallop | ||||||||||||
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Left and right shell halves ( Pecten jacobaeus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pecten jacobaeus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Mediterranean pilgrim mussel ( Pecten jacobaeus ) is a mussel from the scallop family (Pectinidae). Like the great pilgrim mussel ( Pecten maximus ), it is also known as the " scallop ". The two types may be identical.
features
The Mediterranean pilgrim mussel is up to 140 mm long. The two housing halves are shaped differently. The left flap (at the top of the living animal) is flat and even slightly curved inward, while the right flap is around 2.5 cm outward in the adult animal. The housing has 14 to 16 ribs (radial folds), which have a more or less rectangular cross-section typical of the species. The flat half of the case is uniformly brownish-reddish, the domed flap white. The outside of the case is rough and covered with concentric and very fine rows of flakes. The main ribs of the right valve have 4 finer ribs on the outside. The inside of the case is smooth like porcelain. Tentacles sit on the edge of the mantle , between which there are a total of 60 blue, millimeter-sized lens eyes . By suddenly closing the two flaps of the housing you can swim meters away in case of danger.
Distribution and occurrence
It has its distribution area in the Mediterranean and on the south coast of the Iberian Peninsula and lives on soft soils.
supporting documents
literature
- Guido T. Poppe and Y. Goto: European Seashells. Vol II (Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda). 221 pp., Verlag Christa Hemmen, Wiesbaden, 1993 ISBN 3-925919-11-2